DV after garnishment summons

[rella5]

this is a complex story, I will try to make it as brief and clear as I can.

My friend does not speak English very well and tho she is a dear person, not very educated or saavy. She and her husband have had lots of cc's in the past and because he was hurt and now collecting disability they have been in a downward spiral. They refied their house in 05 and paid off some accts. My concern is that it may be possible that some pd accts are still showing.

In looking at their CR, there are several single and joint Providian accts.

It is very hard to follow the chain of OC to CA to atty etc. There are 2 judgements filed for my friend, hers only, which are the exact same amt.

The 1st one was a DJ granted to the atty for Calvary Port (I think its Prov. but I'm not sure) in June 04. No action until Aug 05 when my "too scared to respond" friend rec'd a WID summons from Calvary Investmnt thru a different local atty. DJ was granted. Same plaintiff got garnishment granted in Aug 06and garn began against her pay in Sept 06. Then, 2 paychecks (1 mo) go by and no garn. I told her just keep quiet and see what happens. Then same plaintiff sends another garn summons on Dec 12 2006 with court date 2/5/07.

This time I told her to appear, tell the judge that she is confused and unsure if this is her debt and respectfully ask for some time to try to figure it out.

Sure enough, the judge suspended the garnishment and told the plaintiff atty to "get together and negotiate something".

So, even tho there is a judgemnt, and I don't think a typical 30 day DV letter is appropriate, isn't it still fair and reasonable to ask for some kind of evidence or proof based on the fact that this chain is so confusing? I was thinking of drafting a simple letter to the atty politely asking for something so that we can be sure of this. She is in process of refinancing the house again, she's not trying to get out of paying , I just don't want to see her pay a debt or amount that is not right.

sorry for the lengthy thread, appreciate any advice!

P.S. we live in Virginia, 3 yr SOL. Per CR the "last active date" is 10/03 but it looks like the last pmnt prior to delq. was in early 2002. (if this makes any difference)

[elyse449]

First off, I would attempt to locate an interpreter for your friend-that way, things can be explained to her in her own language. It is imperative that she and her husband be able to handle their finances and understand the laws that pertain to them.

Secondly, if her creditors have already attained a judgment (because perhaps she didn't show for a previous court hearing) your first step would be to request that they set aside the judgment if it is proveable that the debt is beyond SOL for Virginia.

If it is not possible to get the judgment set aside, your next step would be to request a complete court record of this debt by going to the courthouse the judgment was granted in and visiting the court clerks offices. All you need do is provide the cause number and request a complete copy of the file.

Your step at this point would then be to help her (again, with an interpreter preferably-you don't want her ending up in this vicious cycle) to negotiate a payment plan PROVIDED that they agree to some simple terms as far as how they'll report on her CR's, how payments will be received (no more garnishments for example), etc.

Anyway, until you get the complete court docs and what has transpired with these debts, until you know what you're truly up against-it will be challenging for anyone to help you.

Elyse

[ConfusedToo]

The thing about garnishments is the garnishment order is only good for a certain number of days, say 70. Depends what your state laws are. At the end of that 70 days the CA or whoever, petitions the court for the next round. This goes on til it's paid. BTW, there are court costs added along the way. So it is possible that there will be a couple paychecks without garnishment, then it will start up again. Also, only a certain dollar amount can be collected per year based on income. Again, state laws determine these amounts.

Your friend can go to the court house and see everything that has been filed with the court regarding her garnishment.

[Recovering Attorney]

Forgeet what the credit reports say. Get a copy of the court filing, every piece of paper that is there. And if I were your friend, I'd take the judge;s cue and negotiate a settlement, She will not be able to refi her house with the judgments there. And why should she do so without facing this debt?

And d o her a bigger favor an help her get counsel. Lawyers speak the language, espcially helpful where she doesn't. Capisce?

[Recovering Attorney]

If they got a judgment in 2004 but the last payment was 2002 or 2003, the SOL will not help her. And if teh lawyer she had wasn't too good, didn't he get the other judgment removed?

[rella5]

Believe it or not, after doing some checking, the house was refied in 2005 with a judgement in place! Apparently there are some lenders with programs (not gov.) that will refi and not pay off all judgements. I have sent her to the courthouse to get all copies of filings- the chain is really more convaluted than I really wanted to confuse you all with. And as soon as I have a look at the court papers my suggestion is that once we untangle it and figure out what she owes to who then we negotiate a settlement. All the attys just seem to shrug their shoulders and say "you don't have any recourse now, just pay it.." The fact that we got the garnishment suspended so we have time to work on this is a small (I know, tiny) victory but its something. thank ou all for your input, we are going to get the court docs and I am going to try again to find a lawyer.