danurse Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 About 11 yrs ago when I was 19 I maxed out my credit card from Harris Bank-$500. It was later written as a charge off on my credit report.2 yrs ago I get a call from a credit company. Someone named Harvey Denis tells me i am going to go to jail if I don't pay $5000 now. I then asked if I could just pay what I originally owed and they told me - no. When I asked why my 9 yr old (at that time) Credit card went from $500 to $5000 they told me it was legal fees. They told me they would send the sheriff to my house to throw me in jail. They kept calling my work at least two three times an hour. Called me at home all hours of the day. I panicked not knowing what I know now. I begged them to let me pay them in installments. They agreed at almost $400 a month. Well, guess what, My husband lost his job. At the time I was pregnant and it was just me working. I couldn't afford to pay this large installment. So I just cancelled the credit card they were taking payments out of and decided to hope they wouldn't send me to jail. 2 yrs later I see something called First American Investment Company with an amount of $8000! A few days later I get a letter from Giove that says I need to pay $8000 in full. I later find out Giove, First American Investment and Harvey Denis are all one and the same and they are crooks.Reading this site I realized I never should have spoke to them, I never should have sent them a payment either.Can someone tell me if it's too late? Does me sending them a payment two years ago on a debt that was already old, reage this debt? Can they really make me pay $8000 for a credit card that was initially $500? I'm just afraid if I go to court they'll pull out that form I signed 2 yrs ago about making installment payments. Should I just try and settle?I wish I found this site two years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Determined1 Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 I think you should turn the tables on the them and contact your State's Attorney General. IL has a strong record of enforcing consumer protection laws against collection agencies and my non-lawyer opinion is they induced you to sign that form using illegal tactics. They were not allowed to contact you at your place of emplyment or threaten to throw you into jail. I say, they are the one's who should be worrying now, and you should press charges against them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danurse Posted March 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 Could I still go to the Attorney General if I don't have proof they threatened me? Although I do have witnesses(my coworkers) that they called me at work the majority of my day.2yrs ago they tried to collect by a different company name- AMS. Now it's Giove and on my credit report it's First American Investment which is why I didn't connect the dots right away. Should I go ahead and send them a DV letter and pretend I don't know Giove is/was AMS to buy me some time? I think I will still contact the Attorney General at the same time - Is that something I need to have a lawyer help me do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recovering Attorney Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 Yes, DV them. JDB notoriously add interest and fees they are not entitled to. Whether or not you hurt yourself by trying to pay is yet to be seen. Make them prove every dollar. And get cancelled checks on the money you did pay, that may comce in handy in the furture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Methuss Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 Does me sending them a payment two years ago on a debt that was already old, reage this debt? Does it "reage" the debt? No. Reaging can be done only by the original creditor and involves reopening the account to current, open status after at least 4 payments under a workout agreement have been made.I think what you were asking is if the Statute of Limitations has been renewed by your payment. Unfortunately, the answer there is yes. Illinois considers a payment as restarting the 5 year (on credit cards) clock where you can be sued.Now if you have any evidence to support your claim that you were threatened with prison for failure to pay then you have a case for extortion under the Hobbs Act and can swear out a felony complaint against them. You can recover payments made by judgment, but it is highly unlikely you'd be able to collect once the government was finished fining them into oblivion.There may be other ways to attck these scumbags. Were you ever charged a fee for processing a payment? Like $15 to do an ACH withdrawl? If so, that is an illegal fee. Were you charged interest on the unpaid balance? If so, that's illegal. Since they had not rendered it to a judgment, they can collect NO interest on any unpaid balance. Did they give you an itemized list of these "legal fees" and copies of receipts to whom it was paid? No? Illegal fee colleciton again. Show proof and you can sue under the FDCPA for enough damages to recover most, if not all of what you paid.I suggest you get a lawyer and have the lawyer audit the payment history. It'll cost you a few hundred, but you'll get it back in spades if your attorney finds anything illegal in the way they collected on you or how much they attempt to charge you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nascar Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 2 yrs ago I get a call from a credit company. Someone named Harvey Denis tells me i am going to go to jail if I don't pay $5000 now. I then asked if I could just pay what I originally owed and they told me - no. When I asked why my 9 yr old (at that time) Credit card went from $500 to $5000 they told me it was legal fees. They told me they would send the sheriff to my house to throw me in jail. They kept calling my work at least two three times an hour. Called me at home all hours of the day. Damn, why can't I get calls like that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomassl Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 I think what you were asking is if the Statute of Limitations has been renewed by your payment. Unfortunately, the answer there is yes. Illinois considers a payment as restarting the 5 year (on credit cards) clock where you can be sued.Methuss: Are you sure this is correct about Illinois? According to "Money Troubles" by attorney Robin Leonard, Illinois is not listed as one of the states in which payment restarts the statue of limitations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Methuss Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 Methuss: Are you sure this is correct about Illinois? According to "Money Troubles" by attorney Robin Leonard, Illinois is not listed as one of the states in which payment restarts the statue of limitations. Hrm. You may be correct. I just looked up the code. There is no restarting of the SoL on items subject to the 5 year limitation. BUT, there *is* a restart on the SoL on items subject to the 10 year limitation (written contracts)How odd that they have different standards.The problem for the poster is that they entered into a new agreement to repay the debt in installments, possibly in writing, and that could constitute a new contract to pay...although I think it would fail the "consideration" test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myscoresawful Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 Hrm. You may be correct. I just looked up the code. There is no restarting of the SoL on items subject to the 5 year limitation. BUT, there *is* a restart on the SoL on items subject to the 10 year limitation (written contracts)Where did you look that up, if you don't mind me asking? I am trying to find out if a verbal agreement, or an email where the mention of making payments on an old debt would reset the SOL in TN (for a credit card where the SOL had expired)Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomassl Posted March 8, 2007 Report Share Posted March 8, 2007 Where did you look that up, if you don't mind me asking? I am trying to find out if a verbal agreement, or an email where the mention of making payments on an old debt would reset the SOL in TN (for a credit card where the SOL had expired)ThanksIn the book Money Troubles by attorney Robin Leonard, you will find that Tennessee has a six year statue of limitations for written, oral, promissory and open-ended accounts. Payment on the account will reset the statue of limitations. This book can be found at your local library. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AISLE4 Posted March 8, 2007 Report Share Posted March 8, 2007 I'm amazed that you didn't start laughing at the inflated price. A $500 debt turning into a $7000 debt is astounding. You can get better rates from the mob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danurse Posted March 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 I'm amazed that you didn't start laughing at the inflated price. A $500 debt turning into a $7000 debt is astounding. You can get better rates from the mob.Lol. How true. Maybe I should have the mob buy my debt. Indeed I may get better rates. Also one other question from the newbie. About to send my DV...I just want to confirm...do I sign? I read somewhere on this forum not to sign because of lifted signatures and I should just type my name? Is this true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHateCAs Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 I'm amazed that you didn't start laughing at the inflated price. A $500 debt turning into a $7000 debt is astounding. You can get better rates from the mob.Interest rates compounding for 11 years are a bitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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