Firm Sol In Washington

[mrg]

To all residents in Washington. I was told by a judge in Washington that the SOL on a credit card is 6 years. He stated the first time you use a credit card that you have entered into a written contract. He stated that there is case law to prove it. But what really really pissed me off was that Suttell and Asso being there for UNIFUND only provided the court with a questionable affidavit and 2 statements from 2002. That was their case. The attorney just sat there quiet. Everything we put in front of the judge and argued the judge rebuted. It was like the judge was on the other side dismissed all our evidence. He then grant judgement PLUS 2500.00 for interest and atty fees. The 2500.00 was in addition to the balance plus interset already asked for. So now I am trying to pull the splinters outa my a** that the Judge rammed up there. When my atty asked after the hearing of the other atty about validation the atty said they dont have to they got judgement and want full payment and will start collectin in 10 days. They atty admitted they didnt even know who one of the CAs were that were listed on there document the submitted to the court. Should this Judge run for an elected position I will be all over his a**.

[IHateCAs]

He was right and wrong.

He was right that you don't need a signature to prove a written contract and credit cards can be written.

He was wrong for not forcing them to actually provide that contract. Copies of statements and an affidavit != written instrument.

Even worse is it appears your attorney was incompetent by not getting their evidence thrown out as hearsay.

[mdk003]

Wow. That totally sucks.

I have never been that confident about the SOL for credit cards in Washington being 3 years. The RCW really doesn't support that; in fact it really says the opposite in 4.16.040:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.040

The following actions shall be commenced within six years:

(1) An action upon a contract in writing, or liability express or implied arising out of a written agreement.

You have a written contract for the card itself; then each charge is a liability arising from that agreement. Or that's how I see it.

Totally agree with IHateCAs, both on the hatred and the ineffectiveness of your attorney.

[mrg]

My atty said they did not provide debt validation and it was asked for in June of last year. My atty brought that up and the judge was quick to say that the Aff and statements were good enough. Everytime my atty went down a road on validity and sol the judge cut them off. I dont do law so I cant say the competence but the judge didnt let them finish.

[hukuchan]

I had the same thing happen to me. Same situation with a collection agency and their atty. Now the collection agency is sending me letter "debt reduction opportunity". If I had the money I would take it at this stage but I don't have the huge amount they want. Can they do that?

[olywa]

Ummm...this sounds a little sketchy.

In what specific court was your 'hearing'? District Court, Superior Court...what county and what judge?

Was this an actual trial or simply a summary judgment hearing?

What was the date of last PAYMENT on the account and how was that payment PROVEN to the court?

What was the chain of custody of the account from the OC until it got to Suttell?

Did you deal with a collection agency prior to being sued by Suttell? If so, who was it? Who is/was the OC on the account?

If you had statements/dunning letters from the CA before Suttell got the account...were those statements itemized, did you save them?

It is difficult for anyone to interpret what happened and if it happened correctly without ALL of these details.

I guess I said 'sketchy' in the initial sentence...as judges don't determine or really don't 'declare' things such as "credit cards are written contracts...and/or credit cards have a SOL of 6 years." It can happen...but this type of thing is rather rare. Judges are impartial by statute...and the whole synopsis of this situation is simply 'sketchy.'

Also...your attorney sounds even more 'questionable.' Were affidavits disputed such as the DOL affidavit...what motions were filed...what caselaw was cited?

Please provide more info...

OlyWa

[RSB]

Ummm...this sounds a little sketchy

I guess I said 'sketchy' in the initial sentence...as judges don't determine or really don't 'declare' things such as "credit cards are written contracts...and/or credit cards have a SOL of 6 years." It can happen...but this type of thing is rather rare. Judges are impartial by statute...and the whole synopsis of this situation is simply 'sketchy.'

OlyWa

You mention that a judge wouldn't declare credit cards are wrritten contracts and/or credit cards have an SOL of 6 years.

Do some WA courts and judges beleive the SOL is 3 years?

[RSB]

MRG, what county are you in?

and...if you don't have the cash to pay this judgement, how are they going to collect?

[bigjohnstud4200]

Even worse is it appears your attorney was incompetent by not getting their evidence thrown out as hearsay.

That's what I thought... sorry man

[RSB]

mrg, come back and give us more information.

[RSB]

WA credit card SOL is three years according to Bankrate

http://www.bankrate.com/msn/news/cc/20040116b1.asp

[IHateCAs]

Oh, well if you read it on the internet it must be true.

[RSB]

Oh, well if you read it on the internet it must be true.

OF COURSE!!

[Amerikaner83]

lol yeah really. I'm assuming it is 6 years........."written instrument" is sort of vague and open to a vast interpretation....i'm playing it safe here, personally

[mrg]

Sorry for the delay. Went out of toen for a couple days. Ok it was in Superior court. What happened is that I HAD Prepaid Attorney service (PPA). Theysent letters to the collection atty and responded to they for me for 8 months. Then the collection atty filed the suit. They PPA ONLY filed SOL for my defence. When they got a case number the PPA said that I had not retained them and I should retain a firm. They could refer me to a firm. I then went and found a firm to help. When PPA dropped me basically it left 4 weeks before the Summary of Judgment. When the atty that went for me before the judge they were not left to go with. I was told all this after I left my first post. (How the PPA left the defense as only SOL) The debt has never been verified. Basically ina round about way my atty said PPA screwed it up for me. BUT we have a few violations that have accured during the process that i have kept record. The judgement was 15000 (on a 6500 cc write off), my atty went and negotiated with them basically letting them know that we had 9 violations against them and we could sue for that. They agreed to leaving my credit report alone and taking 7000.00. During research and reading forums on this website I learned quite abit about UNIFUND. They question about whether I can pay? UNIFUND does a research BEFORE they sell a collection account that the person owes at least 1000 and owns a home of atleast 2 years. So basically there is equity in the home to sue for. They hit TU first and no home loan then EX and bam a home loan. The mort I use only uses EX and EQ. Hope this has anwered most questions any others I will try to answer.

[RSB]

I had an appointment for legal advice, last week.

The attorney said sometimes the 3 year SOL is argued in court, and that closes the case.

He told me, the prior state's SOL would be taken into consideration, even though I live here, now. Since I opened the accounts in another state, where the SOL is up, I could use that for defense.

He also told me, if the JDB does not have complete records, of the sale, of the charged off debt, then there is no case. Also, the JDB must have other original account information to have a case.

He asked the names of the JDB companies I was being billed by. He never has heard of them. So, they must either be unsucessful in this county court, or they don't sue.

One more thing he told me was, the JDBs hire local lawyers, with a not so good law representation reputation, because these lawyers are cheap to hire. So, maybe that means they do a poor job for the JDB, and the debtor wins?

[olywa]

Ok....quite a bit going on here.

First and foremost...I hope you learned the fact that prepaid legal services are simply a scam...please don't continue to waste your money. They provide you nothing that a couple hours searching the internet won't provide...and you clearly wouldn't have been in this situation now had you made the error of using them.

Ok...again...WHAT COUNTY WAS THIS IN and WHAT JUDGE?

This still sounds pretty 'sketchy.' Why? OK. In a summary judgment hearing, the judge must interpret the evidence in the light MOST FAVORABLE to YOU...and then must be so convinced that you have no possible 'outs' that he rules in favor of the other party. ANY type of question about the case...SOL discrepancy for example, will mandate that the motion for summary judgment must be denied and the matter be taken to trial. I'm assuming (at least I hope so) that someone (one of your blatantly incompetent attorneys) filed a brief in opposition to the motion pleading at least a SOL issue and/or some of the others I mentioned...so at least the court would have considered them.

The fact that you actually lost a summary judgment motion with an attorney arguing for you is quite unbelievable...especially when you had questions of fact regarding the case. This would lead me.....(after doing a double buttload of research, so you sound somewhat educated rather than just: another uneducated, pissed-off, victim debtor) ...to consider approaching one or both of your attorneys for compensation and/or restitution regarding their blatantly incompetent representation.

Well...at this point you are basically screwed as they did get their judgment. Not totally...as you could appeal (not worth your time) or sue (also not worth your time).

You're probably best to take the 7k they're offering and work out some type of payment plan before they come after your house. And PLEASE...whatever you do...spend about 200 hours on the board and learn what happened to you. Also...go to www.creditboards.com...sorry to direct away from this site...but there is much more info there.

It is unfortunately 2 things that made you a victim here, the 2 things that make all debtors victims...just like you.

First. You weren't educated on how the 'process' works. Education comes from spending HOURS on the boards...hundreds of hours. creditboards that is...its simply a much more informative site.

Second. You went and hired an attorney and didn't really know what you wanted from him. Attorneys know NOTHING about debt collection...this is a major misconception among the public. You have to direct them with the knowledge you get from the message boards.

Sorry to hear about your unfortunately oh-too-typical situation. Please learn from it. And don't misdirect your frustration at an impartial judge...the judge simply did his job in this case ok? YOU have to understand that he was given no 'out' to rule in your favor. What were your 'outs' in this case? Spend about 200-300 hours on creditboards and find out.

Good luck and view this as simply a starting point on your journey to success...it can be if you let it.

[mrg]

Thanks olywa. I am actually in position to pay and go away. The atty I had tried different avenues but said prepaid screwed me. (But not that way) We will be looking at what can be done against them because they did act as an attorney by sending letters and responses. My current atty also said they would have gotten me off with $0 had they been there from the get go. Since having this happen a couple months ago I have been on here and other boards for anywhere from and hour to 5-6 hours a night. I have learned alot and taught a bit to the intern at the atty office on this issue. Even pointed her in this boards direction. She has 15 CA on her report and wants to start work on them. I do appreciate everyones help on this board.

County King

Judge Heavly (I believe that is how it is spelled docs at my office)

The JA's at prepaid only stated SOL but nothing else so that is all the judge would listen to. We are still waiting for verifaction of debt for the last year and my current atty said we are not paying until they prove it. my atty told the other prove it or we will appeal do to them not providing docs requested. Also after looking at dates the other atty tried to back date and we leveraging that. It is not over yet... to be continued...

[olywa]

keep us updated!!!

This is an unfortunately way too common story on these and other boards. A debtor being taken advantage of by intimidating creditors.

I hate to see people in your situation...but at least you are on the right track to learning how these things work.

Sounds like this was a very educational experience (unfortunately) for you...and hopefully some legal education will come as a result of it.

Please continue to keep us updated on the status of how things work out for you...as we all learn from each other on here...

Good luck

[mrg]

OK the verdict is in. Settleing the case because I cant let a judge not rule my favor and after talking with my atty she did not have a good feeling about him. So I am settling the case also because of what I do and cant risk having a judgement on my record and effective my business. What I do know is PrePaid Legal is not what they say. The way they handle things cost me this case. Had I found this site of others and handle my own case over a year ago I would have not been at this point. I was handled so sloppy by both sides that once I got a atty that worked with me it was to late and PrePaid buried me. With that said the SOL in Washington is looked at from what I have been told for credit cards is 6 years. It is based on you using a credit card the first time. The card company then sends you the agreement and if it is not cancelled within 30 days then it is considered a written agreement. This comes from a judge from the superior court in Washington. Now the way that the other company handle it is another story. There were several violations but because it was not brought up in my response that PrePaid did I could not use it against them.

Hope this helps someone out in the future. Dispute and hold any CA to the time frame and proceed the next day after they dont comply.

I know this works. I had 2 other collections on my reports and sent them the "love" letters and they were off within a few days after they received them.

When I started May 12, 2007 my Ficos were TU 643 EX 615 EQ 619

Today July 12, 2007 they are TU 696 EX 668 EQ 664

Inquires TU 2 EX 7 EQ 1