lavs412 Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 Hi everyone haven't posted in a while but now I've just received a notice from the district court to appear.......................here's the scoop...any input would be greatly appreciated!defaulted on a HSBC credit card DOFD 2/05 $598.00Posted on Equifax and ExperianSEnt to Pallisades Collection Agency DOLA 3/05 $786.00posting on Equifax and ExperianSent a Debt validation letter to pallisades on 9/18/07 they signed for 10/12/07.....never heard from them,so i let the sleeping dog sleep...........today i receive in the mail a notice to appear in court from I beleive a law firm indicating that i now owe $1,23.00 + $40.00 court costs...................I have never heard or received anything from this firm.............it is also noted that they brought this case to small claims on 2/29/08 balance due for outstanding HSBC credit CArd debt......last 4 of my social and the original account number...........................I know i have to appear but is there anything I can do in the meantime?I know the debt is mine and I am willing to pay it...........but can i at least get some of extra charges dropped back down.......I;m not sure how to approach this.......ANy help is greatly appreciated....ThanksLavs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debt Guy Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 A settlement would have been much easier to negotiate before the suit was filed. All you can do now is contact the attorney and negotiate what you can. If you appear in court, what defense will you assert? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavs412 Posted July 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 I really have no defense.....other than I was willing to settle this with the Debt validation letter which they never responded to but it was out of the 30 day window so they didn't have too.but they totally ignored me....they didn't even send out an additional letter telling me that they were tacking on more funds.......and shouldn't this Kream and Kream Firm contacted me first instead of just filing.............If they had contacted me the balance at that time would have been 528.00 not 1063.00...........hmmmmmmm.......I try contacting the attorney......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna47129 Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 The amount you owe isn't worth much for the atty to go to court over.If you can settle it would be better than a judgment. It won't hurt to try.I did this once after a suit was filed and they settled. The suit was for around $1600 and they settled for $1000 in 10 monthly payments. Contact them right away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will35010 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Contact the attorney. They'll settle for that small of an amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavs412 Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Thanks Everyone!!Touching base with him Tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Nashville/Savannah Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 If this "attorney" is really the same CA as you dealt with before, then I would think you have a possible FDCPA violation (continued collection activity after they received your timely DV with no attempt to validate).That wouldn't get you out of the debt of course but it would make it easier to "netotiate" - I would at least check into that before trying to netotiate anything...of course, don't threaten any legal action you don't actually intend to take as doing so could easily backfire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyingifr Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 A settlement would have been much easier to negotiate before the suit was filed. All you can do now is contact the attorney and negotiate what you can. If you appear in court, what defense will you assert?How about a FDCPA counterclaim for continued collection action with a VOD outstanding? That should offset $1000 of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debt Guy Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 How about a FDCPA counterclaim for continued collection action with a VOD outstanding? That should offset $1000 of it.The OP said the dispute was not timely.Besides the FTC Commentary on FDCPA says that filing litigation is not "continued collection activity" as you suggest. An attorney debt collector may take legal action within 30 days of sending the required validation notice, regardless of whether the consumer disputes the debt; if the consumer disputes the debt, the attorney may still take legal action but must cease other collection efforts (e.g., letters or calls to the consumer) until verification is obtained and mailed to the consumerMost judges would go along with that.If there is a violation, the OP has not expressed it very clearly or the violation has not yet ripened.Now, I know you are a bright guy and have a twisted litigious mindset. What do you see that I'm not seeing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Nashville/Savannah Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 ....At first I was under the impression that the initial DV was timely but after looking at the OP's subsequent pots it does look as if it wasn't.As to the FTC opinions about filing suit not being continued collection activity I would still take the position that pursuing a lawsuit after a timely DV andw without even an attempt at validation is continued collection activity; it may be a loosing position but I'd be willing to let a judge decide that.At the very least, it could serve to make the consumer look like the more "reasonable" party here and concurrently make the creditor look like they wanted to rush to court (and waste the court's time) rather than take a more reasonable route; some judges would not be too pleased with the creditor in that case which could work to the consumer's favor.I admit, I wouldn't rush into court with just that issue but since the OP is already there, I think it's a legitimate position to take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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