Nervous Newbie Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 First of all, I want to thank all the contributors on here - I've learned so much over the past couple of days.My situation is as follows: received a summons from Cap1 on Saturday with a return date 4/3. The suit is in the amount of ~$1500. I decided to reach out to them to settle (I figured I could pay close to that amount, and to me, I would much rather get everything over with right now). They offered ~$1270, which I am really leaning towards taking. The catch is, they can't fax me a copy of the settlement form, only mail. Also, their offer of $1270 is only good til the end of the month. Thus, by the time I get the letter, the offer will no longer be valid. The representative told me that I could come to their offices (FREEDMAN ANSELMO LINDBERG is the group representing Cap1) this week to look over the settlement form and pay the settlement, which doesn't leave me much time to go over it.My questions are:1) Is this a safe thing to do? Am I better off making my appearance and waiting for a new offer in the mail? (I am leaning towards just showing up and reading over the settlement form for as long as I need to ~ I don't want to amount to go up any more)2) If I do show up to pay in person, are their specific things I should look for in the doc? Should I come with something for them to sign? I am going to get scr*wed somehow?Thanks again everyone for all your great posts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PC1978 Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 You are probably okay going to their office and settling if you are wanting to deal with the situation quickly. Be aware that if you have any other Capital One accounts they will more than likely be placed with this or another law firm for collection once you settle. I got into a situation where I could not pay my credit cards, since then my situation has improved and my approach has been to try to settle with OC's as I can, fight JDB's to the end and sue JDB's and CA's wherever I get the chance.My wife and I had 4 capital one accounts. I was sued for one and settled with them. The other 3 were placed with the same law firm. I have since settled the other 3. On two of them I made payments for several months until I had enough to settle (this may not be advisable but I wanted to stop them from filing a lawsuit until I could settle).I did not have any issues with settling any of the cards. They sent a letter on the attorney letterhead that listed the account information, the amount the settlement offer was for and that when the payment was received the account would be considered in full.You may be able to fight for things like a deletion of the CR listings (may be hard to get) and a lower settlement amount but they will probably play hardball since the lawsuit is already filed. I was able to settle the 4 capital one accounts for around 70%, I have been able to get better offers on accounts with CA's and not attorneys but this firm would not budge. Probably could have gotten nasty with them an got a better offer but on these 4 I just wanted to get them settled and out of the attorney's office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous Newbie Posted March 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Just wanted to add...1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit?Capitol One2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.)Freedman, Anselmo, Lindberg LLC3. How much are you being sued for?between ~1200 - 16004. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff)same5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?)Served on Saturday 4/24 (summons was dated 2/23)6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door)In person 7. Was the service legal as required by your state?Looks like it; just made 30 days8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued?I received a letter from them in February while I was out of town9. What state and county do you live in?Cook County IL10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations)02/0911. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out:10 years I think12. What is the status of your case? Suit served? Motions filed? You can find this by a) calling the court or looking it up online (many states have this information posted - when you find the online court site, search by case number or your name).Complaint filed, 2/23; received summons on 3/24; appearance date 4/313. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?)No, I neglected this for too long14. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request, don't bother doing this now - it's too late.No15. How long do you have to respond to the suit? (This should be in your paperwork). If you don't respond to the lawsuit notice you will lose automatically. In 99% of the cases, they will require you to answer the summons, and each point they are claiming. We need to know what the "charges" are. Please post what they are claiming. Did you receive an interrogatory (questionnaire) regarding the lawsuit?I have to make an appearance by 4/3; according to the summons, since it's less than $10,000, I do not need to file an answer unless ordered to do so by the court16. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits.Attached a statement from Cap1 dated August 8, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous Newbie Posted March 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 You are probably okay going to their office and settling if you are wanting to deal with the situation quickly. Be aware that if you have any other Capital One accounts they will more than likely be placed with this or another law firm for collection once you settle. I got into a situation where I could not pay my credit cards, since then my situation has improved and my approach has been to try to settle with OC's as I can, fight JDB's to the end and sue JDB's and CA's wherever I get the chance.My wife and I had 4 capital one accounts. I was sued for one and settled with them. The other 3 were placed with the same law firm. I have since settled the other 3. On two of them I made payments for several months until I had enough to settle (this may not be advisable but I wanted to stop them from filing a lawsuit until I could settle).I did not have any issues with settling any of the cards. They sent a letter on the attorney letterhead that listed the account information, the amount the settlement offer was for and that when the payment was received the account would be considered in full.You may be able to fight for things like a deletion of the CR listings (may be hard to get) and a lower settlement amount but they will probably play hardball since the lawsuit is already filed. I was able to settle the 4 capital one accounts for around 70%, I have been able to get better offers on accounts with CA's and not attorneys but this firm would not budge. Probably could have gotten nasty with them an got a better offer but on these 4 I just wanted to get them settled and out of the attorney's office.PC1978:Thanks for your advice! I'm glad you're situation has improved; I just recently started trying to get a handle of all of my debt - unfortunately, this one caught me off guard I don't have any other accounts with Cap1, luckily.Also, thanks for letting me know what was in your settlement form. Was there anything about a dismissal of the lawsuit in the settlement letter? Did you settle pre-trial? Did they dismiss before the court date or did you have to show up? Thanks again for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PC1978 Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Also, thanks for letting me know what was in your settlement form. Was there anything about a dismissal of the lawsuit in the settlement letter? Did you settle pre-trial? Did they dismiss before the court date or did you have to show up? I sent you a PM with the settlement agreement. I had it settled before the answer was due and I filed an answer denying the claims since it had been settled and filed proof of the settlement. They didn't try anything funny but I filed the answer just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous Newbie Posted March 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 PC1978:Thanks for your help - definitely helped calm my nerves. I don't have to file an answer since it's small claims, but I'm going to submit my appearance, just to cover my behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous Newbie Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Paid my settlement today. The settlement letter was not as all-encompassing as I had hoped. Basically, it said that they have the authority "to accept as settlement for the captioned matter the sum of $XXX to be delivered...". Nothing about dismissing the lawsuit. When I pressed the rep, he went back into the office with a copy of the court order that they would file, which I'm pretty sure is worthless. Does anyone know if the letter stating "to accept as settlement...{the amount I paid}" can be used to defend myself if they don't dismiss the lawsuit? I'm planning on filing my appearance on Tuesday to cover myself, but want to know if I should plan on them pulling any shenanigans...EDIT: I did some research and haven't found any instances (at least on the internet) of the firm being shady or what not. Still, better safe than sorry, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coltfan1972 Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 The settlement letter was not as all-encompassing as I had hoped.Then this should have never happened. "Paid my settlement today." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coltfan1972 Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Does anyone know if the letter stating "to accept as settlement...{the amount I paid}" can be used to defend myself if they don't dismiss the lawsuit?You would have the affirmative defense of accord and satisfaction. It would be your defense to prove, and you would do that with the letter you received. You will probably be fine, but you must get something this imporatant in writing before you turn over money. This is no time to be intimidated. If this was LVNV, Midland, or some other junk debt buyer, you would find yourself being sued by another party in a few short months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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