Haystack Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 In 2011 I received a summons for an outstanding debt of about $3,000. I phoned the collection agency and got them to agree to a short-term installment agreement for $25/month. After the term of the installment agreement (something like 6 months) I continued making $25 monthly payments. Today, received an income execution from the Office of the Sheriff. Given that I had reached an installment agreement on the original summons, I'm surprised to learn that there is a judgement against me. I expected, at worst, another summons, and another chance to negotiate. I don't have a document from the collections agency proving the installment agreement, but I can show that I've made monthly payments to them since 2011. 1.) Would this give me any legal footing by which to vacate the judgement? 2.) At this point, is the agency likely to negotiate at all? I'd like to just get the collections agency back to the bargaining table, and perhaps settle the debt for a lump sum. 3.) Will pushing back require me to show up in court and argue my case before a judge? I don't feel very comfortable doing this, as I do owe the money. I only feel justified insofar as I had already been keeping an installment agreement with the collections agency. I'd be grateful for any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 I'm sorry to tell you this, but you've been had. First, if your agreement wasn't in writing, they can argue that it didn't happen...particularly since there is a good chance they went ahead with the judgement back in 2011, which probably puts it beyond the time period for having it vacated. But...who was the original creditor? When did you actually stop paying them? Were you ever told that the OC sold the debt to somebody? If the OC still owns it and the CA was collecting for them, you might have some leverage there. Regardless, I think you're going have to go to court to fight this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellieh98 Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 since they issued you a summons already, and you agreed to pay, you probably signed a stipulation that said they will dismiss the action in court, and you agree you owe, and will pay xx per month for 6 months then renegociate. What they probably didn't tell you was in signing that, you agreed for a judgement against you. So they dismissed the complaint, and filed the judgement that you signed.You could try asking them if they will take a lump sum payment of 30% of the agreement, they will probably counter with 80%, and you counter with 40 or 50%, can't hurt. At any rate, it looks as though they have you over a barrel. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon Amos Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 2.) At this point, is the agency likely to negotiate at all? I'd like to just get the collections agency back to the bargaining table, and perhaps settle the debt for a lump sum. **** How can you even "negotiate" with them after what happened with the last one? But if you do; get it in writing. I would be a bit upset about all the $25 payments that was lost, and not in a hurry to throw a lump sum on top of it. Although I am not sure what you can do.*** 3.) Will pushing back require me to show up in court and argue my case before a judge? I don't feel very comfortable doing this, as I do owe the money. *****If it were mine I would hope that would be the case. You don't have to feel very comfortable about doing it, you can step out of your comfort zone and get thru it. I wouldn't feel too comfortable about being burned for all those $25 payments.***** I only feel justified insofar as I had already been keeping an installment agreement with the collections agency. *****That's true, you held up to your part of the verbal agreement; and you have admissible evidence to prove it (the proof of payments). They Breached the Contract, and as a professional business must have broken some law in doing so. They are operating with unclean hands; I would question weather or not you owe them anything after what they have done (which is typical of a jdb) We are constantly hearing about settlements gone bad.***** I'd be grateful for any advice. ****Get your money out of the bank, or at least open an account somewhere else as well and keep small amounts in them. If it were mine I would fight them and not let them get away with this. Maybe you can find lawyer on the state bar website that will help, sometimes they have free legal aid.I would want to get this in a court. If they sued you (which they probably won't have to if they already have an order) you would have valid cross complaints. You could have a lawsuit (or cross complaint against them ) for "Unjust enrichment" and "breach of contract".*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haystack Posted October 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 I'm sorry to tell you this, but you've been had. First, if your agreement wasn't in writing, they can argue that it didn't happen...particularly since there is a good chance they went ahead with the judgement back in 2011, which probably puts it beyond the time period for having it vacated. But...who was the original creditor? When did you actually stop paying them? Were you ever told that the OC sold the debt to somebody? If the OC still owns it and the CA was collecting for them, you might have some leverage there. Regardless, I think you're going have to go to court to fight this... I'll check on that. The document lists the plaintiff as Pinnacle Credit Scvs LLc, A/A/O NYSEG. I'm not sure what A/A/O is--might that mean that they're still acting as an client of NYSEG, and that I could settle directly with them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haystack Posted October 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 2.) At this point, is the agency likely to negotiate at all? I'd like to just get the collections agency back to the bargaining table, and perhaps settle the debt for a lump sum. **** How can you even "negotiate" with them after what happened with the last one? But if you do; get it in writing. I would be a bit upset about all the $25 payments that was lost, and not in a hurry to throw a lump sum on top of it. Although I am not sure what you can do.*** 3.) Will pushing back require me to show up in court and argue my case before a judge? I don't feel very comfortable doing this, as I do owe the money. *****If it were mine I would hope that would be the case. You don't have to feel very comfortable about doing it, you can step out of your comfort zone and get thru it. I wouldn't feel too comfortable about being burned for all those $25 payments.***** I only feel justified insofar as I had already been keeping an installment agreement with the collections agency. *****That's true, you held up to your part of the verbal agreement; and you have admissible evidence to prove it (the proof of payments). They Breached the Contract, and as a professional business must have broken some law in doing so. They are operating with unclean hands; I would question weather or not you owe them anything after what they have done (which is typical of a jdb) We are constantly hearing about settlements gone bad.***** I'd be grateful for any advice. ****Get your money out of the bank, or at least open an account somewhere else as well and keep small amounts in them. If it were mine I would fight them and not let them get away with this. Maybe you can find lawyer on the state bar website that will help, sometimes they have free legal aid.I would want to get this in a court. If they sued you (which they probably won't have to if they already have an order) you would have valid cross complaints. You could have a lawsuit (or cross complaint against them ) for "Unjust enrichment" and "breach of contract".***Are you suggesting that, if I can get a judge to believe that they have breached a contract, the whole debt may be cancelled? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BV80 Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 I'll check on that. The document lists the plaintiff as Pinnacle Credit Scvs LLc, A/A/O NYSEG. I'm not sure what A/A/O is--might that mean that they're still acting as an client of NYSEG, and that I could settle directly with them? I believe that A/A/O means "as assignee of". That could mean they sued for NYSEG. But it could also mean they purchased the debt from NYSEG. I would want to know what's in my file with court. Find out how they claim you were served. I doubt that there will be any mention of a payment agreement in the file, but check anyway. Has the amount which you've paid been subtracted from the amount they claim you owe? I have doubts that you can get the debt cancelled. While you have proof you made payments, without an agreement in writing, those payments don't prove you had an agreement with the CA/JDB. It only means you made payments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haystack Posted October 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 I believe that A/A/O means "as assignee of". That could mean they sued for NYSEG. But it could also mean they purchased the debt from NYSEG. I would want to know what's in my file with court. Find out how they claim you were served. I doubt that there will be any mention of a payment agreement in the file, but check anyway. Has the amount which you've paid been subtracted from the amount they claim you owe? I have doubts that you can get the debt cancelled. While you have proof you made payments, without an agreement in writing, those payments don't prove you had an agreement with the CA/JDB. It only means you made payments.They have subtracted the amount I've paid from the amount owed (basically, I've been paying the interest.) At this point I'm inclined to just pay what they're demanding, which I can afford (at the expense of dental work and health insurance). What worries me is that they won't stop there. Will they try to freeze my checking accounts as well? Where does it end? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon Amos Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Are you suggesting that, if I can get a judge to believe that they have breached a contract, the whole debt may be cancelled? I was just thinking that if you can get this to wind up in a case somehow that you may be able to get the debt to go away. If they were to file a suit against you, and you filed a counter suit or vise versa; you would have some leverage. If both sides could agree to dismiss their cases, or you go to trial and beat them, you would not have to pay them. I did not think they were subtracting the amount you paid them from the amount you owed when I said this, but the idea is still the same.It may be a bit of a stretch or a long shot, but in your situation, unless you are going to pay them what they demand; that's what you will have to work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haystack Posted October 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Related question: If I make the payments they're asking for in the income execution, do I need to worry about my bank account being frozen? I don't have a lot in there, and I'd like to believe that there's some check against them just cleaning you out completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racecar Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 There is no check against them just cleaning you out it happens all the time. If they have a judgment against you and you keep putting money in the bank they will keep taking it till the judgment is satisfied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haystack Posted October 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 It's weird that there are laws that limit how much they can garnish your wages, but then they can just freeze your entire back account and leave you unable to pay your rent. You're telling me that, even if I'm making the payments they're demanding, they can do this at any time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 21, 2013 Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 If they already have a judgement, they can take it to the bank and wipe you out..anytime...and yes, its legal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoCares1000 Posted October 21, 2013 Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 Yeap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haystack Posted October 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 According to this, they can't freeze your account if it contains less than $1,740: http://www.nedap.org/hotline/exempt.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 21, 2013 Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 Perhaps. Laws do vary by state. However, what often happens is...the judgement holder goes to the bank...the banl freezes your account...and then they look into whats legal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin Posted October 23, 2013 Report Share Posted October 23, 2013 Yeah, I think it's too late to do anything other than let them take the money. Not that you could prevent it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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