Sued

[Erica South Carolina 0]

Recently, I have been on a crusade to fix mine and my sisters credit. We both took out student loans in 2007 through the same company. We defaulted on the loan and it went into collections. I have been studying SC laws and the fair consumer act practices  religiously. I found that there is a statute of limitations in SC of two years. I was relieved. I drew up a dispute letter stating the statute of limitations and sent it to all three credit agencies. Three weeks later, I check mine and my sisters credit report and the loans were completely removed, my letters worked! Unfortunately, the debt collector reached my sister three days ago, convinced her that if she didn't pay up her and my dad (cosigner) would be sued. She panicked and paid $1000.00 to them. She did not sign any contracts. I looked her up to see if there was a judgment against her and there is, but I am confused at how this works and what we need to do moving forward. I have attached the court documents. Someone, anyone please help, i can handle this with just some advice on where to start.

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@Erica South Carolina

Which SC statute allows for a 2-year SOL on the student loans?   I assume these were private loans?

[Erica South Carolina 0]

Yes, they were private

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6 minutes ago, Erica South Carolina said:

Yes, they were private

Which SC statute allows for a 2-year SOL?

[Erica South Carolina 0]

Im sorry, just looked over it, and it is 3 years.

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1 minute ago, Erica South Carolina said:

Im sorry, just looked over it, and it is 3 years.

Okey dokey.  I thought breach of contract has a 3-year SOL.

 

18 hours ago, Erica South Carolina said:

Unfortunately, the debt collector reached my sister three days ago, convinced her that if she didn't pay up her and my dad (cosigner) would be sued. She panicked and paid $1000.00 to them. She did not sign any contracts. I looked her up to see if there was a judgment against her and there is, but I am confused at how this works and what we need to do moving forward. I have attached the court documents. Someone, anyone please help, i can handle this with just some advice on where to start.

You say there's a judgment against your sister.  Who is named as the plaintiff?

Your sister should go to the courthouse, look in the file, and look at the certificate of service to see how they claim she was served.

Also, if your sister's already has a judgment against her, they can't sue her again for that same debt.   Is she sure the debt collector was referring to the same account?

 

[Erica South Carolina 0]

They mailed her a settlement letter offer. I looked up the court documents it looks like they did this in november. She is listed as the plaintiff. 

[Erica South Carolina 0]

It is the same account, as was in November. We never even knew anything about it until they just mailed a settlement offer last week. 

[Erica South Carolina 0]

I am sorry, she is listed as the defendant, not the plaintiff. 

[Erica South Carolina 0]

I attactched a screen shot of what the SC judicial website says. 

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@Erica South Carolina

So far, there is no judgment.   I'm surprised they haven't filed for a default judgment since your sister or father didn't answer the complaint.  Does your dad remember being served?

She should also contact a consumer attorney.  I don't know if National Collegiate is a debt buyer or servicer of the loan. 

[Erica South Carolina 0]

National collegiate trust is the servicer of the loan. The loan has been bought by Scott and associates,PC. My dad nor sister have never been served, so we never knew anything about a lawsuit until now. 

[Erica South Carolina 0]

Also, the amount of the loan settlement Scott and a$$. Sent her is $8000.00 more than the original amount. 

[Erica South Carolina 0]

I called National Collegiate Trust and they said Transworld systems has the loan, than Transworld systems told me the loan has been sold again to Scott and associates. 

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@Erica South Carolina

Usually a law firm does not buy debts.   But I suppose it could happen.

Did your sister originally take out the loan with Nat'l Collegiate?

[Erica South Carolina 0]

Yes

[Erica South Carolina 0]

They say when I called them that they are a debt collector not a law firm.

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42 minutes ago, Erica South Carolina said:

They say when I called them that they are a debt collector not a law firm.

It's a law firm that represents debt collectors and sends out debt collection letters, so the FDCPA requires them to disclose that they are a debt collector.   It doesn't mean they buy debts.

If your sister took out the loan with Nat'l Collegiate, she's being sued by the original creditor. 

She and your dad need to find out how the plaintiff claims you were served.  It would be in the file at the courthouse.

If service did legally occur, since no answer has been filed, the plaintiff can get a default judgment against your dad and sister.   If service was not legal, they  have a defense if the plaintiff motions for a default judgment.

I have no idea why the plaintiff hasn't made that motion already.   Your dad really needs to contact a consumer attorney and get some answers.

[Erica South Carolina 0]

The credit agencies removed the collection off of her credit reports after I sent them a letter stating the statute of limitations law in SC. Does this count for anything?

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38 minutes ago, Erica South Carolina said:

The credit agencies removed the collection off of her credit reports after I sent them a letter stating the statute of limitations law in SC. Does this count for anything?

Unfortunately, not really.   The SOL for collection in SC (3 years) has nothing to do with the SOL for credit reporting (7 years). 

Just because a debt is outside the SOL for collection doesn't mean it can't still be reported,

When you dispute an entry (in your case, a collection account) on your credit report with the CRAs (credit reporting agencies), they contact the business that is furnishing that entry.   If the business doesn't contact the CRAs and verify that entry, the CRAs will remove it. 

It's possible the business just didn't verify the entry and that's why it was removed.