Mann Bracken Sent me an Intent To Sue letter. I need Help

Definately send them a deat validation letter. Never pay a debt until they can prove they own it. Chances are they could have pruchased this debt with out the proper validation to collect it. Once you ask for validation they must send it to you with in 30 days. Just be sure it is proper validation, like the original contract. They only way the can stop the SOL time clock is to file suit against you. Just because they do though does not mean they can collect UNLESS they can varify they are legally entitled to collect on this debt.

Hi Theresa
Fireyone is right. You should send them a DV letter first to see whether they actually owe the debt or not. Now, you can wait for them to send you the validation. Doing this will definitely consume some of their time. Now even if they validate it, wait for them to send you an intent to sue letter. If you don't respond to the letter, they will send you an summon and you will get another 30 days to file a response to the summon. You should file a response to the summon just a few days before the expiry of the 30 day period, say on the 20th day. After that you will get a court date and I think by that time your SOL for the debt will be over.

Yes, I think that you can follow the steps of Carol. You can at least try it. But in case you cannot escape the SOL trap, and you get a judgment, you can always pay off the full amount within 10 days of the judgment with the clerks office in the court. Doing this will avoid garnishment of your wages if you produce the receipt you receive from the court to your employer. However, if you get a money judgment, you can always repay it back after getting a judgment. But the main thing is that a judgment will stay in your report for seven years and lower your score.

Theresa,

If they just sent you a letter that is an intent to sue it will not stop the statute of limitations. It will continue to tick away in your favor. It is when they file an actual lawsuit that it will put the statute of limitations on hold, so if you can keep them dangling for another month or so, don't pay anything because it will start the statute of limitations all over again.

Sometimes the intent to sue letter is just a scare tactic, I would google them and see how likely they are to go through with it.

Send the debt validation letter, this will give you a thirty day window any way, they can not pursue any collection effort until they answer to this, (some one correct me if I am wrong here) and it is my understanding also that it is thirty business days so that would eliminate the weekends.

Don't freak out, what ever will happen will happen, keep your cool and don't let them scare you into anything. Send the DV letter asap.

Make sure you send the letter certified mail, return receipt requested, that way if they chose to ignore it and they take you to court you will have the proof that you requested the information, which is your right. If they chose not to respond then it will not look to good on them.

Make sure you keep copies of everything. GOODLUCK and keep us updated on this situation.

Hi Theresa
You can find a sample debt validation letter by visiting the link http://www.creditmagic.org/repair/sampleletter-debtvalidation.html. If the collection agency has proper proof of purchase of your debt from the original creditor including the copies of your signed papers with the OC, they will validate your letter as soon as they receive your request for DV, may be within 5 to 7 days. However, no CA can do anything, even if they sue you, to collect your debt unless and until they can properly validate the debt.

Hi Theresa
Intend to sue letter is not a court letter, it is only an intimation to you that they are going to take you to the court if you do not pay back the outstanding debt to them. You can send them a DV letter by certified mail once you get an intend to sue letter. However, if they have already validated your debt, you should come to a repayment agreement with them once they have send you the intend to sue letter, because if they sue you to the court, there may be a judgment against you to recover the debt. Now since you stay in Texas, there cannot be wage garnishment as per law, but there can definitely be a money judgment against you.

I sent my validation MB early this week and I recieved the green card today. I hope that they really dont have any paper work to validate it. It is not that I just dont want to pay. The suffering and all the money I have paid to my very high interest mortgage is more that enough to pay off all the debts they claim I owe . Thank You guys for all the help. I will keep you posted to whatever response i will get from them and pls. dont get tired of helping me and the rest of the people here. GOD bless!

We are hoping the best for you to Theresa. I would like to see you come back here once you recive validation if you would. Some of these places do not send what is considered "legal validation documents". Some try to pass off an old copy of a bill...this is not validation. They shopuld have the original contract. Once you get a response fro m them just take a few minutes and come back here so we can help you in advising if they properly validated.

You are welcome, hope it all works out for you. Please keep us updated.

Hey Gn think your kind of good at this dent validation stuff. What is the proper debt validation? lots send old bill and I know this is they coprrect form of dv. What exactly do these places need to have?

Hi Sandygirl
If they have not validated the debt, they cannot bring judgment against you to garnish your accounts. If you have sent the mail through certified post, you can produce the return receipt to the court. However, if you have not send the DV letter by certified mail, you can request for debt validation in the court itself. In debt validation they have to provide you with the copy of the proof that the OC has sold off the debt to them along with all the outstanding bills. If they cannot validate the debt properly, the court will not pass judgment against you. However, you should be present there on the court date to avoid default judgment.

Lots of people have been making that mistake and not showing up. It is a bad thing cause Justin is correct you will have an automatic judgement against you. I would imagine your debt is still collectable through suing in your state. What Mann should have used to show you proof was the original cobtract that you had made wiht Dell. I hope you did send everything by certified mail . The reciept will be needed in court to show you had asked for debt validation.

Make sure that you show up for the hearing, don't let them win by default. Take your proof and if they don't show up you should win the case, but if you don't show up and they don't show up then they get a judgement by default, you don't want that.

Gn if they didn't validate,even if they have the proof too, before the hearing when the poster had asked for them to would they credit collector still lose the case? I am thinking it would have to go in favor of the debtor if they could prove they asked for validation and did not recieve it. With all the laws in place you can never be to sure of anything. Just thought I would throw that question out there just in case the poster has ask for DV and can prove it.

Hi fireyone
Even if the creditor validates the debt in the court, the validation will not be accepted if they could not do it within 30 days from the date of receipt of your debt validation letter. As per the fair debt collection practices Act, the creditor loses its right over the debt if they cannot provide proper validation within 30 days. A proper validation should include copies of documents of your signed with the original creditor, the proof that the OC has sold off the debt to the CA and finally the copies of all bills outstanding.

This is a really good rule then to have in place. Alot of these types of places just like to push the person and their request to the side. I like it that they have to validate and to the actual debtor. What if though the debtor did not know to ask for validation? Will the courts prtect them by asking the creditor or do they also have to do this before hand? I relize there are a lot of people out there that do not know there rights until last minute. Shouldn't something be done for those people too?

They are wanting to get the default Judgement, and they WILL SUE. I would suggest getting an atty to send a demand letter on THEIR letterhead. Yor request WILL BE IGNORED. Trust me... I know PRECISELY how these guys operate... I do alot of stuff with atty's to defend against these goons!

Diana, Is the thousands of dollars because of outrageous fees they added on or is most of this what you actually owe? If the debt is still really "young" I would advice doing what ever you can to get it soved. Depending on your state they could garnish your wages to get their maney back if they get a judgement. Did you request debt validation? Whether you are an atty or not they have to provide you with debt validation..it is your right. I would request the debt be validated and then go from there. If they do not validate in thirty days you can report them to the atty generals office. In the menatime I would look for different atty's or debt settlement companies to see what their charges are to handle this.

Hi Diana
I think that your amount is large because you have taken payday loans which you have failed to repay on time. The interest rate on payday loans is huge sometimes 400% or even more, which add to the outstanding debt. Now since the debt is only one year old, the SOL has not expired yet and so the creditor can sue you to the court anytime and bring judgment against you to recover the debt. If the creditor brings judgment against you, it may reduce your credit score by 100 points.

Hi Diana
There are two options available to you. Firstly, you contact the creditor and come to a repayment agreement with them and repay it off and secondly, if you do not have the capacity to repay off the debt even through a repayment agreement, wait till the creditor sue you to the court to recover the debt. If you receive a summon from the court, file a reply to the summon and wait for a court date. If the creditor or the collection agency actually own your debt, then he can bring judgment against you either to garnish your bank account or to garnish your wages till the time the debt is repaid in full.

I can not believe how high the interest rate can be for payday loans. This was a real eye opener. I myself would do exactly as Mary said and wait it out. If this makes you too nervous you can always try to negotiate the debt down to repay it. Let us know the route you are thinking of taking so that we may assist you further.

Payday loans has an average interest rate of 450 to 500% and so you should always pay off a payday loan without delay. You can go for debt consolidation loan, but for that you need to have a good credit score. However, as far as I know, if you go for a secured debt consolidation loan, you can get one even with a moderate credit score. But if you d not have any other option and you are unable to cope with the payments, you can file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy or wait for the creditor to sue you as Mary said.

Justin, does chapter 13 still stay on your credit report for ten years? When I filed this was how it worked but that was many many years ago. I thought with the law changes concerning paying back your creditor that maybe they also changed the legthn of time on this.

Under the fair credit reporting act, bankruptcies of both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 may stay in your credit report for 10 years. But most creditors report Chapter 13 bankruptcy for a period of seven years because under Chapter 13 bankruptcy you repay the outstanding loan over a 3 to 5 year period from your monthly income. However, Chapter 7 bankruptcy may stay in your credit report for a period of 10 years because here you need not pay the outstanding debt amount and you get relief from the debt.

I had thought that they did away with the [art of not paying back your creditors? I remember hearing this somewhere. Who decides which banruptsy you can apply for? Does the person applying for the bankruptsy or is it determined by someone else like a judge or something?

Keep Certified mail receipts at your house for just this reason. When you write you letter, always put the certified receipt number at the top of your letter. Fill out your certified mail receipt at home to save time at the post office really. When you return home, take the portion of the certified mail receipt the postal clerk gave back to you and make a copy of it with your letter. Meaning, place it on a blank spot on your letter. Get an folder and place everything pertaining to your case in there and keep that folder for about 10 years. I hope this all made sense.

So I have a question for you fireyone, or anyone that has the answer. I recieved form a ca (4mths later from original dv letter sent to them) showing OLD statements and not they have sent a letter os intention to file litigation. And take, it was 31/2 mths later from dv letter (may 22) is when they signed the cert receipt. What do I do now??? I have 10 days the letter says!!!!