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Got a letter from a debt collection agency, answered the summons, showed up in court on the day of the bench trial, when my name was called, answered, they never showed up. Case & any law counterclaims were discontinued without prejudiced & without costs to either side. What does this mean, & why didn't they show up especially after all the threatening letters about suing me.
HI Knowledge,
Sometimes collection agencies will threaten and even file suit and then not show up at the court hearing. Going to court can be very costly to a collector and they may not have had enough evidence to feel they would win. It sounds as if the case was dismissed without placing any fault on either party. I am not sure if they can legally come back and take you to court again. Maybe someone here will know how this exactly works.
to further
You may also now be in a position to dispute the debt via a credit reporting agency, noting that a suit was filed and no-one showed to claim or pursue. You can obtain a free credit report (no credit card info needed) at "http://www.annualcreditreport.com". We are not affiliated with them by any means but send our clients there on a regular because they provide a true free credit report- just dont request the numeric FICO score. Any other questions feel free. Good Luck!
Knowledge, I would definately file the dispute. I had a friend go through this very same thing. She has been waiting for two years for hers to even see a court room. The collection agency filed suit but no one has scheduled a hearing or anything. I would imagine some kind of law has to be against this and there would be a way to get it dismissed.
Sued By Debt Collection Agency
Thanks to all who replied. I was thinking of doing that. I think they were hoping to get a default judgemnt. I answered their summons and showed up for the bench trial, most people don't do that & lose by default. This is how they win their cases.
Hi Knowledge,
You are right, this is how most of the people lose their cases. In your context I think, the case was dismissed due to the absence of the plaintiff. Probably they thought that you will not appear in court and they might get a default judgment against you. I am sure they do not have any concrete proof against you to win the case. Hence, the CA did not turn up. I agree with what the others have said, you should dispute the listing now with the credit bureau letting them know the reason for dispute. Write a dispute letter to the credit bureau and send it through a certified mail so that you have the return receipt with you.
Sued By Debt Collection Agency
Thank-you Justin, I will do that.
Hi,
You are most welcome. After all we all are here to discuss our credit related problems. Do this and let us know if there is anything more to your situation.
If along the lines you are in need of any more help just come back and visit the credit magic forum. Bookmark us that way we will always be easy to find. You can also choose to join the community if you wish. It is free to join and there is so much to learn. Good Luck.
Best thing to do is to figure out how to fight them and follow through, I would never let a debt collector win by not showing up, what do you have to lose. You may as well show up and state your case.
Thats is what Justin was saying. Most of these companies will call and call. They threaten and harasss and this scares people. When the time of the hearing comes they think they will get the default verdict becuase they have put the fear in people. I would think that in order for themt o get a default verdict in this posters case they would have had to be the ones to show. Wonder what happens if neither party shows? Who wins or is it dropped or maybe rescheduled?
Sued By Debt Collection Agency
I wondered too what would have happened if neither party showed. I came to court because if I didn't show, they would have gotten the default judgment. They were the ones who did not show. The case was discontinued (disposed) .This is how they won most of their cases.
Have you heard anymore from your problem caller for collections fireyone?
No not yet. They informed me they legally had two months to supply me with validation (by law). I keep being told as an authorized user I am not responsible so I am just nervously waiting for anymore contact. They told me on the phone when they first contacted me I paid on this account up until Nov. 2005 (still can not find it anywhere) so I do not know since this is now Nov. if it is considered past stautes or if they filed something and I have not heard yet. The validation letter said they were suppose to stop all collection and legal efforts until the debt was validated but I don;t know if they have to go by what the letter says. Guess I will wait and see. Still can not see how this is even going on with me only an AU.
Help!
I have some private student loans that are in collections and obviously cannot pay in full, I'm assuming they'll file a lawsuit...is this what happened to you Knowledge? Or does anyone have any info regarding this type of situation? I have read that since it's a student loan even though it is uninsured that it cannot be handled by consumer credit or bankruptcy. Any info or links to info would be greatly appreciated!
Have you tried calling them up and getting a payment arrangement with them that will work for both of you? Maybe they will work something out, I am sure they will try to work it out with you, they want paid and you need to get them out of your hair.
Sued By Debt Collection Agency
Ok so I just went to court with the same thing. A creditor charged off an account it went thru several collections being bought and so on. After getting served the papers I contacted the CA. They wanted to set up a pay arrangement so we did BUT I asked for 3 things: Debt Validation...mind you a DV isn't just a run off copy it has to be a letter from a seller and buyer with BOTH signing it and if they bought from someone else they have to have proof you owe THEM ex:passed itemized bills because although you may owe this debt to one person it doesn't mean you owe it to the one collecting on it thats exactly what the judge told me!!!, letter stating pay for delete, and the payment agreement. They played around and played around and told me all kinds of stuff and even told me DO NOT GO TO COURT that they contacted the courts that we entered into an agreement and the judge won't hear the case now... DO NOT BELIEVE THEM.... YOU GO TO COURT. If you get a CA taking you to court DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING with them at all and DO go to court. I went to court anyways they didnt show adn the judge thru it out as 0 balance. However, they have 30 days to file an appeal in the case but again they are going to need alot of proof that I owe THEM. Just what ever you do got to court. If you don't show you will automaticly get the judgement put against you even if they don't show. The CA even sent a letter to the courts saying I agreed no to go and agreed to payments but guess what???.... the judge told me they didn't send one thing with my signiture on it so he couldn't throw it out UNTIL that morning. There isn't a debtors prison, so you won't go to jail but you could stand to lose everything you have if you let them get the judgement. As soon as you get the papers served on you for a judgement call the courts and tell them you want to enter a right to defend that means you plan on going to court. If you don't answer they will assume you do owe THEM the $. Don't give them any lead way at all. I have done alot of research on this. Any ?'s post and I will see if I can help.
debts
Good for you!! Ya 'stood up' to the (one of many) horrible CA's!!LOL I recently read, on the Forum, that a CA can't sue AFTER the SOL is up. If they try to do this (after the SOL..) what can we do? Do we STILL go to court and explain the SOL is expired, etc?
debt collection acgency
I got a call from a rather rude collection agency that told me I owed a debt and that they would be coming after me to collect said debt..I replied asking for any and all account information... What should I do now to stop these harrassing calls. Also he didn't identify himself, company or reason for call. Should he have done so?
This is typical of a collection agency that hires thugs, chances are they have no clue what the collection laws are. If I were you I would send debt validation, send it certified mail return reciept requested. If for some reason they will not give you mailing information at the least get a phone number and the name of the collection agency and then turn them over to your attorney generals office.
I have had this happen to me where they are completely ignorant, rude and down right obnoxious, after the attorney generals office called them, I got an apology and a paid in full letter. You have a right to the information of the debt they are trying to collect. there is no need for their rude behavior, you don't have to put up with it, just get the attorney generals office from your state involved right from the beginning.
goodluck and keep us updated.
i made the mistake of not getting the CA's company, mailing address, or fax number, after having the CA's rep tell me i was too stupid to be talking to him, i couldnt get that info. how do i get it now, after talking to him?
You are correct, bankruptcy and credit counseling will not work on a student loan. A lawsuit isn't usually how student loans collect. They will most likely try to seize any income tax returns for as long as you live.
To the earlier question. The collector will sue if there are enough cases in your area to justify the costs involved with doing so. If you do not show up you WILL LOSE by default regardless if the plantiffs councel shows or not. If the plantiffs counsel doesnt show you will win by default. Usually on the paper you are served with it will instruct you to notify the court if you intend to appear so that they can let the opposing attorny know that you intend to present a defense.
Require the plantiff to provide documentation of the original debt and check your local Statute of Limitations on the debt you are bieng sued for.
best yet, talk to an attorney. spending a few hundred dollars on an attorney will probably save you thousands! Worst case scenerio- you attorney can work out a settlement on the spot if he knows you wont win.
To the earlier question. The collector will sue if there are enough cases in your area to justify the costs involved with doing so. If you do not show up you WILL LOSE by default regardless if the plantiffs councel shows or not. If the plantiffs counsel doesnt show you will win by default. Usually on the paper you are served with it will instruct you to notify the court if you intend to appear so that they can let the opposing attorny know that you intend to present a defense.
Require the plantiff to provide documentation of the original debt and check your local Statute of Limitations on the debt you are bieng sued for.
best yet, talk to an attorney. spending a few hundred dollars on an attorney will probably save you thousands! Worst case scenerio- you attorney can work out a settlement on the spot if he knows you wont win.
CA trying to intimidate?
After responding to a summons I got a letter asking me to admit to things about my account and they want receits, all correspondence and they want it notarized. I got this regular mail(no signature recquired). Has anyone else had this happen?