Board 8 > Oh hey i'm being sued

(+) Yeah! (+)

Punnyz posted...

also apparently they'll have me pay for their attorney fees too

Yes if you lose you often are required to pay at least partial lawyer fees of the opposition. If this was some major thing I'd still suggest getting a lawyer but this is $1200 or close to it? If you lose in court you'll be up a lot more with their lawyer fees.

I'd just call them and settle out of court. They may wave part of the incurred interest and also let you pay via a payment plan equal payments over a set amount of time.

you can still appear in court (and probably should to avoid a default if that deadline is coming up) and also settle. appearing in court doesn't preclude you from settling privately.

it's tough to know exactly what you're dealing with without seeing any papers, but you shouldn't be paying any of their fees until there's some kind of final judgment, if ever.
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Bro,

Now that its established that this is (somehow) actually real....

There is now ABSOLUTELY no excuse to not seek out free legal advice (if not representation).

So definitely do that BEFORE you contact them.

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So settling for a smaller balance isnt a good idea. Debt collectors can get what they can, then sell the balance to an even lesser scrupulous collector, and that hurts you again.

huh, I never heard of that happening before
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Punnyz posted...

I'm sorry, I don't think i can prove and disprove anything if I try to fight it

and I don't want to owe the court money either

You dont have to disprove them. In fact, you literally can not prove a negative.

They have to prove that you owe the debt, AND that they are entitled to collect it.

Read some of the links Ive posted, man.
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Punnyz posted...

huh, I never heard of that happening before

It was a thing. There were articles about what they called zombie debt collectors. You generally dont get the nicest people in debt collection.

Uglyface2 posted...

It was a thing. There were articles about what they called zombie debt collectors. You generally dont get the nicest people in debt collection.

You could easily fight that if you actually paid your debt.

You owe, you know you owe, so work out an agreement to pay what you owe.

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Yea tony, I'm not saying this didn't happen

I think your angle is that you think the debt collector is making this up and is trying to scam me or something

The papers have dates of the debts on them, I'm sure they have logs of when they tried calling me

like I said before, I don't think I can disprove anything

and I just don't want to chance them not showing up if I try to fight it or something
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if youre going to ignore all the other advice in this topic, at least seek out some free legal advice.


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https://i.ibb.co/vYG1pgX/Screenshot-20191010-110948.png

Like if you got this message how afraid would you be? It's classic scare tactics
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Not Dave posted...

if youre going to ignore all the other advice in this topic, at least seek out some free legal advice.

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aw come on, I'm not ignoring everything
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I don't think you're ignoring it on the basis of like "This is terrible advice" but more because between this and all the other stuff happening to you right now, you seem like you're just in this mindset of "Sure whatever, just take my money and leave me alone" and it feels like you think everyone's advice is just too much effort for you to want to go through.
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Emeraldegg posted...

you seem like you're just in this mindset of "Sure whatever, just take my money and leave me alone

if this is the case, it's important that you follow my advice earlier in the topic.

never pay full price unless a court orders you to (and a court never will)**

**a court never will if you show up to your court dates and act honestly about paying it back. If you ignore the court dates you'll be forced to pay full price
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I hope I didn't offend anybody, I really do appreciate the posts here

I'm just not in the right mental state to fight anything

even if there are step by step survey websites saying what to do, I can't process it

theres too many variables they don't cover

theres too many other things that might and might not happen, and nobody has experience when the opposite thing happens

I just don't think I can chance anything
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Punnyz posted...

theres too many other things that might and might not happen, and nobody has experience when the opposite thing happens

Uh I do. I ignored the court order and was forced to pay full price.

after that I used my method and had it removed from my account because the balance was so low.
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Punnyz posted...

theres too many other things that might and might not happen, and nobody has experience when the opposite thing happens

I just don't think I can chance anything

that's what a (free) lawyer is for

he'll tell you one of three things
(1) "yeah, you're screwed" -> you're in the same position you are now
(2) "idk I need more info" -> you can decide if you want to work with him, or just leave and be in the same position you are now
(3) "actually there's a good way out of this because they didn't give you notice etc." -> you win

there's no real downside
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oh no, the free lawyer is probably gonna still happen

I'll see if he exists monday
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Didn't read the three pages of posts but let them sue, then they can file a lien against you which you'll never have to pay. Go legal system.
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so I finally spoke to the lawyer. Unfortunately the only lawyers around here that give free consultations is a criminal lawyer so this wasn't quite up his alley but he still gave me a lot of help. lawyers around here charge $300 an hour. He said I have to get the deadline off my back and have something in the system. So I should file a form called General denial. Then he suggested I should seek out a settlement after I do that, perhaps a week after or so
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I hope it works out for you pun. I wasn't trying to call you out or anything, I just hate to see you get taken advantage of. We are all just trying to help you.
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its no problem
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he told me I have to speak to the court clerk again when I'm ready

he did say I can google a form or a template or something, but he said the clerk might have a form

I went and they do not, but they said its just either an email or a letter I type up. I asked to make sure, its nothing formal? and they said no, just type up, explain things on your end if you want to, and it will be in the system. the monday deadline where I just automatically lose will no longer be in effect. I will then have to wait 45 days

within the 45 days I can reach out and see if I can settle

the criminal lawyer even suggested I should do this myself. A lawyer can charge AT LEAST 600. If I settle on top of that, then its like, I may as well have paid the whole thing
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I'm now constructing the letter. I'm still gonna make it a little formal, but I'm doing it now
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ChaosTonyV4 posted...

If it's the courthouse, it's probably legit.

https://blog.credit.com/2019/07/seven-ways-to-defend-a-debt-collection-lawsuit-62166/

The first four steps are basically exactly what I've been saying. You've got this, dude.

@ChaosTonyV4

I'm rereading this one more time

theres just no details here

they don't actually say how to respond

they don't say what happens if they DO bounce back with all of the proper shit

and it doesn't help me that step 4 is the statute of limitations, and I know its within the time

and I sorta stop reading at "Hire an attorney"

So again, I'm sorry I'm not gung ho about your method but theres too much open ended

I WILL question their right to sue at the very least though, so I AM walking away with something, just don't be offended, buddy
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Sorry for jumping into the middle of the thread. Seems like you're owning up to a legitimate debt that you've incurred. And that's okay. That being said, and as has been mentioned in this thread, the collection agency probably paid $50 for your debt (pulling a number out out my ass, but they literally paid pennies on the dollar for it), so they are going to be willing to work with you on this, without a doubt. Now, whether they'll knock off the interest that's accrued, I have no idea. But if, IF you get into talks about payment, keep that fact, that they paid likely a tiny sum for the debt, in mind. I'm also certain they'll be willing to work out a payment plan that you can afford; they'd rather you pay anything than have to devote more time and resources into your relatively small debt. Just some things to keep in mind.

So, do everything you've already planned, with your letter and certainly questioning their right to sue, has their been previous attempts at contact, etc (including the good advice you've received from previous posters). Just trying to look at it from a worst-case, you gotta pay something back scenario.

Good luck.

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Punnyz posted...

they don't say what happens if they DO bounce back with all of the proper shit

probably because it literally never happens lol.

You realize the debt collectors have to pay for a lawyer too right? How much do you think they are going to pay for a debt they paid fifty bucks for?
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Random factoid that may help you feel better:

According to this website sponsored by a law firm specializing in consumer rights and finance law, debt collectors can't collect attorney fees from you unless it was specifically written into your original contract, and that's apparently extremely rare.

https://protectingconsumerrights.com/blog/2012/11/05/debt-collectors-charge-attorneys-fees-when-is-it-legal/
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I'm fairly positive its in the papers I received
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So I wrote out the paper

I had all of the numbers and legal shit
Proper grammar and capitalization, so its not like me here

Turns out there really isn't a thing where you can challenge their rights to sue

Theres sorta something else to where you make a request for things

its called, well, requesting a Motion for Discovery

in the Discovery you specify what you want to request.

So I DID take a page (well, a line or two) from that website, I said I wanted the Signed Agreement and the Chain of Custody of All Paperwork

and now its turned in

court is in 45 days
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The problem is, Its Me, guys

do yall not know me

do yall not know how fucking horrible and downward my life can spiral by now?

If I challenge them, they WILL rise to it

This is all temporary, I don't plan on waiting the 45 days. Its not gonna happen

but I did all of this to buy time
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Punnyz posted...

If I challenge them, they WILL rise to it

then you just pay the price they initially asked for, that the absolute worst they can do.

my dads a debt collector, and its almost impossible for debt collectors to collect debt just based on how many consumer collections laws there are. So the only way they can collect is by filling your heart so full of fear that you pay whatever just so they leave you alone.
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SantaRPidgey posted...

then you just pay the price they initially asked for, that the absolute worst they can do.

and I absolutely don't want to fucking do that >_>

if I have to pay then I want a smaller amount

You're sorta acting like I won when I haven't
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You've filed the paperwork with the court and requested documents, right? They'll have to send that along to you (part of discovery), and you can make your decision on how best to proceed from there.

yea, I feel alot better
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Seems like the right thing to do would be to just pay the damn debt that you owe. What is it with people borrowing money and trying to weasel out of paying it back?
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Black turtle you owe me $773. This is the 3rd time we have sent you this notice

Pay up or prepare to face us in Court!!!
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that's the business of unsecured debt, BT. there are a lot of source of information you can use to look this stuff up if you're interested.
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Have you offered to bring them the girl?
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on an unrelated note

I got a new phone

and then it broke in my pocket not even 8 hours later
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I'm unable to resist eating any and all food within 5 feet of my body. When I eat giant bags of candy I feel sick. Therefore, I don't put giant bags of candy within arm's reach.

If you're clumsy, plan ahead and do things to prevent your clumsiness from causing an issue.
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Punnyz posted...

on an unrelated note

I got a new phone

and then it broke in my pocket not even 8 hours later

at what point do you realize 95% of the stuff that goes wrong in your life is your fault

i'm assuming you put the pants with your phone in the wash or something

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There was an AT&T commercial a while back where someones life changed drastically based on their mobile network being a few seconds faster or slower. You ever get the feeling that if your life went a few seconds in a different direction then things would be better?

Switch to AT&T. Thatll fix everything.

Aecioo posted...

at what point do you realize 95% of the stuff that goes wrong in your life is your fault

i'm assuming you put the pants with your phone in the wash or something

come on dude.

He clearly didn't buy a case because it was too expensive and then sat on it.
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Lesson learned, don't keep your phone in your back pocket
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It was in my front right pocket. I THINK it probably tilted to the side and my jeans caught it weird

but it was still bullshit
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So I got a call from the County Clerk

she told me the judge didn't quite understand what I was requesting with my Motion of Discovery

so I'll have to hand write a letter saying what I meant

but she assured me that my reply IS in, the deadline didn't reset back to today because of this

I'll have to be more specific

I said I wanted the Signed Agreement and the Chain of Custody of All Paperwork and that was too vague
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What kind of phone was it?

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Punnyz posted...

It was in my front right pocket. I THINK it probably tilted to the side and my jeans caught it weird

but it was still bullshit

sure

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