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Neep help Husband is being sued & already has wage garnishment and is with a credit consolidation company
Anonymous3 views1 answers
My husband has debt from 4 years ago before we even met., It isn't credit cards but things like payday loans, cash advances, bounced checks and unpaid bills/rent. It totals around 10-12k. He has a wage garnishment from one debt that started last April, and since he got a new job in October he has been waiting for it to transfer to this new job. It is for a car loan I believe. Since he has been with me, I am in charge of our finances and all of our current bills are paid up and we don't have a late payment on record. But I cannot do anything about his past debts, he must owe some 20 or so creditors amounts varying from $75 to $5,000.
Also, we started in Oct. with A Debt Consolidation company and are paying $324 bucks a month to consolidate everything, but that was before he took this new job with a paycut, and we just received a letter that said they want to up our payment by $50.00 a month. We are still waiting for his wage garnishment to kick back in. He just got a summons Saturday for one debt that the I guess creditors didn't accept payments from the Credit company we are working with. They had been calling about 12 times a day and not leaving messages, but they suddenly stopped. Now he has a summons and he owes $2,090.09 or we go to court on 3/10. This is for an unpaid AT&T bill from 2005. We do not have the money and would have to sell a car and make payments to them, I know the fees and everything will be added on to the total. My husband wants to call and negotiate with the attorney, but I am against that without us talking to an attorney first. What type of attorney should we contact, we have literally no money, we live with my parents and can just make our car payments and insurance and my co-pays and prescriptions, with very little money left after that. I am a full-time college student but I may have to quit school or cut back and get a job. Twice last year we considered bankruptcy (just for him, I have perfect credit) but I backed out because I was worried about losing our things and I was determined to work our way out of this. It is not my debt but I am suffering because of this and we are both very stressed out.
I guess it comes down to three questions: What are our options at this point? Is it too late to file for bankruptcy (and could it be done quickly enough and with this pending lawsuit)? and finally: What kind of a lawyer do we need to contact? Thank you for your help, I am trying not to panic. I'm sorry if this is a little jumbled up, I can clarify if necessary.
You will need to be very careful with the debt consolidation or settlement company many of them are scammers. It is not too late for bankruptcy and you should start right away.
You will need to consult with a consumer protection lawyer locally.
1. Start keeping a detailed log of all calls and letters and a paper file of all information. Because persistent violations of the FDPCA are punishable by statutory fines and attorney’s fees under federal law, but you need hard evidence.
2. Make a written demand that all further communications from creditors is in writing under 15 USC 1692 (c).
The letter should also contain a dispute of the validity of the charges and include a demand for a complete accounting with signatures, and all contents of the file.
The creditor then has 30 days to reply and they may not take any action until you have been sent the validation. Bear in mind that this may be motivation for the collector to work your account when the file comes to them from the original creditor with new information.
3. Do not give them any personal information because that is how collectors decide on which accounts to recommend suing.
4. If you are going to make payments use money orders and not personal checks or “check by phone” because if they find a bank account the collector will be more likely recommend a lawsuit the their legal department.
5. All collections are negotiable; the original creditor has given up and is losing up to 50% on the face value already either by splitting any return or selling at a huge discount. In addition, the costs of a lawsuit although discounted still are a factor in the decision to settle with you.
If you are going to settle mark the check “settled-in-full” at the very top back of the check and include a letter explaining you are offering a settlement, keep copies of everything.
6. Get written confirmation of any payment plan the agency will accept before making a payment.
7. Specify in writing all payments will be applied to principle first.
If your debt is with the government like the IRS or a State agency or for Child Support the rules will be different and you will need a local lawyer.
I do not practice in your state and you will need to consult with a local lawyer for additional protection under your state law.
I have pasted a link to the FDPCA to help you with your federal rights;
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf
You should read the FDPCA from the link above and become informed about your rights; this will help you and your lawyer.
I hope this information and generic advice is helpful.
Good Luck
