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Anonymous #1
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my friend was served. anyone have experience w this?
#18563744 - 07/15/13 07:36 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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My friend just called me, he was served court papers for debt. I think he said walmart (lol) . He had a credit card through them years ago, went through a really hard time where he lost everything and couldn't make payments anymore. The total is $748 .
I have never been served or have had to deal with courts, so does anyone have any experience with this? He has a great job now and he told me he knew he had debt and he wanted to pay it but honestly had no idea on how to go about to do it.
Does he have to go to court? Can he call the company /companies lawyer and settle over the phone?
I had no advice for him so I come here to ask you fellow shroomerites.
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Nabuca
Stranger



Registered: 03/21/13
Posts: 306
Loc: Pennsylvania
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: Anonymous #1]
#18563935 - 07/15/13 08:21 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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These are usually easy to resolve. Start here...
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/state-statutes-of-limitations-for-old-debts-1.aspx
Check the accounts age of first delinquency against the chart here for the state you live in. If the statute of limitations has expired, you show up at court, state that the statute of limitations has expired, and you skate.
If you're not past the limit on time, you call the original creditor and negotiate a payment to drop all records and remove it from your credit. Otherwise, you may need a lawyer to help out.
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Anonymous #1
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: Nabuca]
#18563998 - 07/15/13 08:36 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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Would they WANT to go to court vs getting paid?
If he called tomorrow and was like "here have $748" would he still have to go to court for anything or would it just be dropped?
Thanks a lot, I told him that info and he said it was atleast 5 years ago and I think our state is 7 but he feels bad and just wants to pay it because he knows he is responsible for atleast $500 of it.
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Nabuca
Stranger



Registered: 03/21/13
Posts: 306
Loc: Pennsylvania
Last seen: 10 years, 20 days
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: Anonymous #1]
#18564049 - 07/15/13 08:45 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Anonymous said: Would they WANT to go to court vs getting paid?
If he called tomorrow and was like "here have $748" would he still have to go to court for anything or would it just be dropped?
Thanks a lot, I told him that info and he said it was atleast 5 years ago and I think our state is 7 but he feels bad and just wants to pay it because he knows he is responsible for atleast $500 of it.
Yea, none of these guys WANT to take it to court if they can get paid instead. Here's the thing...do NOT admit the debt is his. If you admit to a debt, sleazy collection agencies can cause you no end of trouble. Find out who currently owns the debt...if it is Wal-Mart, hopefully that will still be GE capital. Call them and find out. If so, tell them you just want this to go away, you deny this debt is yours, but will pay $500 right now, once you have it IN WRITING that this is paid in full, and all reporting to credit agencies will be deleted. If they say yes, wait for the written docs, sign, pay, and forget this ever happened.
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Observatory



Registered: 09/27/12
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: Nabuca]
#18568378 - 07/16/13 07:39 PM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
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-------------------- Look around you
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Observatory



Registered: 09/27/12
Posts: 824
Last seen: 8 years, 1 month
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: Observatory]
#18568391 - 07/16/13 07:42 PM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
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oh, whoop, wrong vid. Heh, 
-------------------- Look around you
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Anonymous #1
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: Observatory]
#18570439 - 07/17/13 08:29 AM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
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Ha ha ha.
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Enlil
OTD God-King




Registered: 08/16/03
Posts: 67,521
Loc: Uncanny Valley
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: Anonymous #1] 1
#18570748 - 07/17/13 10:00 AM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
Anonymous said: My friend just called me, he was served court papers for debt. I think he said walmart (lol) . He had a credit card through them years ago, went through a really hard time where he lost everything and couldn't make payments anymore. The total is $748 .
I have never been served or have had to deal with courts, so does anyone have any experience with this? He has a great job now and he told me he knew he had debt and he wanted to pay it but honestly had no idea on how to go about to do it.
Does he have to go to court? Can he call the company /companies lawyer and settle over the phone?
I had no advice for him so I come here to ask you fellow shroomerites.
Here's real advice from a real lawyer:
First, determine what he was served. It might be a small claims complaint and summons, or it might just be bullshit. Some collection agencies use scare tactics. Look at it, because if it is a summons, it's going to say what court and when he has to appear.
If it isn't a summons and complaint, he should just call the collection agency and tell him he wants to pay the account in full in exchange for a deletion of the collection account from his credit reports. They will likely say no, but it's worth a shot. If they don't go for that, he should just negotiate a lower amount to pay and be done with it. Tell him to make sure he gets a "zero balance letter" which is his proof that the debt is fully satisfied.
If it is a summons and complaint, he's got less bargaining power because small claims suits move very quickly, and they've already filed. If this is the case, he should call the collection agency and offer to settle the debt in exchange for a dismissal of the case. THIS IS IMPORTANT. WITHOUT A DISMISSAL, THEY CAN STILL GO TO COURT AND GET A JUDGMENT. If this goes to judgment, that judgment can stay on his credit report for 10 years from the date of the judgment. That means the clock starts now. This is really bad because a judgment looks much worse than a collection account on his credit. Also, the collection account only stays on the credit for 7 years from the date of FIRST delinquency, so it'll be gone shortly if it's old.
Again, the last thing he wants is for this to go to court and result in a judgment.
The advice above about statute of limitations isn't terrible advice, but he had better be 100% sure about it before relying on that. There are many things that can extend (or toll) the statute of limitations, and if he goes to court to claim that as a defense, and he's wrong, then it might very well be too late to settle it before going to judgment. My advice is to pay and settle it. The amount of money is small potatoes compared to a decade of a judgment on his credit report.
-------------------- Censoring opposing views since 2014. Ask an Attorney Fuck the Amish
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Anonymous #1
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: Enlil]
#18572050 - 07/17/13 03:41 PM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
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He 100% wants to just pay and settle asap.
He got a letter today from the lawyer saying they had filed a litigation, they said he can settle for $844, so lame because on Monday when he got the letter it said $748 so from 7/3 when they filed it up until now it went up almost $100
These companies really make it hard on people to getbout of debt with the interest rates
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Enlil
OTD God-King




Registered: 08/16/03
Posts: 67,521
Loc: Uncanny Valley
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: Anonymous #1]
#18572056 - 07/17/13 03:42 PM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
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Keep in mind that once it is filed, they can get a judgment for the amount owed plus costs. That includes the filing fee and the cost to serve him.
I suggest he try to negotiate a full deletion of the credit report entry, but without that, he should pay it and get a dismissal and a zero balance letter.
-------------------- Censoring opposing views since 2014. Ask an Attorney Fuck the Amish
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Anonymous #1
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: Enlil]
#18572252 - 07/17/13 04:35 PM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
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Oohh ok that makes sense, about the fees and stuff. I never thought about that.
I will show him what you said, its been helpful to him thanks
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ch1ck3n.s0up
Troubled Loner



Registered: 10/03/08
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: Anonymous #1]
#18591234 - 07/21/13 07:17 PM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
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I've settled over 70K of credit card debt over five cards for a total of 18K, and I was sued by a major bank.
First, no matter what your friend does, he must NOT ignore this.. If you don't acknowledge it, and miss your court day, they will get a default judgment against you--and that's what they're going for. Acknowledge the court in writing; look on the internet or call the county clerk for how to do this.
Honestly, best is to pay in full, if possible. Then you'll save a black eye on your credit report.
If that's not possible, try and negotiate a settlement. Offer them $100, and see what they come back with. Tell them that you're broke, and have no assets. I'd say $250 is a good settlement amount. If you do this, your credit report will get dinged--but it's already been dinged by not paying, so it's probably in your interest to negotiate. Anyway, it's far better than a judgment against you!
Let me know how you feel about the above, and we'll take it from there.
Again, most importantly at this point, DO NOT IGNORE IT. Don't give those fuckers a default judgment. Respond in writing.
-------------------- "Inspiration ~ Move me brightly ~ light the song with sense and color ~ hold away despair ~ more than this I will not ask ~ faced with mysteries dark and vast ~ statements just seem vain at last" --Jerry Garcia, Terrapin Station "Officer, I'm going to remain silent, and I would like to speak with a lawyer. I'm not resisting, but I don't consent to any searches.
Edited by ch1ck3n.s0up (07/21/13 07:19 PM)
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Anonymous #1
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: ch1ck3n.s0up]
#18633346 - 07/30/13 11:06 AM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
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I thought I would update this :
He called the lawyer company last night and settled with them. He will have to send two money orders to them for $375 by mid September. He already went out and got one of the money orders so that's good.
But he asked them if he still had to reply to the courts and they said "we can not give you that information"
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Enlil
OTD God-King




Registered: 08/16/03
Posts: 67,521
Loc: Uncanny Valley
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: Anonymous #1]
#18633424 - 07/30/13 11:20 AM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
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Did they agree to dismiss the case?
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Anonymous #1
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: Enlil]
#18634599 - 07/30/13 03:52 PM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
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All he said was that they told him they would send him some paper work in the mail and then they would let the courts know that it was settled
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ch1ck3n.s0up
Troubled Loner



Registered: 10/03/08
Posts: 2,573
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: Anonymous #1]
#18646587 - 08/01/13 10:12 PM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
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Before he sends them a penny he should have a settlement agreement in hand.
-------------------- "Inspiration ~ Move me brightly ~ light the song with sense and color ~ hold away despair ~ more than this I will not ask ~ faced with mysteries dark and vast ~ statements just seem vain at last" --Jerry Garcia, Terrapin Station "Officer, I'm going to remain silent, and I would like to speak with a lawyer. I'm not resisting, but I don't consent to any searches.
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Anonymous #1
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: ch1ck3n.s0up]
#18662506 - 08/05/13 08:21 AM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
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He received a letter last week basically stating they will not proceed with court action as long as they receive the money by 9/16, it says after they get the last money order they will let the court know that it was settled.
I told him tto send those money orders through registered mail so the fuckers have to sign for it.
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Enlil
OTD God-King




Registered: 08/16/03
Posts: 67,521
Loc: Uncanny Valley
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Re: my friend was served. anyone have experience w this? [Re: Anonymous #1]
#18664140 - 08/05/13 03:45 PM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
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That's not necessary. He can just keep the stub for the money orders and track when they've been cashed.
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