debt collection

[wilsongonzalez7]

florida

i received a letter from a Law Firm in Utah. It stated that they were working on behalf of a collection agency. they wanted to make a settlement for $1,500.00. In the letter the firm sent me, it stated that refusal to settle, would force them to pursue court proceedings. i was also informed by them that wage garnishments can take effect? Is this true?

they also stated that they have the legal right to put a Lien / confiscate my house? Can this be done?

[casmith1980]

as far as i know, they have to actually file something in court prior to them being able to garnish your wages, and be granted the judgement from the court.

i'm not sure if it has to be filed in the state you live in, or if it can be done out of state...sorry

[Debt Guy]

You must be sued and a judgment awarded before a creditor can seize assets.

FL does not allow a wage garnishment for the head of the household -- others in the household are fair game.

The creditor can seize the cash in your bank account.

The creditor can place a lien on your home. The cannot foreclose the lien if it is your homestead. However, in order to sell the home or to refinance the loan, you will have to deal with the judgment.

Judgments last a really long time -- usually 5 to 10 years and can often be renewed.

[dolebot]

i received a letter from a Law Firm in Utah. It stated that they were working on behalf of a collection agency. they wanted to make a settlement for $1,500.00. In the letter the firm sent me, it stated that refusal to settle, would force them to pursue court proceedings. i was also informed by them that wage garnishments can take effect? Is this true?

they also stated that they have the legal right to put a Lien / confiscate my house? Can this be done?


Often the law office is actually the collection agency. Lawyers sometimes collect debt either on the side, or as a primary business. Do not give this letter special consideration because it came from "a law firm".

Without seeing the actual letter - this sounds like your ordinary everyday "dunning" letter - i.e. the letter notifying you that they are a collection agency actively collecting a debt - any information obtained is for the purpose of collecting a debt, that you have 30 days to dispute the debt, etc. In all likelihood you now have this collection event listed on your credit report - as the notification is something that they must do at the same time they report the collection account to your credit report.

Note a few things:

Read the letter carefully - I'm willing to bet (and I'm not a betting man) - that the letter doesn't actually say "court proceedings", but perhaps "legal action"? "Legal action" is any action that which is not illegal, so as long as they don't do anything illegal, your refusing to settle, etc, will result in them not doing something illegal right?

Relax, its there to scare you. Even if it says "court proceedings" (grey area legally speaking)- its a ploy to part you with your money. You have tools at your disposal, as do they. You can pay it, but it may not be the best use of your money, and your credit score will suffer for another 7 years with a nice new paid collection.

In any event, Liens, Garnishments, etc can only happen after you've been sued, and they won. The paper is not a summons, its them trying to get money. Now granted they still could file paperwork to sue you over the money, then win, then garnish wages, lien on the house, etc, but thats a long way off.

I am not a lawyer, but I dispute every single one of those letters that shows up with a certified mail return receipt requested letter - saying simply - "I dispute this debt" - I have a very common name.

[dolebot]

this is a duplicate post