debt collector threats

[downandout67]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA

Over the past few years I have gotten into a debt/credit nightmare due to not being able to pay my bills (was laid off and unemployed for 1-1/2 yrs - then got a job with 1/2 the salary I previously had). We have unsecured debt of ~$70k which includes credit cards and 2 repossession delinquencies. We have not paid a credit card for about 2 yrs and have been receiving harrassing phone calls from debt collectors. The latest messages are "you will not like what is going to happen to you", "call me...better yet, don't call me...", "have a nice life", "we have your SSN and will get this resolved involuntarily because you are in GA", etc.

So my questions are this:
What action can they take against me? (freeze bank account? garnish wages? put a lien on the house? etc.)
Does a judgement require that thay notify me of a court date or can this be done without my knowing?

We have a meeting scheduled with a bankruptcy attorney next week, but I am concerned about what may happen before we can get the bankruptcy case filed (as we currently don't have the fees to get this done yet). In a 10 minute ph call with the bankruptcy attorney, he said that the debt collectors cannot do anything to us without serving us with court papers first. But the msgs that I get from the debt collectors say that they can take action in GA. So I am confused and worried. Can anyone help explain this process to me and what I can expect to happen.

[nrknlknek]

They can file a lawsuit and obtain a judgment against you. Then, they will move towards post judgment collection. However, as soon as you file your BK, an automatic stay is in effect and your creditors may not contact you.

[Credithis]

Call them, record their preamble "This call may be monitored for quality assurance purposes" this gives their consent even in a 2 party state to record, ask em questions, what can you do to me? If you get something along the line of:

"you will not like what is going to happen to you", "call me...better yet, don't call me...", "have a nice life", "we have your SSN and will get this resolved involuntarily because you are in GA", etc.

You have a valid counterclaim against them. That will look good in front of a Judge. Send a copy to their State AG and yours. File a counterclaim if they sue, let em know this upfront.

[ecmst12]

They can get a default judgement if they serve you with papers and you don't respond or show up in court. That may be what they will claim to mean by "involuntarily". They can't attach any assets or wages without a judgement. Beware though, there are sleazy collectors that will intentionally serve a bad address with papers because they WANT you to not show up so they get the default judgement. This isn't legal and can be fought. The BK lawyer can do docket searches for you to find out if anything has been filed, and check court records for any default judgements already filed. It's not likely any of them HAVE a judgement as of yet though since you'd have noticed your bank accounts suddenly empty.