July 5th DV-July 7th SUED?

[JaneDoe42]

What is the name of your state? Nebraska

I live in Nebraska. The debt is not out of SOL. The debt was sold to Unifund in Ohio.

June 23rd. Received first notice from lawyer. I believe they overshadowed.

"Please be advised that Unifund CCR has acquired all of the interest in the above referenced account outstanding against you. Please be further advised that demand is hereby made for the amount referenced above. Please be further advised that if payment or arrangement for payment is not made within 15 days of the date hereof we will have no alternative but to bring appropriate legal action for the collection of same. Please govern yourself accordingly.

Unless you notify us within 30 days after the receipt of this letter that the validity of this debt, or any portion of it, is disputed we will assume the debt is valid. If you do not notify us of a dispute, we will obtain verification of the debt and mail it to you. We may proceed with suit against you without waiting the 30 days, if so requested by our client.

This communication is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose."

Lawyer,


June 28th received copies of 3 Credit Reports
July 3rd Sent a DV letter to lawyer
July 5th Lawyer's office received letter and signed.
July 7th Got my green copy in mail
July 10th, 2pm Served summons of being sued by Unifund _filed July 7th
July 10th, 4pm Disputed Unifund on my credit reports-they are reporting it like I have an account with them.

The Court papers state they made demand on me more than 90 days prior to filing the action. Not true- Lie #1- hasn't even been a month since first contact! Also says I have wholly failed and refused to pay said amount due. Lie #2- my DV stated "this is not a refusal to pay".

Now my questions...was DV'ing to the Lawyer adequate?
Do I need to DV the CA as well? The lawyer_s letter is postmarked June 19th.
Do they need to answer my DV?
Can they lie on the court papers?
I have 30 days to file at the Courthouse- should I wait, say, three weeks, to see if they validate to the Credit Reporting Agencies? I also believe that the lawyer is not authorized
To collect in this state unless Unifund is his only client.

Any advice greatly appreciated!What is the name of your state?

[Debt Guy]

Q. Now my questions...was DV'ing to the Lawyer adequate?

A. Adequate for what purpose? What where you trying to accomplish? A DV is the proper tool if the debt is not your debt. Otherwise, it is merely a game to frustrate the collection process. The danger of a DV is that sometimes it pushes the creditor to just file their lawsuit and get it on. Unifund is notorious for an aggressive legal posture.

Q. Do I need to DV the CA as well? The lawyer_s letter is postmarked June 19th.

A. At this point, I think it would be a waste of postage. You are in court and need to act accordingly.

Q. Do they need to answer my DV?

A. No. The fact that you send a DV does not bar the creditor from filing a lawsuit.

Q. Can they lie on the court papers?

A. No.

Q. I have 30 days to file at the Courthouse- should I wait, say, three weeks, to see if they validate to the Credit Reporting Agencies?

A. Again, you are in court. A validation is meaningless. You need to deal with the lawsuit and ignore the other stuff.

Q. I also believe that the lawyer is not authorized To collect in this state unless Unifund is his only client.

A. Don't know. But, a license to collect is a matter for the State AG to pursue and most likely does not mean anything as a defense to your lawsuit -- unless the State AG intervenes -- which they are not likely to do. The judge might dismiss the lawsuit if you can prove the attorney does not have the proper legal standing to bring the lawsuit.

If you think you have defenses, you need to file a response to the lawsuit and conduct discovery if that is your plan.

If you think the lawyer overshadowded (I'm not convinced they did) then you need to file a countersuit so you have something to offset some of your liability on the debt.

Make sense?

[debtcollector`]

This is going to be the best free advice you ever got in your life:
Stop trying to work the system and become responsible.

Originally Posted by JaneDoe42

I live in Omaha, Nebraska. The debt is not out of SOL. The debt was sold(?) or assigned(?) from First USA bank to Unifund in Ohio.

June 23rd. Received first notice from lawyer. I believe they overshadowed.

"Please be advised that Unifund CCR has acquired all of the interest in the above referenced account outstanding against you. Please be further advised that demand is hereby made for the amount referenced above. Please be further advised that if payment or arrangement for payment is not made within 15 days of the date hereof we will have no alternative but to bring appropriate legal action for the collection of same. Please govern yourself accordingly.

Unless you notify us within 30 days after the receipt of this letter that the validity of this debt, or any portion of it, is disputed we will assume the debt is valid. If you do not notify us of a dispute, we will obtain verification of the debt and mail it to you. We may proceed with suit against you without waiting the 30 days, if so requested by our client.

This communication is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose."

As much as I would like to say they overshadowed -- They did skirt the line, a line I think is wrong to skirt -- it isn't a violation to state the legal action schedule.

Originally Posted by JaneDoe42

June 28th received copies of 3 Credit Reports
July 3rd Sent a DV letter to lawyer
July 5th Lawyer's office received letter and signed.
July 7th Got my green copy in mail
July 10th, 2pm Served summons of being sued by Unifund represented by Bellevue lawyer –filed July 7th
July 10th, 4pm Disputed Unifund on my credit reports-they are reporting it like I have an account with them.

If they hadn't already told you that they were going to file suit, I would normally say that they got you DV and decided you were a problem and it would be easier to simply sue.

Originally Posted by JaneDoe42

The Court papers state they made demand on me more than 90 days prior to filing the action. Not true- Lie #1- hasn't even been a month since first contact! Also says I have wholly failed and refused to pay said amount due. Lie #2- my DV stated "this is not a refusal to pay".

Nonesense. The initial demand came from the OC. That was more than 90 days. Have you paid the debt? No. Then you have refused to pay.

Originally Posted by JaneDoe42

Now my questions...was DV'ing to the Lawyer adequate?

Apparently you do not understand this process at all. Lawyers tend not to play games like that.

Originally Posted by JaneDoe42

Do I need to DV the CA as well? The lawyer’s letter is postmarked June 19th.

A DV would have to be sent to the CA, but you really shouldn't contact them again -- you are in court.

Originally Posted by JaneDoe42

Do they need to answer my DV?

Nope

Originally Posted by JaneDoe42

Can they lie on the court papers?

They didn't.

Originally Posted by JaneDoe42

I have 30 days to file at the Courthouse- should I wait, say, three weeks, to see if they validate to the Credit Reporting Agencies?

They will.

Originally Posted by JaneDoe42

I also believe that the lawyer is not authorized to collect in this state unless Unifund is his only client.

What kind of drugs would give you that idea? You are wrong on so many levels. You should have made arrangements to pay before you had to pay court costs and legal fees too.

Originally Posted by JaneDoe42

Any advice greatly appreciated!

Pay it before it gets worse. And it will, you know.

DC

[Ladynred]

Please be further advised that if payment or arrangement for payment is not made within 15 days of the date hereof we will have no alternative but to bring appropriate legal action for the collection of same.

This is definitely overshadowing. The DEMAND for payment "within 15 days" most definitely 'overshadows' her 30 days to dispute. The "least sophisticated consumer" would certainly read that letter to mean that if they don't pay up in 15 days, then they are going to be sued.

Unifund is all about crossing the line, they seem to think the law doesn't apply to them or that they cannot be touched. File a cross-complaint against them for FDCPA violations.

Post that letter to the boards here.. [url]http://www.myfaircredit.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=28&sid=355e55a9b56e54dd25e82ae413401e8d[/url]
- let David Szwak tell you what he thinks.. he's a very well known consumer lawyer in LA.

Oh.. and if you think these CA's won't LIE on court papers... guess again. There have been many news articles about collection lawyers filing bogus lawsuits by the thousands in several states.

[JaneDoe42]

Thank you Lady in Red for your time. And to the others..some food for thought.

My concern is that I protect my rights...not playing games...I am protecting myself
as the law allows. I don't trust them or their lawyer- for GOOD reason!

I DV'd Unifund today as it is still within 30 days. From now on I will deal with them in court. I understand we are "in court now"..but if they validate to the CRA before me...
well that is a violation.

I am concerned becuase of the horror stories I have heard about Unifund. They buy debts that have already been written off as losses for pennies on the dollar and come after people who are already have the negativity asscociated with bad debt.

I have no assets so they can kiss my assets all they want. No job, no savings, no car. Nothing. You can't get blood from a turnip...they will be the ones loosing money over lawyer fees etc.

The whole reason I even began searching for answers about dealing with Collection Agencys is becuase of the wording of their letter. It was confusing.

[debtcollector`]

Originally Posted by JaneDoe42

You can't get blood from a turnip

you know what you call a bloodless turnip?
A Dead beet.

DC

[garrula lingua]

HAHA that was a good one.