Review of Settlement Agreement to post-Judgment debt

[hrdwrkstudent]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA (But living in Virginia).

I have negotiated a settlement with a debt collector holding a judgment against me in California. I live in Virginia. They have sent me a letter with their proposed agreement. Should I have that letter reviewed by a lawyer? How should I go about seeking that? I am mainly concerned that there is some nuance in the agreement that would allow them to still attempt to collect the full amount.

I appreciate your advice. Thank you!

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA (But living in Virginia).

I have negotiated a settlement with a debt collector holding a judgment against me in California. I live in Virginia. They have sent me a letter with their proposed agreement. Should I have that letter reviewed by a lawyer? How should I go about seeking that? I am mainly concerned that there is some nuance in the agreement that would allow them to still attempt to collect the full amount.

I appreciate your advice. Thank you!

1. I would
2. Yellow pages

Your Welcome!!

Blue

 

[hrdwrkstudent]

Thank you, but what kind of lawyer?

1. I would
2. Yellow pages

Your Welcome!!

Blue

 

[Zigner]

Thank you, but what kind of lawyer?

Consumer debt...

 

[hrdwrkstudent]

Well, now I know that I need a lawyer licensed to practice in California. Also considering that I'm saving about $800 by the settlement, that spending for a $250/hr lawyer may not be the best use of my money.

 

[Zigner]

Well, now I know that I need a lawyer licensed to practice in California. Also considering that I'm saving about $800 by the settlement, that spending for a $250/hr lawyer may not be the best use of my money.

That is an astute observation. You are definitely learning to look at things with a "cost vs. benefit" mindset.

 

[hrdwrkstudent]

The $250/hr figure came from my conversation with a lawyer who I had contacted, and who suggested that it may take one to two hours. I had thought the price would be considerably less for a review of a one page agreement.

In view of this I have additional questions.

1. Up until this point, I have only received the agreement as an attachment to an email. I understood that I was to receive a physical copy of the document. Does this matter? There is a statement in the terms that reads "A fax email or image of this document has the same force as the original".

2. Also, the letter is signed by the account manager, but the second page, with the terms, does not have a signature. Does that matter?

3. Finally, I see no place for my signature. Given that they have a judgement, it probably does not matter what I agree to, just what they agree to. Correct? In that case, it is not something that I have to sign and return. Right?

Thank you again very much for your help.

 

[Zigner]

The $250/hr figure came from my conversation with a lawyer who I had contacted, and who suggested that it may take one to two hours. I had thought the price would be considerably less for a review of a one page agreement.

In view of this I have additional questions.

1. Up until this point, I have only received the agreement as an attachment to an email. I understood that I was to receive a physical copy of the document. Does this matter? There is a statement in the terms that reads "A fax email or image of this document has the same force as the original".

2. Also, the letter is signed by the account manager, but the second page, with the terms, does not have a signature. Does that matter?

3. Finally, I see no place for my signature. Given that they have a judgement, it probably does not matter what I agree to, just what they agree to. Correct? In that case, it is not something that I have to sign and return. Right?

Thank you again very much for your help.

If you want to proceed with the agreement, as presented, then you should contact the sender and ask how they would like it formatted to acknowledge acceptance by both parties.

 

[hrdwrkstudent]

I apologize for my ignorance, but I do not fully understand your response. You are saying, then, that there should be some formal acknowledgement on my part of acceptance of this agreement? That I should, for example, draft a letter indicating my acceptance?

 

[Zigner]

I apologize for my ignorance, but I do not fully understand your response. You are saying, then, that there should be some formal acknowledgement on my part of acceptance of this agreement? That I should, for example, draft a letter indicating my acceptance?

You have decided that an attorney is not in the cards for you. As such, you would want to ask the folks who sent you the document what the next steps are. It's entirely possible that, if you do nothing, they will consider the settlement agreement void. COMMUNICATE with them.

 

[hrdwrkstudent]

I have communicated with them; but I don't trust them, and have been given many reasons over the years not to trust them.

The person with whom I negotiated told me over the phone that the agreement is a standard form they send to debtors, because debtors feel they need proof of the agreement, and that signatures are not required.

I have expertise in software development not the intricacies of law and the collection of debts. So, I do not have the background knowledge necessary to say what is normal, or abnormal, suspicious, or not, and there is surprisingly little information out there telling me how to seal the deal.

This acknowledgement of helplessness and naivety in face of the law, and predatory debt collection, is why I donate to non-profits providing legal services to the poor. This forum too has helped me very much in the past; for example, by helping me represent myself to claw back my student aid from this same creditor.

 

[TigerD]

I have communicated with them; but I don't trust them, and have been given many reasons over the years not to trust them.

The person with whom I negotiated told me over the phone that the agreement is a standard form they send to debtors, because debtors feel they need proof of the agreement, and that signatures are not required.

I have expertise in software development not the intricacies of law and the collection of debts. So, I do not have the background knowledge necessary to say what is normal, or abnormal, suspicious, or not, and there is surprisingly little information out there telling me how to seal the deal.

This acknowledgement of helplessness and naivety in face of the law, and predatory debt collection, is why I donate to non-profits providing legal services to the poor. This forum too has helped me very much in the past; for example, by helping me represent myself to claw back my student aid from this same creditor.

You do realize that you are the one who has not done what you were supposed to do. They even had to sue you and you still haven't paid. You don't trust them?

TD

 

[Just Blue]

You do realize that you are the one who has not done what you were supposed to do. They even had to sue you and you still haven't paid. You don't trust them?

TD

Yeah...seems a bit odd OP would not trust the lender he screwed over.


Isn't there a word for that? ...I think it starts with "I"...Hummm what could it be?

 

[hrdwrkstudent]

I am here asking for help settling a debt, not to listen to sanctimonious chiding for not trusting a debt collector. Jeez, its like there's no reason to even review the settlement agreement, because no one would EVER be dishonest.

The debt was bought and sold and passed around. I would be very very happy if I could deal with the original creditor. And no, I have no good reason to trust the owner of this debt. I entered into an agreement with them to pay the debt in increments, and they responded with a lien against my bank, after six months of payment. I continued to pay until they no longer answered my calls: they were sued for fraud and went bankrupt. Now, I've contacted them to negotiate a settlement, because I'm finally in the position to pay.

You know Wil Wheaton's tagline?

 

[single317dad]

What you want from the plaintiff is an "Acknowledgement of Satisfaction of Judgment" (EJ-100) filed with the court upon your payment of the agreed terms. Ensure that this is part of your agreement.

http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/ej100.pdf

http://www.saclaw.org/Uploads/files/Step-by-Step/satis-judgment.pdf