armywifeandmom
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Maryland
What is the name of your state? Maryland
Hi. I am new to this website, and this is my first post. So, please bear w/ me.
A little history:
Within the last 3 years, my husband and I had a lot of debt pile up. The debt was due to car repairs, vet bills, medical expenses not covered by insurance, etc. that were charged. Some of this was while he was deployed in Iraq, and we were able to use the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act. As soon as he was off of Active Duty, those benefits ended. 3 months ago we decided to enter into a plan with Take Charge America and do a debt counseling program. We were making only minimum pmts., and weren't able to meet all the min. pmts. on some accts. due to interest/finance/late charges. We were not able to put anything into savings, and not able to afford groceries some weeks. So, this seemed like a good option to us. We put all the accts. that were over $1,000. on the program. All the creditors accepted the proposal, and we were able to save around $700.00 monthly between the Take Ch. Amer. plan and paying off one of our vehicles. The money we freed up, we've been using to pay off the smaller accts.
Take Charge Amer. contacted me and told me that a Cap. One acct. in the amt. of $1,158.39 had been charged off and was being handled by a collection agency owned by 2 lawyers in my state..Peroutka Law Firm. I contacted them and got all their contact info. and my file #. Take Ch. Amer. made a proposal to them meeting their increased monthly pmt. request...they accepted. The 1st pmt. was sent to Cap. One, then forwarded to the lawyers' office/acency. The second was sent directly to the lawyer/agency. Then, I get a Summons to appear in court and am told that I have 15 days to respond that I intend to defend myself on this issue. We responded, because we were told that if we didn't, the lawyer/agency could win a judgement against us and since we were making pmts. in good faith we should respond. We attached info. Take Charge America documents to show pmts. made to the agency/lawyer. The date they filed this Summons was after the first pmt. was made. They have not cancelled/dropped the case. I have contacted them and spoke to Supervisors, Take Ch. Amer. has also contacted them to ask them to drop the case since they agreed to the proposal, and have already accepted 2 pmts. By the time the court date comes around...I just found out the court date is at the end of August...they will have accepted 4 pmts. totaling $277.00. Why are they still taking me to court?
They called here this a.m. and told me that they received back the court date and my intent to defend info. I asked them if they intended to drop the case, and they said that they were not going to drop it. When I asked why they are accepting proposals and pmts. from Take Ch. Amer. but still intending to sue me for what will be under $1,000.00 by trial time, they said that they intend to collect their money on the debt I owe, and I can't deny the fact that I owe them the money. I told them that I do not dispute the fact that the debt is mine...that is why I've been paying them!
Then, today I got a document in the mail from the lawyer/agency stating that I now owe them $266.93 more due to interest at the rate of 22.400% per annum. This interest was listed as interest from the charge off date of Feb. 2006, and interest pursuant to the terms of the Contract attached to the Complaint.
Here's what I need to know:
1. Are they allowed to do that?
2. Why are they still suing me even after I'm making pmts. and they've entered into an aggreement with Take charge Amer. that meets the pmt. THEY requested?
3. Why am I still being sued, and they are ACCEPTING pmts. that will bring the ORIGINAL debt to under $1,000. by trial time?
4. What do I do about them tacking on interest at 22.400%?
5. What can I do about them contacting me EVERY DAY, even after I've given them all the info. they wanted and tried to work things out through Take Ch. Amer. and my own discussions w/ them?
6. If I STILL have to go to court, what do I need to bring to defend myself? I can't afford a lawyer, and I do intend to show up. What typed of things should I say? Is what the Peroutka law firm is doing legal?
Any and all help is sincerely appreciated. Thank you in advance for your time and advice.
What is the name of your state? Maryland
Hi. I am new to this website, and this is my first post. So, please bear w/ me.
A little history:
Within the last 3 years, my husband and I had a lot of debt pile up. The debt was due to car repairs, vet bills, medical expenses not covered by insurance, etc. that were charged. Some of this was while he was deployed in Iraq, and we were able to use the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act. As soon as he was off of Active Duty, those benefits ended. 3 months ago we decided to enter into a plan with Take Charge America and do a debt counseling program. We were making only minimum pmts., and weren't able to meet all the min. pmts. on some accts. due to interest/finance/late charges. We were not able to put anything into savings, and not able to afford groceries some weeks. So, this seemed like a good option to us. We put all the accts. that were over $1,000. on the program. All the creditors accepted the proposal, and we were able to save around $700.00 monthly between the Take Ch. Amer. plan and paying off one of our vehicles. The money we freed up, we've been using to pay off the smaller accts.
Take Charge Amer. contacted me and told me that a Cap. One acct. in the amt. of $1,158.39 had been charged off and was being handled by a collection agency owned by 2 lawyers in my state..Peroutka Law Firm. I contacted them and got all their contact info. and my file #. Take Ch. Amer. made a proposal to them meeting their increased monthly pmt. request...they accepted. The 1st pmt. was sent to Cap. One, then forwarded to the lawyers' office/acency. The second was sent directly to the lawyer/agency. Then, I get a Summons to appear in court and am told that I have 15 days to respond that I intend to defend myself on this issue. We responded, because we were told that if we didn't, the lawyer/agency could win a judgement against us and since we were making pmts. in good faith we should respond. We attached info. Take Charge America documents to show pmts. made to the agency/lawyer. The date they filed this Summons was after the first pmt. was made. They have not cancelled/dropped the case. I have contacted them and spoke to Supervisors, Take Ch. Amer. has also contacted them to ask them to drop the case since they agreed to the proposal, and have already accepted 2 pmts. By the time the court date comes around...I just found out the court date is at the end of August...they will have accepted 4 pmts. totaling $277.00. Why are they still taking me to court?
They called here this a.m. and told me that they received back the court date and my intent to defend info. I asked them if they intended to drop the case, and they said that they were not going to drop it. When I asked why they are accepting proposals and pmts. from Take Ch. Amer. but still intending to sue me for what will be under $1,000.00 by trial time, they said that they intend to collect their money on the debt I owe, and I can't deny the fact that I owe them the money. I told them that I do not dispute the fact that the debt is mine...that is why I've been paying them!
Then, today I got a document in the mail from the lawyer/agency stating that I now owe them $266.93 more due to interest at the rate of 22.400% per annum. This interest was listed as interest from the charge off date of Feb. 2006, and interest pursuant to the terms of the Contract attached to the Complaint.
Here's what I need to know:
1. Are they allowed to do that?
2. Why are they still suing me even after I'm making pmts. and they've entered into an aggreement with Take charge Amer. that meets the pmt. THEY requested?
3. Why am I still being sued, and they are ACCEPTING pmts. that will bring the ORIGINAL debt to under $1,000. by trial time?
4. What do I do about them tacking on interest at 22.400%?
5. What can I do about them contacting me EVERY DAY, even after I've given them all the info. they wanted and tried to work things out through Take Ch. Amer. and my own discussions w/ them?
6. If I STILL have to go to court, what do I need to bring to defend myself? I can't afford a lawyer, and I do intend to show up. What typed of things should I say? Is what the Peroutka law firm is doing legal?
Any and all help is sincerely appreciated. Thank you in advance for your time and advice.