I hope you didn't pay these "law firm" clowns. Many of them will buy old non paying debt like this for something like $1.oo for every 100,000.00. They then threaten debtors til they are blue in the face. Credit Cards are unsecured debt usually. They can thunder, but not much lightning. Go to "Dave Ramsey" site and search around for info on credit card payments for some interesting info, or listen to him live online. This type of thing happens daily on his show usually.
If the credit card was not being paid, the credit card company shut down the account, and sold the bad debt off for pennies to this "collection agency" with a "law firm" front and THEY SUCKERED YOU it sounds like, using fear.
WHO "TOLD" you HAD to sign anything?? IF you signed, it is likely too late. WATCH for them to come back for more from you. KEEP ALL RECORDS! NEVER throw them away. I promise this could come up 10 years from now again.
They can make ALL KIND OF CLAIMS, that doesn't make it so. Since you owed the money, if it went to court NOW, after signing the form, YOU are out of luck I think.
Check with a lawyer.
There is ONE SMALL probablity they committed 'FRAUD' if you really wanted to pursue it. It would cost A LOT more than 1200.00 for that likely, and they know that. That's why they will do it time and time again and no one stops them. It costs too much to stop them, and it simply isn't worth it.
I had a customer that filed for bankruptcy against me. About two months before this filing they paid all the owed to me. They owed me nothing by the time the filing took place. However, little is it known, but ALL PAYMENTS MADE BY a company that goes bankrupt can be collected back from those paid up to 3 months prior to the bankruptcy filing. ANYWAY, many months after the whole thing was over, the bad debt had been sold off to these collection agencies, and their 'law firm' fronts. In comes a letter to me demanding I send the money back, about $4000.00 to the law firm, and the law stating their right to it was referenced on the letter. REAL THREATENING TO those not aware to some degree of the law. See, to get that back, it would have to be a court order, not just them quoting some law. They suckered no telling how many people with that ploy. I never sent them anything but a 'demand letter' for all types of things, and a promise to send a letter to the criminal fraud investigation unit of my state and theirs, as well as to the BAR of all states they were registered to service in. I could sue them today if I wanted to for fraud and other things. Another point in that situation was that they did not attempt collect the pay checks paid out to all the former employees of my client for the three months prior to bankruptcy. This means they were manifesting preferential treatment to them, and not to me. This is punishable in many ways from what I have been told.
I am not a lawyer, all posts should be considered as for entertainment purposes, and not advice. Do Your Own Due Diligence.
