When can I request Arbitration with the Court?

[prose14]

Florida


I was served with a complaint on 10-12-18, my Answer and Affirmative Defenses were filed with the Clerk of the Court on 10-15-18 and the Attorney signed for the Service Copies of the Answer on 10-18-18.

The Plaintiff, Portfolio Recovery Assoc, states that I owe them a debt of 7k+. The only attachment was a credit card statement, that had numbers blacked out on it, as their proof that they now own the debt. No Assignment or Chain of Ownership from the original Creditor or anyone else they may have had it.

I found a federal website that has all credit card agreements and there is an Arbitration clause listed in the contract agreement for the alleged debt. Do I wait for the Plaintiff to review my Answer and move forward with the courts and then submit a Motion to Compel Arbitration?

Thank you in advanace for any guidance that you can give me, I am Pro Se.

 

[Zigner]

Florida


I was served with a complaint on 10-12-18, my Answer and Affirmative Defenses were filed with the Clerk of the Court on 10-15-18 and the Attorney signed for the Service Copies of the Answer on 10-18-18.

The Plaintiff, Portfolio Recovery Assoc, states that I owe them a debt of 7k+. The only attachment was a credit card statement, that had numbers blacked out on it, as their proof that they now own the debt. No Assignment or Chain of Ownership from the original Creditor or anyone else they may have had it.

I found a federal website that has all credit card agreements and there is an Arbitration clause listed in the contract agreement for the alleged debt. Do I wait for the Plaintiff to review my Answer and move forward with the courts and then submit a Motion to Compel Arbitration?

Thank you in advanace for any guidance that you can give me, I am Pro Se.

Do you owe the money?

 

[prose14]

Based on the attached statement I have no way of telling if it is the account that I had years ago or nothing showing how they arrived at the total amount.

 

[prose14]

Any idea when I can file for Arbitration? Thank you.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Florida
Do I wait for the Plaintiff to review my Answer and move forward with the courts and then submit a Motion to Compel Arbitration?

Typically you'd move for that immediately after the answer. What you want to avoid is getting so far into the court case that the court would say you are committed to the court litigation and have waived arbitration. But be aware that arbitration may not necessarily favor you in this dispute. You should look the Florida Arbitration Code as those rules will apply if you want to seek arbitration.

 

[prose14]

I appreciate the guidance on this and will contact the Clerk of Court to get moving on the request after I look at FL code that you referenced. I hope that someone helps you today. Thank you.

 

[Zigner]

Based on the attached statement I have no way of telling if it is the account that I had years ago or nothing showing how they arrived at the total amount.

This is a cop-out answer. I didn't ask if the paper they sent somehow proves that you owe the money. I asked if you owe the money. You know if you owe the money.

Don't bother with an answer - just remember that playing games can ultimately end up with you owing significantly more money.

 

[Zigner]

Sorry about that, I thought you meant the amount that they showed on the Complaint. Yes, I defaulted a credit card years ago but the amount is not the same and not the amount owed to the original creditor.

Ok, so what you are arguing is how they arrived at the figure only, not the fact that you owe money. In that case, you must keep in mind that you will owe interest and legal fees. I don't believe that arbitration is going to help you in the least. You may wish to attempt to contact the collector and settle this before court. You might be able to negotiate a lower total amount if you pay it in a lump sum. Don't expect them to accept a payment plan (you don't have the best track record with making payments). They *may* accept a payment plan if you sign a stipulated judgment. In essence, if you make the payments on time, then they don't file the judgment. Miss a payment and the judgment gets filed.

 

[Zigner]

You're welcome. Good luck.

 

[prose14]

Alrighty then, back to square one here. They will offer me nothing solid that they own this debt. It will have to be the "legal avenue" to provide that information. From what I gather Arbitration is more of a streamlined process. Is that correct? They have the burden of proof to either a court or an Arbitrator, again, is that correct? Ii would like to try to keep this thread about Arbitration so I can stay organized with any notes. Thank you.

 

[Zigner]

I'm sorry that you ignored my advice. Best of luck to you.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Alrighty then, back to square one here. They will offer me nothing solid that they own this debt. It will have to be the "legal avenue" to provide that information. From what I gather Arbitration is more of a streamlined process. Is that correct? They have the burden of proof to either a court or an Arbitrator, again, is that correct? Thank you.

Arbitration is often more streamlined, but not always. And generally the creditor will have the burden of proof. But look at the rules for arbitration that are in the creditor's contract with you. The details in there can be important. And note that one problem with arbitration can be that the arbiter has at least some bias towards the creditor because it selected the arbitration firm and that firm has an interest in keeping that creditor as a customer. If the arbitration firm rules too often against the creditor that might cause the creditor to pick a different arbitrator in the future. That would lose money for the arbitration firm. So if the arbitration firm is designated in the contract, I'd be a bit concerned about how objective that arbiter will actually be.

 

[Zigner]

The problem I see is that the OP is almost certainly going to lose, whether it be in court or in arbitration. The OP acknowledges owing the money and is upset that the creditor won't provide documentation that he has not properly requested. The OP should be focused on keeping this out of court/arbitration and the best way to do that is by trying to reach a settlement.

 

[Taxing Matters]

The problem I see is that the OP is almost certainly going to lose, whether it be in court or in arbitration. The OP acknowledges owing the money and is upset that the creditor won't provide documentation that he has not properly requested. The OP should be focused on keeping this out of court/arbitration and the best way to do that is by trying to reach a settlement.

That may be true. However, it's his right to make the collector prove the debt. And I have seen cases in which collectors did not get sufficient documentation from whomever they bought the debt from to prove the debt. Some just get a computer file of names, addresses, SSNs, account numbers and amounts owed. And that might not be good enough to sufficiently establish the debt. So without seeing what the collector actually has I cannot say how likely it is the creditor would win.

 

[Zigner]

That may be true. However, it's his right to make the collector prove the debt. And I have seen cases in which collectors did not get sufficient documentation from whomever they bought the debt from to prove the debt. Some just get a computer file of names, addresses, SSNs, account numbers and amounts owed. And that might not be good enough to sufficiently establish the debt. So without seeing what the collector actually has I cannot say how likely it is the creditor would win.

Fair enough