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CC Collections, bankruptcy, judgements?

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NancyLou9

Guest
What is the name of your state? Ohio

Not sure what to do here... Perhaps a timeline will help...

About a month ago, hubby and I had decided to file BK, as a result of his ex trashing his credit with court filings (taking all our money for lawyers and outrageous child support) and creating credit in his name.

Three weeks ago we saw an attorney and were in the process of filling out the paperwork.

Two weeks ago, hubby found out he was losing his job due to cancellation of government contract he was working on (might be renewed after the election, depending on who wins).

Just over a week ago, had an appointment set up with lawyer to pay on fees and turn in paperwork. Friday before appointment (Friday before Labor Day, got call from major government contractor about telephone interview. Hubby had it on the Tuesday after Labor Day. Based on that interview, hubby was asked to be flown out there for face to face. This is a major job that requires he keep his security clearance. He was granted this SC in spring of this year, current employer then deactivated it June of this year, stating it wasn't needed for his current job. Can be re-instated should he get this new job.

Before the face to face, hubby and I made the choice to not file BK, since we were afraid it would jeopardize his SC. Paid two small old bills from his CR on his last payday. Given time, we could pay all the old bills on his CR within a year. I was in the process of collecting contact info for all the creditors on his CR and was going to start making calls this week.

Last Thursday, hubby was flown out for his face to face interview. Also, on same day, I came home from taking him to the airport and there was a notice in the mail of a certified letter from our local small claims court. I called and found out it is one of the old debts owed suing for an old CC debt. Old debt was $2200 and with all the fees the CA has added, it is now nearly $5000.00. I havent' picked up the letter yet, trying to figure out what to do.

On Friday, hubby had his four hour interview and was told at the end that if he wasn't made a job offer, they would be surprised. This looks very promising. We should find out in the next day or two if he got the job. If he gets the job, we will have to move 2000 miles to the left side of the US within a month. If he doesn't get the job obviously we will move forward with the BK since his income will be tremendously reduced. If we have to move, we can't file for BK in the new state for 91 days after arrival to the state. It would forstall any garnishments but for how long?

The CA that is suing hubby shows on his credit report and I was in the process of locating them to talk to them. They had never contacted hubby so I have no idea who they are, just saw their name on the CR of my hubby. Also, there is no way the CA could have known any of this was going on, so to say they are taking advantage of the situation to force something to happen wouldn't be fair. This is just bad luck and bad timing.

Would it do any good to contact the OC or the CA? Hubby really doesn't want this on his credit, although it really wouldn't make much difference at this point. We would really like to avoid court too.

Any advice would be much appreciated. I am a bit discombobulated at this point, so if there is any clarification needed, I would be happy to provide more details.
 
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Need more answers...

I know from personal experience how stressfull it can be to have questions piling up and no answers...but...my suggestion would be to wait until the BIG question...does he get the new job...gets decided before planning what comes next. You can drive yourself crazy with the what ifs...

One thing you can at least get more info on is the CMRRR letter. You said you found out its from an old CC debt...how old? Past the SOL? If so, its not a problem...you've got an absolute defence...they can't collect and you can sue them for trying. Also, how did you find out if you didn't get the letter? If you checked the small claims court and verified its on the docket, that's one thing, but if its just a letter from a CA that looks like a summons that something else again. Either way, you will have to deal with this so I'd look into this and wait for the job offer.

Good luck!
 
Also...

In re-reading your post, I've got a couple of other comments...

1. Never, ever call a CA. Do everything in writing, CMRRR. These people get paid to lie and intimidate...you need the paper trail if you ever have to fight them in court. And just because the claim to be an attorney doesn't matter...they're still a collection agency.

2. If the CA just popped up on your credit report and you have not had any contact with them prior to this, they have a lot of explaining to do. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) they need to contact you in writing to give you the opportunity to dispute the debt. You can find more info on dealing with these people at:

www.creditinfocenter.com
www.creditboards.com

3. I wouldn't tell OC or CA anything at this point. If they smell money in the water they'll be on you like ugly on an ape. It can wait a little longer...
 
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NancyLou9

Guest
The certified letter...

Is from the Municipal Court here. They handle all small claims. I called this morning and they told me the Plaintiff was a CA.

If he gets the job, we still need to resolve it, so it won't mess up his clearance.

Found out just now that the company is calling his references, so it's looking good here, since 5 of the 10 people he listed as references called hubby to tell him they gave him glowing references.

I have until the 19th to pick up the letter at the post office, so I'm using that time to circle my wagons.

Also, I don't know how long this CA has been on his bureau. I only just started looking at things about 3 months ago. The kids are now emancipated and we have money again. We were catching up our current bills, i.e. utitlities, before we even considered looking at old debts on our bureaus.

the CA has on hubby's bureau that they are unable to locate creditor. We have lived at the same address for over 6 years now. Also, we are still living at the address that we lived at when the CC was opened. How could they not find us?

Is this a defense to the small claims suit, that they didn't use due diligence in locating us and informing us of the debt? The debt in question is our debt, it is withing the SOL (barely... I don't know what the Ohio law is with regard to the beginning of SOL) and it's hard to say when it actually went into default due to all the reaging that was done on it.

I would appreciate your further thoughts on this. I am currently surfing the creditboards.com site to see if this particular thing is addressed... We really would like to avoid BK if we can, finding all of this maneageable, but if this CA persists, we will have no choice and then they get NO money...
 
Well...

According to the discussion forum at creditinfocenter.com the SOL for CCs in Ohio is 4 years. See:

http://www.debt-consolidation-credit-repair-service.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=574&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

And reaging is also a no-no. Technically, the SOL begins on the billing date where the account first went delinquent and nothing in Ohio can change that. Again, this can be a pretty good defense in court. You probably can also argue if they can find you to serve you with a summons, they should have been able to find you to give you your "mini-miranda" rights regarding the collection.

And, I know you have good reasons for just wanting to get all this settled and put away, but remember...if the OC has "charged off" this debt they've already been paid by the US taxpayer for their loss. You're now dealing with a CA and if you pay them you're only making it easier for them to continue to hassle other folks like you.

AND...even if it is your debt...the FDCPA has nothing to do with that...its purpose is to make the CAs play by the rules.

Having never had the need of a security clearance, I don't know how much a dinged credit record plays on that, but if the same rules apply that do for buying a house, have a paid collection is just as paid as having a charge off or lots of late charges. Bottom line is, I think, you need to fight these guys either way.
 
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NancyLou9

Guest
I just read something interesting

at creditboards.com where a man in GA was in the same situation... He countersued for a variety of violations, individually naming the CC company and all three lawyers that were owners of the firm/CA... Their response was to contact him to settle, with no money paid, non-disclosure and immediate dismissal of all lawsuits... He also got them to agree to drop the negative info from his CR...

Think this might be a good tactic? I can do the forms myself as I have been doing it for years with my husband and his ex. I have also done the forms for a civil suit we have in Common Pleas...

What do you think?
 
Good possibility...

If you've got all you ducks in a row, you can certainly give it a try. BTW, I'd suggest you go pick up that letter ASAP...there's nothing to be gained by waiting, and the sooner you know what you're dealing with the better.

Not all, but most of the CA/Lawyers that bring suit count on the defendant not knowing their rights and/or ignoring the court date so they get a default judgement. If you file a counter suit, and are prepared to defend yourself, you might get them to run away. This is particularly true if you already have an air-tight case...like past SOL...and, you might even make a little money on it.
 
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NancyLou9

Guest
So long as I keep it in small claims...

I think I can handle it. I used to take care of small claims stuff when I was the office manager for a property management company in Mississippi. It's really easy, but the judges tend to side with the plaintiff. However, we live in a very small town who tend to protect their own. Also, the judges here like to give as much latitude as possible when the defendant is pro se...
 
Just in case...

You might want to take a copy of the FDCPA and the FCRA along with you with all the appropriate place highlighted for the judge to read. One of the bad things about small claims is that the judge may not be up on consumer credit law...sometimes you get to educate them on the fly...
 
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NancyLou9

Guest
Im perfectly willing to do that...

Given this is a small town, I'm willing to bet that the judge isn't as familiar with consumer law as he should be. Also, the judge used to be a family judge, before he was appointed, elected, however they do it here... I'm sure he wouldn't know it...

My husband is feeling better about this, knowing they have violated the law...

Thanks for the good advice. You are a blessing to this board. Now if the Common Pleas judge will just rule on our civil suit against hubby's ex... He STILL hasn't ruled on her motion to dismiss she filed in March.
 

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