Should I accept this settlement/judgement?

[mo99]

What is the name of your state?Pennsylvania

I received a "Notice to Defend" summons about 2 months ago.I filed my response with the County Courthouse within the required 20 days.In the response,I filed a counterclaim against CACV of Colorodo for their many violations and harrassment when in contact with me.
A couple weeks ago, their lawyer that they have in PA,contacted me and we had a very productive discussion in an effort to bring this issue to a settlement.I sent him my proposal to settle for the original debt of 4200.00 I owed MBNA,minus all the fees.(2500.00)I proposed a 36 month payment plan to clear this debt.
I received paperwork from this lawyer stating that he and his "client" CACV accept the offer of repayment.I was sent 3 documents which I am not sure I should sign without advice or consulting a lawyer.The first one is a "Consent Order For Judgement"This document is the one I am most uncertain about.I want to repay this but do not want a judgement against me.Am I correct in thinking this?I thought a Judgement would be placed against me if it went to court and I lost.
The second document is the "Stipulation to Forebear From Execution" which basically states they are agreeing to settle for 4200.00 with 36 payments of 116.00.
The final document is a "Mutual Release".This states that I am forever discharging CACV of Colorodo and their agents from any wrong doing while pursueing this debt.
Should I sign these documents under these conditions? I wanted to clear this debt all along,but CACV's band of thugs made it impossible for me to deal with them in good faith. Thank you.

 

[JETX]

The forms you describe are pretty standard for this type of matter.
The "Consent Order For Judgement" will simply allow them to get a judgment from a court without your challenge IF you fail to abide by the agreement.

The "Stipulation to Forebear From Execution" agreeing to the terms, and the "Mutual Release" is to settle their claims against you AND your claims against them.

Of course, we can't advise to sign or not without reading the FULL text of the agreements, but as noted above, they don't sound particularly unusual or foreboding.

 

[mo99]

Thanks for your reply JETX.I want to make sure they are not trying to have me sign something I will regret later.I suppose I have a pretty good case for the violations of CACV for them to accept my offer of the original debt without all the added fees.The ironic thing about this is that is all I wanted from MBNA in the first place.I also am curious if I could do any better using a lawyer in this process.I am just not that sure of all the legal jargon on those documents.I believe the tactics CACV attempted to use are SOP for them,and I have the violations well documented.So in you opinion,these documents are standard and I wont have a judgement against me unless I fail to follow through with my payments set forth.

 

[stevek3]

The forms you describe are pretty standard for this type of matter.
The "Consent Order For Judgement" will simply allow them to get a judgment from a court without your challenge IF you fail to abide by the agreement.

The "Stipulation to Forebear From Execution" agreeing to the terms, and the "Mutual Release" is to settle their claims against you AND your claims against them.

Of course, we can't advise to sign or not without reading the FULL text of the agreements, but as noted above, they don't sound particularly unusual or foreboding.

They're not unusual or foreboding, but I think they're to his detriment.

Hey, Original Poster Guy: I admire somebody who acknowledges he actually owes something and isn't trying to make BS excuses for it. So, here's what you should do: You should be able to cut your debt in half without much of a negotiation problem with the lawyer. They obviously feel there were indeed some FDCPA violations, or they would not ask for you to sign a separate release. So, just for the sake of discussion, let's say you could have gotten a $1,000 judgment against the debt buyer itself, and a $1,000 judgment against one of the debt collectors. As a setoff, that would reduce your judgment balance by $2,000. Agree to pay $2,200, no more. Enter into a Stipulated Entry of Dismissal, NOT into a consent judgment. You do NOT want a judgment on your record. It may hurt you in the future. A dismissal always looks better. So long as you make your payments as agreed, there wouldn't be a problem. However, if you default, they would be permitted to vacate the dismissal and enter a judgment for the remaining outstanding balance of the $2,200.

I am very familiar how the guys at Collect America operate. In fact, a few years ago, I debated buying a small portfolio of Ohio accounts from them, but their supporting documentation for the accounts was slim pickens. Buying accounts without sufficient documentation is too dicey.

 

[mo99]

stevek3 Thanks for your advice.The judgement against me was my biggest concern.I have no problem with the reduction they gave me.That is all I wanted was to repay the original 4200.00 I owe.I took on an extra part time job,in order to settle this in a timely fashion.Thanks again for your advice.