Will they sue me?

[PinkPink]

What is the name of your state? Illinois

I have a debt of $4700. I made the last payment in July of 04.
On 1/23/05 I was contacted by Gerald E Moore with a letter that I have 30 days to dispute the debt. This was the first communication I received from them.
On 2/2/05 I received a call from Gerald E Moore. The man stated that I have until today (feb 4th) to make full payment or they will follow through with a suit.
So far I have spoken to him twice and he insists I will be sued, asked me if I have an attorney.

Will they sue me if they had my account for only the last month or so?

I asked if I can make partial payment and he said that if I do not make full payment then they will follow through and a sheriff will come to my house with a summons.

Some more info about me:
I have no property. I have a car which I still owe $6000 on (paying on time every month). I do not work which is why I do not have the money to pay them. I asked if I can make partial payment and he said that if I do not make full payment then they will follow through and a sheriff will come to my house with a summons.

I am really scared of this situation, I do intend to pay my debt, but I can't pay the full price right now. I can make about $1000 payment but they wont accept it.

Will they sue me? Will they do it soon?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ladynred]

Will they sue you ?? NO one can tell you that, but it IS possible. A lot depends on who the ORIGINAL CREDITOR is and whether or not the debt has been SOLD to Moore or just assigned to them to collect. If the original creditor was Discover or CitiBank, you most likely WILL be sued.

You have few assets and you don't work, so they can't garnish wages and theres no property for them to attach - except your bank account. How do you make a car payment when you have no job ??

Their threat of a lawsuit is a huge scare tactic and if they don't really intend to go thru with it, then the threats are also a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) - which you need to read ASAP.

The insistence on full payment 'or else' is very typical of a high-pressure collection agency, don't let them scare you into doing something you can't afford to do.

 

[PinkPink]

Ladynred,

Thank you very much for your post.

I became very suspicious about them because they were very unprofessional when speaking to me. He kept telling me that I need to call my friends and ask them to help me out. He insisted that I put the amount on my mom's credit card (which I am an authorized user on). I told him that he has no right telling me what I should do in order to pay my debt. I could hear in his tone he was getting upset with me. He said that when they sue me then my bank account will be frozen, and my wages garnished. I told him that they won't garnish anything because I do not have a job, he said they will freeze my bank accounts etc. I kept asking more and more questions and he finally said 'see you in court' and hung up. Later that day he called me and said that they gave me more time to come up with the money (the due date was today). Today he left me a voice mail stating that I have until 2pm to call him or he'll go forward with the claim.

The original creditor is Direct Merchants Bank.

I am staring my own small business and that's where I am getting money to pay my car. My income is all in cash or personal checks and no one can garnish that unless I deposit into a bank account.
I make very little as I am just starting the business so I will not be able to pay this debt in full anytime soon.

I know that going to court wont necessarily mean they will clean me out of all my money, but I am very stressed about this because he said that my debt will go from $4,700 to almost $8,000 because of court fees.
I am really hoping to clean this all up without having to go to court.

Thank you again,

PinkPink

 

[Ladynred]

DMB, from what I've read from many people in the last 3 years, they DO sue, but not nearly as much as the others I mentioned.

A dead give-away for a high pressure full of bull collection agency is their stupid deadlines.. they don't mean squat. They are only meant to turn the screws on you, and add to the scare factor they peddle. They're hoping for a quick pay-day and they ALL think we're hoarding a treasure chest and just don't want to give them any !!

This is still a 'fresh' debt. If you last paid in July of last year, they didn't charge it off until THIS MONTH !! Since it is VERY early in this collection game, they'll try to pressure and scare you into paying them for a few months (at least) before they go so far as a lawsuit. With no assets and no wages, a lawsuit is even less likely.

The best thing for you to do is to STOP talking to them on the phone. These scumbag collectors use the phone as their weapon of choice for promoting fear and intimidation. Take the weopon out of their hands, don't talk to them, its pointless anyway. Tell the dirtball to put it in writing and mail it to you, then hang up. Let them talk to your answering machine. Keep a record of their calls and the threats they're making... they are violating the law and you DO have rights !

Read the FDCPA - learn your rights and their limitations.

 

[PinkPink]

Ladynred,

Do you think it's a good idea to send them this letter?
http://www.budhibbs.com/CeaseComm.htm

It's a cease communication letter. Is this legal to do?

I don't trust them so I would rather not give them any of my money. I would very much prefer to work with the CC and resolve it. Is this still possible?

Thanks so much for your responses, it's such relief to know they 'probably' wont do much for now.

Pink

 

[Ladynred]

A cease and desist letters is definitely legal and your right under the FDCPA. However, if you tell them stop contacting you completely, their next step WILL most likely be a lawsuit.

Budd Hibb's letter is good, but modify it a bit to say that they are to stop all PHONE contact and communicate with you IN WRITING ONLY. Send it certified, RRR and keep copies. They are allowed to call you ONE time after that to inform you of their next step. Anything more than that would be a violation of the law.

You MIGHT be able to work with DMB, but don't be surprised if they dump you back to the collection agency. Once creditors write off the bad debt, they generally want nothing more to do with it and if they've SOLD the debt, forget it, they REALLY don't care any more. Check your credit reports. If it says 'sold or transferred to another lender' its likely been sold.