How can you make a debt collector suffer for harassing you?
Problem
I received a call from a well-known collection agency yesterday. A lady called me up and claimed that one of my credit accounts have been assigned to them. The lady was quite rude. She told me that I owe $1,789 on an Amex credit card. She demanded a list of all my assets within a week. The lady also said that I will be sued if the payments are not made quickly. She said that my property will be seized by the collection agency if I don’t pay the amount.
As I didn’t have any clue about the credit card, so I glanced through my credit report. Unfortunately, I could not understand most of the things printed on it. Anyway, according to the report, I have opened a credit account back in 2004. Is the lady talking about this credit account? Has the Sol period on the debt passed? What is the best way to determine it? Can the collection agency really take away my house? I live in Fresno. I am quite worried about the entire scenario. What should I do? Please help.
Solution
After reading your query, it is quite clear that you aren’t sure as to whether you really owe the debt. A lot of consumers face problems in understanding the credit reports correctly. Various websites offer free sample credit reports to the viewers. You can go through them to understand your report correctly.
Since you aren’t sure about the debt, you should ask the collection agency to validate the debt in writing. Under federal laws, the collection agency has to stop the collection efforts if they fail to validate the debt.
After receiving the validation letter, you should check whether or not the information mentioned on the letter is matching with what is there on your report. If the information mentioned on the debt validation letter is correct, then it is advisable to pay the amount, If you can’t afford to pay the entire amount, then you can take advantage of debt consolidation in Fresno and clear your dues.
If the collection agency doesn’t validate the debt, then you should consult an experienced consumer attorney in Fresna. It will be better to work with a lawyer who is ready to deal with your case on a contingence basis. The fee will be primarily based on suing the collection agency for violating the FDCPA laws. As per the FDCPA laws, the collection are forbidden to make false threats (seizing your house) to the consumers. They can’t possibly seize your home if your card has not been backed by collateral.
If the collection agency really files a lawsuit against you, then you should give a reply to the summons and appear in the court. Otherwise, the case will go in their favor. The Sol period for the state of California is 4 years. It starts from the first date of default on the debt. So, if the debt is truly yours, then calculate the Sol period from the first of default.
Finally, if the Sol period on the debt has really expired, then the collection agency can’t sue you under federal laws. If they have still filed a lawsuit against you, then it is another violation of the FDCPA laws. In such a situation, you can show the document to the court which proves that the Sol period on the debt has expired. This will help you win the case and the collection agency will be penalized for violating the FDCPA laws.
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