Bank of America has hired a law office to sue me for $3,500.?

Question

This is for a credit card account I stopped paying a year ago. They have called my parents' home (I don't live there) and told them what was going on. They revealed personal details about the account. At this time I don't have money to pay or offer a settlement. I have no assets. They keep callming my parents' house and sending threatening letters. Can anyone offer advise?

Thanks for your answers. I might add that I disputed a charge of $1,000.00 which wasn't mine. The disputes I sent went unanswered so I decided to simply stop paying.

My father just called me and advised me that they called again and told him these exact words "if your son does not pay the amount of $3,500.00 by monday june 17th, we may have to file a claim agasint him." They gave my dad my social security number and date of birth and the Bank of A account number.

Thanks a lot for all your answers. The party who is calling my parents and sending letters is not B of A. It is a firm called Phillips & Cohen. Both letters and calls are threatening. Also, one very important thing I need to know... how can I get some bargaining power witht them? I have no money right now to pay back. I can't afford an attorney. When I go to court, how can I represent myself against them? Thank you

Answer 1

pay yo bills man
then you wouldn't have to go through this mess

Answer 2

Ok. lets get a few things cleared up here.

IF this is actually Bank of America calling you and NOT a 3rd party collection agency then the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) does NOT APPLY. The FDCPA only covers 3rd party debt collectors.

Calling the police for threats by a collection agency is pointless, the police will not get involved, they'll laugh you off the street and tell you to pay your bills !

There is NOTHING in the Fair Credit Reporting Act that has anything to do with debt collection practices other than what gets placed on your credit reports.

Just because you have no assets does NOT mean they can't take anything from you. Judgments last anywhere from 5 years to 20 years to forever depending on your state's laws. What that means is that they judgment will be around for a long time and when you DO have some assets, the judgment credito can try to take them to get paid.

Not ALL courts will order you to make payments, that again is up to YOUR STATE'S laws.

OK, IF the person(s) calling you parents are 3rd party debt collectors (a collection agency) then they are NOT allowed to reveal details of your debt to ANYONE but you. Giving your parents details would be a violation of the FDCPA. If it is actually BofA, then they are NOT violating the law and original creditors can pretty much do whatever they want to collect a debt. Unless STATE law prohibits it, they are not breaking the law.

Anytime a collector gives you some ridiculous deadline to 'pay up or else' by a specific date, like "5:00pm today" or two days from now, it is a SCARE TACTIC. They are putting on the pressure to get you to pay up and adding to that by getting your parents involved.

If this is a 3rd party debt collector, then you do need to send them a cease and desist telling them they are to stop calling your parents, you do not live there, and their 3rd party disclosure is a violation of the law. If you tell them to stop calling YOU, you will be asking for a lawsuit - and BofA DOES sue.

You had better get a job, or a 2nd job and start earning some money to pay this debt. For $3500, BofA WILL sue you and you'll be stuck with a judgment for quite some time. Wages can be garnished (unless you live in NC, SC, TX or PA), bank accounts can be seized and any non-exempt assets can be taken.

It's not what you do or do not have TODAY they're after, it's what you WILL have in the future that they will be after !

Answer 3

Call them, give them your address, and tell them to leave your parents alone. If you have no assets, they can get no money from you. If they threaten you in letters, you can report them to the police. If the "threats" are just letting you know they are taking you to court or reporting this bill to the credit companies, it is not a threat. They will really do so, and it is legal.
Get a job, and start paying on your obligation. It does not matter if they say you have to pay more a month. If they refuse it after you send it, you no longer owe it. If they still take you to court, some payment is better than none. The judge will look more favorably on you. Don't worry about going to jail. That won't happen unless they can prove you ran up this debt in order to defraud them. If you did that, you should be in jail.

Answer 4

It has probably been turned over to a collection agency. You will have to pay back the original charges but can negotiate the interest and penalties. This will not go away. Sooner or later it will catch up with you. When you want another credit card, buy a car or house or even get a cell phone. Your credit history will haunt you. They legally shouldn't revealed information about the account but there isn't anything that you can do about it. If you have to, borrow the money from your parents. But if I were your parents I probably wouldn't, sounds like you are pretty irresponsible. You can always try to work out a payment plan with the collection agency or contact a debt consolidation company

Answer 5

Regardless if someone owes a debt or not..It doesn't give any collection agency the right to harass anyone. Dude you have rights. I saw a story on dateline about how collection agencies were harassing people and going as far as threatening a person's life.

There is an agency you can call to report the company. Unfortunately, I'm not sure. But if you could probably contact dateline or something someone would be able to point you in the right direction to report this collection agency. Or do a search in the search engines..

In the mean time, write the company a letter telling them to not contact you or your family. After you have written the letter, they are not suppose to contact you or your family. It would be good to contact them by letter. AND if they contact you, you'll have that to include in your report when you report them to the proper company that oversee these collection agencies..

Good luck..
If you can negotiate on 1/3 of what you owe them do it...Don't pay until they send you a written statement...saying they'll remove the debt from your credit report on the agreement you agreed to pay.

Answer 6

Do not be put off from talking to an attorney because of costs. It costs nothing to talk to one.

I am not an attorney, but I have an opinion based on my own experience.

Talking to your parents about the specifics on the account would be illegal. Unless your parents are co signors or on the accounts in question. The caller may work under an attorney. I doubt it was an attorney calling you.

First. Understand your rights, Visit the FTC web site.

As soon as possible send them a certified return receipt letter stating to cease and desists calling you at home or at work. Make clear in the letter that you believe they are guilty of violating The Fair debt Collection Practices Act rules on third party disclosure. Do not elaborate beyond that.
Make certain to let them know you are preparing to hire an attorney.

Depending on the laws of your state , you may want to record any calls they make. Also be prepared to contact an attorney see if they will take this on contingency fee.

Answer 7

First of all them them to stop calling you, and under the Fair Debt Collection Act they are required by Federal Law to do so. After you tell them, send them a letter via certified mail within one week. Make sure that you get a return receipt, and keep a copy of the letter. In the letter give your personal information such as your ssn, name, address, etc, and tell them not to contact you any longer. This is called a cease and desist letter, so be sure to list that in the letter. It is illegal for any creditor to discuss your account with another party that is not associated with it. This could result in you be able to sue in small claims court. Also, keep in mind, although they can no longer contact you after you send in a certified letter, this does not prevent them from taking you to court to collect this debt. This debt can remain on your credit report upto 7 years. Also keep in mind, always assume that the call is being recorded if they do call you. Believe it or not, this could be used in court against you. I wouldn't suggest bankruptcy, unless it's a last resort. Debt counseling is a waste of time, as you will no longer be able to open any new credit accounts, otherwise it would cancel your debt counseling plan. I'm not an attorney, but I do work for one as a legal assistant, and after many years, I have learned a few things. hope this helps!

Answer 8

By the time you engage lawyers, agencies etc as some people advise, you will have spent as much a you owe. Just know the following:

If you are above the legal age for your state, your parents are not liable and they can put the phone down next time the bank calls them.

If you have no assets, they cannot take anything from you.

If they go to court and you admit you have any earnings, the court will order you to repay in installments. But if you deny it, they cannot find it out. But, of course, an honorable man should always tell the truth. In any case, ask for free legal aid.

It may be good tactics for you to go to the bank, ask for the manager and tell him that you have no assets and no earnings, if they sue you, you will counter sue them for disclosing your confidential info. and for acting irresponsibly in allowing you and encouraging you to get into such heavy debt. I think they will back down and learn a lesson.

Answer 9

This is probably a scare tactic from a collection agency or B of A's credit dept. Call them, don't let them intimidate you (they will if they get half a chance).

Make some kind of payment schedule with them. After all, you did spend their money, didn't you?

If you don't want to pay them and have a valid reason, (my personal experience with B of A's poor attitude with their customer base makes me add that), go ahead and go to court. I've seen cases where the judge makes them settle for pennies on the dollar.

Don't let them bully you. Remember the guy or girl on the phone is probably just a minimun wage collector.

Good luck.

Answer 10

Dont be confused with collection agencies that use names that can be confused with law offices.

I assume they do not have a way to contact you, which is why they are contacting your parents. ( they answer the phone).

You have 4 choices.

1. Get mom and dad to change their phone number.

2. Pay the debt, or make payment arrangements.

3. Credit Counseling

4. Bankruptcy

They are entiteled to sue you. BK will stop law suits, but have a bad effect on your credit. Either way, your going to suffer credit, write off ( 7 yrs) or BK ( 10 yrs ).

Answer 11

You got some great advice. The one thing that jumped out at me is the dispute for $1000.00. Under Federal Regulation E, they have to respond to you within a timely manner, given that you provided accurate contact information. Ask the credit card company for verification of the response. If they are unable to comply with your request, they eat it. On the flip side, find your paperwork where you started the investigation.