My roommate had bad credit and purchased a couch under my name, proceeded to sell it on Ebay and then gamble the money away. Now a law firm has contacted me saying they are suing me and I will be responsible for attorney's fees and court costs. My credit has been damaged anyway due to other things with my old roommate. Should I be worried that they will sue and force me to pay it by taking it out of my paycheck or taxes?
2006-12-12 07:13:48 · 12 answers · asked by mj 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
They can legally sue you for the funds that you owe them. They usually try to avoid that by settling the account with you directly. Let's say you owe them $1,000 then why are they going to spend $250 to take you to court. Most attorneys like to use those tactics to get you to pay something any thing for that matter. Once you pay the account then that will help to improve your credit overall anyway.
2006-12-12 07:18:27 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I dont know of anyone who has been sent to jail over non-payment of a relativly small debt. Actually the best thing to do, is just ignore it, Dont respond to the letters, etc. I am assuming you dont have the money to pay for it, so why fight it? The longer you keep communications open with the creditor, the longer it will stay on your credit report. I saw a report, where it said its actually worse to start paying after a while, because then the debt is updated and renewed on your report. ... another good thing to do is to get a free copy of your credit report thru the federal site, and dispute any items that are negative. If the company cannot verify everythig theyve said against you, it has to be removed from the report...do this at different times of the year, rotating credit reporting companies, and it can help get rid of bad credit.
2006-12-12 15:51:31 · answer #2 · answered by wrnbby 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, that's exactly what they'll do. So if you can prove that your roommate is the one who actually made the purchase, (even with your permission), and that you had an agreement that he would pay for this in full, start the process of suing HIM. Right now. If not...this is a valuable lesson. You need to go ahead and pay this off as soon as you can. Losing money is way better than having your credit damaged.
2006-12-12 15:26:49 · answer #3 · answered by chelleedub 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The courts will force a payment plan and may garnish your wages.
But bigger than this...you've been a victim of identity theft and you've done nothing about it? Your roommate committed a federal crime...a felony...that could land him in jail and you've just let him destroy the next 7+ years of your life? Why haven't you filed to change your SSN? Why haven't you called the police? Why haven't you written disputes with the credit bureaus? Why haven't you set up fraud alerts with the bureaus? Why haven't you gone to the furniture company and proven they were defrauded? Did you bring a copy of your lease with valid ID to show the difference in signature on the furniture contracts?
The court has to prove it was you, but if your roommate has done prior damage to your credit and you've done nothing to rectify it or have him arrested, this will just make you look even more guilty. If you've done things to prove the damage done and could show a history of him doing things like this, you may have a shot, but you HAVE TO go legal. The only thing that may save you is if you take action NOW and report this to the police. If you sit and do nothing, unless the furniture contract comes in written in crayon, you're screwed.
If you do nothing, you're going to end up paying for the furniture off of your hard work and pay. Since you've done nothing to stop him, he will continue to do it until YOU can't get approved to walk accross the street. You've allowed him to screw you credit big time. You need to contact the police and a lawyer immediately.
***EDIT - ANYONE who is advising you so wait to get the paperwork or to just settle shouldn't be listened to. You have been the victim of a very serious felony offense and settling your roommate's actions to ruin your credit will FORCE YOU to own the ruined credit for a minimum of the next 7 years***
2006-12-12 15:21:12 · answer #4 · answered by dougzinboston 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Once a law firm call, it is no long a scare tactic. You are going to be sued if you don't settle with them and will lose. Contact them and setup payments.
Then contact the police and another lawyer about suing your roommate for fraud and identity theft.
2006-12-12 16:25:35 · answer #5 · answered by Sun and Sand 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What happened here is a law firm bought the debt from the credit card company and now they are trying to collect from you. If the debt was $10,000 the law firm probably paid $5,000 for it and will try to make a profit. Most of what they are doing is a scare tactic unless you have a lot of assets, money stashed away, or some sort of investment/trust fund. If your basically broke there isn't much they can do to you. Tell them you were considering personal bankruptcy from all your debt unless they have a better idea and their tone will change.
2006-12-12 15:26:55 · answer #6 · answered by Cyber Stalker 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You may want to consider filing a complaint against your roomate for credit card fraud. If you are a victim of fraud you are not liable for the charges,and therefore cannot be sued by the credit company. I had to do this because somone used my credit without my permission, and didn't pay the bill. I cleared my credit, and the other party took responsibility for what they owed. And it cost me nothing!
2006-12-12 15:23:38 · answer #7 · answered by Liz 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are responsible since the transaction is your name. Unless you can prove your roommate stole your identity, you will probably be held responsible. They can't take it out of your taxes, but they can try to take it out of your paycheck.
If your roommate did steal your identity then you should file a police report.
2006-12-12 15:23:59 · answer #8 · answered by AW 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Absolutley! They can and will do it. It's unfortunate it got to this point, but just be willing to work with them. They'll probably try to set you up on a payment plan, and it may come out of your check. Jump on it if you can to avoid the court fees! Sorry that had to happen to you.
2006-12-12 15:18:08 · answer #9 · answered by Living for today and a good wine 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yep. Contact the lawyer, explain the situation and hope he will let you enter into an agreement to make payments. Do this ASAP. They will garnish your paycheck and that can be up to 2/3rds of your check. Never let some one else buy something in your name. But you know that.... now.
2006-12-12 15:23:42 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋