A financial counseling services contacted me. They want over a thousand dollars up front to represent me in this lawsuit. Please advise on how to resolve this issue legally without having to pay almost the same amount, I alledgedly owe, to both capital one & to the financial counselor who wants to represent me.
2007-02-16 12:51:57 · 10 answers · asked by Trapp 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
I was served with a summons two weeks ago...
2007-02-16 13:37:14 · update #1
If you were a illegal , you'd have no problemo .
2007-02-16 12:56:31 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
1. The "counseling service" is a complete scam, and they absolutely have no right to represent anyone in a legal procedure. That's why God made attorneys.
2. If you owe around a $1000, that's a small claims court case, you can represent yourself.
3. Your best course of action is to simply contact Capital One, and say, look, I owe the money, I don't have the money, BUT I can pay you XXX amount of dollars each month, for XXX amount of months, which is a total of half what I owe you. Deal or no Deal?
If they're smart, they'll take the deal. Half is better than nothing, and you can pay what you're able to pay. Everyone is happy (except the crooked "financial counselor", what BS that is.)
If they say no and you end up in court, tell the judge you offered to make payments, and that's really all you can do. If he makes a judgment against you it will stay active for 10 years.
NOTE: They can attach your checking account if they get a judgment, and they will do it! Start a new account at a new bank where they can't get at your money as easily if they win, or you'll be writing out checks and they'll have the dough. The bank does not need to notify you that a judgment withdrawal has been made, you'll find out when all the checks start bouncing!
2007-02-16 13:16:38 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Even though your debt was "charged off", it doesn't mean you don't owe. It means that Capital One moved your account for bookkeeping purposes. You can be sued, garnished after suit, property seized, etc. The financial counseling services business- report them to your attorney general's office. Only an attorney can represent you in court, THOUGH depending on your state law, they might only be trying to mediate./negotiate a settlement for you, which would bypass any problems regarding practicing law without a license. Depending on your debt and your financial situation, it may be time for you to file bankruptcy. it would stop any lawsuit in it's tracks, end any garnishments (other than child support), and give you a clean slate to start over with. Your credit rating is probably already trashed, so the BK probably wouldn't hurt you anymore. Capital One would win their lawsuit, unless you never had the card with them, so you might want to think about it. Depending where you live, a bankruptcy will cost you $1000 to $2000. Shop around for an attorney. Just because they have the biggest ad in the phone book does NOT mean they will do a better job than the lower priced attorney. You might do ok with a bankruptcy preparation service if you don't own much. They will prepare the paperwork for you, but NOT represent you in court (you would do that yourself). It would be more work for you, but it would cost a lot less (filing fees, preparation fees, postage and copies).
2007-02-17 04:31:22 · answer #3 · answered by michattorney 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all, you say this counseling service contacted you? You did not request their services?
Sounds like a scam to me. If you did not initiate the contact, they may be a shady company that has gotten information on bad debts and are looking to make a few bucks.
If you owe Capital One, you need to make arrangements to pay them. As long as the bad debt is on your credit report, they will periodically sic the big dogs on you.
Contact them and see what they will take to settle the debt. This is known as a compromise settlement offer. The only problem with this is that the difference between what you actually owe them and the amount that you pay (the compromise settlement) is considered taxable income to YOU. The reasoning behind this is that you had the use of that money which you did not pay back.
However, at least you will have the debt resolved. The charged off amount does show on your credit report as a bad debt for 7 years though.
Good luck.
2007-02-16 13:06:05 · answer #4 · answered by Chris S 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would NOT deal with this financial counselor at all. They are contacting you to make a few bucks, not solve your problems. Contact an attorney immediately and see if you can resolve this issue outside the courts with Capital One. If you cannot resolve this issue and cannot pay the debt, I would consider filing for bankruptcy and having this debt dismissed as credit card debt is unsecured. This would have very serious negative consequences, like terrible credit for years, but may be your only option.
2007-02-16 13:10:06 · answer #5 · answered by msi_cord 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are 2 methods of discharging a debt. One is to pay it off and the different is thru a financial disaster. in case you probably did neither of those issues, then the debt continues to be valid, despite if the unique enterprise wrote off your debt as a foul debt. What the unique enterprise did is sell their undesirable expenses to a debt series enterprise for pennies on the greenback. the unique enterprise takes the sale of the debt as earnings, and the debt series enterprise tries to collect as much as attainable to make a income on the great transaction. as long by using fact the hot enterprise legitimately owns your debt and you probably did not pay it off in some unspecified time sooner or later or have this debt discharged via a financial disaster, you very own them the money. Sorry.
2016-12-17 11:48:55 · answer #6 · answered by penso 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For starters, only an attorney can represent you in a lawsuit. You need to review the complaint filed by capital one or better yet, have it reviewed by an attorney. Unfortunately, at this poiint you will need to consult with an attorney. getting sued can be very serious. Good luck.
2007-02-16 12:57:22 · answer #7 · answered by cinsingl83 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Make a compromise with Capital One so that no case will be filed against you. As mush as possible, pay any amount to appease the other party because litigation of the case will be more burdensome for you and might cost you more cash.
2007-02-16 12:57:01 · answer #8 · answered by FRAGINAL, JTM 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That's one of the corporate welfare issues I fuss about all the time. It's not right.
Basically they get to file the unpaid debt as a tax write-off then still chase you around in collections until you pay it back. It is legal and once again corporate welfare.
My advice is to move to a state like mine, NC, where they can't force you to pay nor garnish your wages.
2007-02-20 06:51:47 · answer #9 · answered by BeachBum 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The fact that Capital One charged off as bad debt, only proves that your guilty of not being a person who pays their debts. Why were you not a descent person in the first place, if you had paid Capital One, you would not be in situation, if you had paid it in the first place.
2007-02-16 12:59:17 · answer #10 · answered by m c 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋