Could we sue a Law firm and Company for false information?

Question

My husband and I have been getting letters from a bank sent from a law firm stating that he is the person who owes them and needs to pay or else collections will be put on his credit report and involve a sue in court. I need to know due to we have contacted the agency spoke to their lawyers and they have not stop to this day. It has been a year and a half now and his credit is totally ruined.We contacted a law firm and he stated that we cannot get anything from this just his help to get our credit repair?? Is this true?? Can we sue them with a lawyer and get money to repair our credit and financial stress???

Answer 1

DO NOT use that letter that was posted by other poster.

It could lead to them going ahead and suing you. That letter is a full cease and desist. It leaves them with no option but to either sell the debt or sue. Probably to sue if you are still within the statute of limitations (SOL) for collecting or the debt is large enough,

You need to find out if you are still within the SOL statutes for collecting in your state.

Send the law firm a debt validation (DV) letter, send a copy to the collection agency. Include in your letter that - you are requesting that they do not call you at your place of business or at your home as it is inconvenient to you. All further correspondence from them must be done by USPS.
That is a limited cease & desist statement. They can still contact you but it must be done by mail only.
Do not sign those letters !!!!! Initial it or simply type your husbands name on it.

If you had send a validation request within the first 30 days from thier initial contact, they would have to cease all collecting until they validated. Since you have been dealing with them for over a year, you are well outside the first 30 days. They can continue their collection attempts even after you send them a DV.

If you are past the collecting SOL in your state, they cannot "legally" sue you. Though they may still try but you would have them on filing suit on a time barred debt.

If you are still within SOL for collecting, you need to keep a detailed record of every violation they have done. If they do sue, and they had violated in their reporting, correspondences, etc., you would have them on those violations and be able to file counterclaims.

Send your DV certified mail return receipt. When you receive the green card back, file disputes with the credit reporting agencies.

You need to learn what constitues violations either in the way they are reporting on your reports or in their letters to you.
I would suggest clicking on some of the links in my profile and do some reading.

If they had violated your rights you are well within your rights to sue them. The lawyer you spoke with may have not been the kind of lawyer that is versed in FDCPA and FCRA violations.

Learn your rights and how to use them.
Do not speak with them on the phone anymore, only communicate by mail.

Answer 2

Not likely. If your bill went to collections, the agency will usually call non-stop and send threatening letters. The worst they can do is lower your credit score. If they threaten to sue you, the original creditor would have done that before sending your husband's bill to a collections agency. You can send the law firm a "drop dead letter" (sample below) to have them cease communication. If they continue, you can sue them in civil court for harassment. The money you'd be spending on a lawyer is probably going to be more than the debt. In all honesty, the damage seems already done. The further behind you it is, the higher your credit score will go. It will matter much less after 2 years than it does now and in 7 years, it should drop off of your record. If there's a way you can contact the original creditor and offer to repay them directly, the information on your credit report should reflect that. The collections agent will get 1/3 to 1/2 of the money you pay back and the original creditor would get the rest. If you can take out the middle man, I think that it would do you some good. Here's the drop dead letter.




(Date)

To Whom it may concern:

I have been contacted by your company about a debt you allege I owe. I am instructing you not to contact me further in connection with this debt. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a federal law, you may not contact me further once I have notified you not to do so.

Sincerely,

(Name)

(Account No.)

Answer 3

Echo gave very sound advice. If the debt is within statute and sold to a new creditor for pennies on the dollar, they can and will sue to collect. If the debt is NOT yours, mistaken identity, identity theft etc. You will need to complete affidavits to that effect. All communications need to be in writing. How can you prove you had communications with them and what the subject matter was without a written record?? There is a cap of $1000 maximum per violation of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act plus damages including legal fees if your rights were violated. You need an attorney that specializes on FDCPA law.