i have just received a letter stating my wages would be garnishd for approx. $17,000. It also says that i was notified of the court date. I have lived in the same place for 4 years and was not notified. is there anyway i could prove that and would it even matter if i could? If you're wondering if i owe the debt i honestly don't know. It is from a Credit Acceptance Corp. Online that is an auto loan place. the only car that went back was from a buy here pay here place. Do they sue you if the car goes back?
2007-05-14 12:51:44 · 6 answers · asked by katiedid 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
I worked in a collection agency/ Law firm for 9 years. Yes they can sue you for a car that has gone back. What they do is they sell you car for any amount that they can get and the difference is then placed on your credit report. If you were not served with a summons and complaint what you need to do is to file an Order to Show Cause with your local court. In in advise them that you were not served and that you have not resided at the address of service for the past 4 years. Also ask them to prove that you owe this debt. You will be given a court date. Bring your license and any other documents that you have that will verify your present address. If you can provide that the judgment would then be vacated and you will be given an opportunity to put in an Answer ( also found in court). The law firm would then have to provide proof that you owe this debt.
2007-05-14 13:03:43 · answer #1 · answered by fab m 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Only courts can order a garnishment so if the letter came from anything other than a court there could be a serious violation of the FCRA and FDCA, or someone trying to run a scam.
When you are sued, all reasonable attempts must be made to serve you. This is usually done by them delivering it to your house or place of work. If they do not know where you are they can do it by alternate ways. You need to contact the court the order is from and ask for the "Proof of Service". This will give you all of the information you need to know on when they said they served you. If you don't show up for court they enter a default judgement, and that really can not be reversed in most cases.
If it is something you honestly know nothing about then you could be a victim of Identity theft. You should pull a copy of your credit reports and verify that everything on your report is valid and yours. You are allowed 1 free report per year from each agency. If you are finding a lot of items that are not yours you could be a victim of identity theft. You will then have to contact your local police, and it would also be a good idea to consult an attorney. You can try and go through to repair your credit on your own, but it would probably be less stress on you if you have an attorney. This is the one case where you could probably get the judgement reversed but it will be a very time consuming process, and probably won't be complete until they have already started garnishing your wages.
2007-05-14 20:21:07 · answer #2 · answered by OC1999 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Run, do not walk to an attorney. It really depends on what you signed.
It sounds as if you, perhaps signed a document called a confession of judgment and it means you waived your right to have a trial. They essentially have a judgment and can go after their money.
Without knowing what you signed, it's impossible for anyone to say for sure what's going on but it sounds like they took the car back and are saying the $17,000 is a deficiency judgment. In other words, after they sold the car, they were still short $17,000. That amount sounds really high.
Gather all your papers and let an attorney (who deals in contracts or collections) help you sort through this.
Good luck.
2007-05-14 19:59:05 · answer #3 · answered by CGordo 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you had a car repossessed, you owe the balance of the loan plus repossession and sale costs, less whatever the car brought at auction. Even if you had gone to court, you would have lost the case if you actually owe the money. Even if you can prove you were not properly served, the BEST you could do is have the case rescheduled. You would still owe the money. My advice is to try to negotiate a repayment schedule.
2007-05-14 20:47:50 · answer #4 · answered by STEVEN F 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was going to tell you to notify the Courts to have the judgment set aside! But since I read further, I noticed it was a car deal. They are famous for the illegal & emproper service of summons in that business and get away with murder.
If this was a lease, you have to have it set aside, because it was a repossession and they sell the cars at whatever they feel like to make more money and devalue the vehicle to make their point and apply this to your credit and sue you for the balance as well.
If it was an outright purchase, they cannot sue for balances owing and it is still known on your records as a volentary repossession, but they can't sue you for the balance owing.
They eat the loss.
2007-05-14 20:03:37 · answer #5 · answered by ticketoride04 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You can't reverse a judgement (without probably spending more on lawyers than the amount of the judgement!)
If you did not keep up payments on a vehicle you purchased, of course they can sue you!
Learn a lesson from this unpleasant experience: save up and pay CASH for anything you want or need. Life will cost you a whole lot less!
Remember, dumb people pay interest, smart people EARN interest!
Best wishes!
2007-05-14 20:00:53 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋