Debt collection, threatening letter from lawyer?

Question

My mother just received a threatening letter in the mail today regarding an old account from the Law Office of Harris and Zide...
It basically states that "we have previously called this matter to your attention but to date you have not agreed to a payment arrangement to pay the balance on your account that is satisfactory..we feel that we have given you enough time to resolve this matter and that no such further extension should be permitted..unless we promptly receive your check in this office to clear your account we will proceed with whatever collection activity is necessary to enforce payment of this account.."
Well, my mother has never received anything from them in the past.. this was the first time she heard of them trying to contact her.. Also, I just started helping her with her budget and Ive been monitoring her mail and I never saw anything either... of course she wants to settle this debt, but she doesnt have the full amount..she can only do payments, and only starting

January. She tried to call them but they are closed.

Do you think they are just saying this, that they wont work with her, to scare her.. but in the end they will once she does speak with them? And what are her rights regarding payment arrangements if they do? Can she even tell them I cant start paying until January?
And worst case scenario, if they just refused to work with her and took her to court, and the court judged in their favor.. what does that entail? Is it a garnish of wages? And if so, how much? Like is there a percentage they cant take over? She has to have money to pay the rent and food and other bills.

She has health problems, one of which includes severe asthma, not alone she worries and stresses over the tiniest things.. which she is now doing.
Im just looking for any information that might help her relax and not end up having an asthma attack, or worse.

Thanks everyone, I told her the key things you were saying, which was that it is a scare tactic and she just needs to call them and tell them 'this is how much i can send and when' and then also send it via certified letter. I also let her know what the most was if they did go to court. Shes calmer a bit, so thanks

Oh and yes it is her debt, I saw it on her report a few months ago, but this is the first we ever received communication from this collection agency.

We live in California, and on her credit report it looks like the date of March 2004.. the account, when it started becoming past due says $1655, but this place says $2330 is owed..

Just today she got a summons. This is one day after she got the threatening letter.
So does she respond to it, the summons itself?

Answer 1

Check your state's statute of limitations - her debt may be too old for the collection agency to take legal action. Your mom may be about to throw away money unnecessarily.

Making a partial payment on this account would be a BIG mistake. Don't listen to people that say "Just send in $10 a month, they can't sue you." Making any type of payment, or even something as little as her admitting that she owes the debt restarts the statute of limitations. If the statute of limitations of passed, the collector may decide to file suit after she makes a payment.

Don't let the fact that a "law office" sent this letter scare you. They have the same powers as a collection agency, and still have to abide by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

So, here's my advice: If the debt is not beyond your state's statute of limitations, your mom should only pay if the debt collector agrees to remove their information from her credit report, and she is prepared to pay in full. She may also be able to get the collection agency to settle for as little as 50 cents on the dollar. Or, she can just ignore the bill. A lawsuit is possible, but it is just too expensive and too much trouble for most collection agencies/creditors to do.

If the debt IS beyond your state's statute of limitations, she's home free! Tell her not to pay them a dime!!!

Answer 2

Your poor mum. I am a debt collector in New Zealand and I belive it will depend on where you live but the general rules in New Zealand go that from sending you a letter directly from the lawyers firm it will go to a debt collection agency. they will then attempt to contact you to set up a payment arrangement with you( this has to be accepted by the company) If you are in a position where you can afford less than what they want you should be offered what is called a statement of means which you fill out to say what you recieve and what else you have to pay. from there they may let you take on smaller payments and then the payments will be reviewed. If no payment arrangement is taken into then yes they can have court documents drawn up but if it ends up going to court the court normally assess your money the same way as in a statement of means and they will issue you an order to pay however much they think you can afford and the company has to be happy with that because it is a judges ruling.

Hope this helps, if you have any questions your best bet is to visit a free community lawyer. They will be able to tell you the way it is for your area.

Good Luck and keep persisting

Answer 3

First, does she know what the debt is for? Is it really her debt? Harris and Zide probably bought it for 10 cents on the dollar or something like that from some other party, but you have the right to know who the original creditor is. Maybe she already paid it off or it's not even her debt but someone else's with a similar name. and if the debt is older than your state's statute of limitations (often 6 years, sometimes more or less) you don't have to pay. you should write them a registered letter asking, please tell me where this debt came from, I have never heard of Harris and Zide so why do I owe them money.
If they do not respond, your mom is legally off the hook, although they might still keep sending the letters.
It's hard to guess what they could do but they probably could garnish your mom's wages if she is working. how much is the debt-ten bucks or hundreds or thousands?
Also, I suggest you go on naca.net and get a consumer lawyer to help you altho it might be hard right now with all the people who have mortgage problems.

Answer 4

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RE:
Debt collection, threatening letter from lawyer?
My mother just received a threatening letter in the mail today regarding an old account from the Law Office of Harris and Zide...
It basically states that "we have previously called this matter to your attention but to date you have not agreed to a payment arrangement to pay the balance on...

Answer 5

I received a similar call and letter regarding a tax bill on my wife's automobile license plates...from 14 years ago. She was moving around a lot at the time and never received a bill, but probably forgot to call the state and tell them she was moving.

Anyway, along with the principal, they wanted something like 14 years worth of finance charges. Evidently the state just decided to turn it over to a collection agency without trying to contact her to resolve the matter first. We are responsible people and I called to resolve the matter. I paid the principle on the phone and wrote a letter of dispute on the finance charges. They came back 3 months later saying the finance charges were not going to be dropped. I posted some questions about this on here and received a lot of advice from multiple people telling me that I shouldn't have paid the principle because the statute of limitations on collecting the debt had run out. They advised me that by paying the principle, I re-opened the statute of limitations and the could collect and negatively impact our credit history.

I'd advise going to see a lawyer before paying a penny or working with these people. You may be in luck and have no further legal obligation to pay.

Answer 6

You can always check your credit records to find out if you actually have some debt out there that you might not be aware of or have forgotten about. And you know sometimes you can call these debt consolidation places and they can help you. And sometime even when the account is really out of date, I suggest, that you call and ask to speak to a supervisor, someone in charge, not jus the people you talk to on the phone. Explain your situation they may settle with you anyway, don't let the office of hoo haa scare you. Sometimes these places will help you out and give you a chance to make a payment on an agreed amount. But be sure to get everything in writing. Don't send anyone one dime before you do!

Answer 7

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harsh answers!! I agree you don't need a lawyer they won't be able to do anything, you'll just end up in more debt. from previous experience, there just empty threats. I visited citizens advices, they really helped and gave good advice. I know you blame them but you owe them money before you make yourself even more ill contact them and arrange a payment plan or visit CZA. Honestly they help. - this person wanted help, not abuse thrown at them! Keep your judgemental comments to yourself.

Answer 8

Your mom should contact them via phone or via mail and request:

a) validation of debt (which would be a copy of the itemized copy of the final bill)

b) dates of account (when did they happen)

c) if this company bought the debt from a company or are they trying to collect for the company.

Unfortunately collection companies can buy debts that are about to run out of statue of limitations, and since they "bought" the account it becomes their account and they are free to collect on it for another 7 years!

If you believe you don't owe the charges upon reviewing the bills, then you shouldn't make payments. Making payments is stating that you agree with the charges. If you don't agree with them you shouldn't make payments.

Pablo

Answer 9

this is the common approach that collection agencies use to force someone to pay their debt. You can show you goodwill by paying a part of the amount (be sure to keep the receipt) if you cannot pay the whole amount. This could be useful evidence that you are not escaping your debt and that you are willing to pay it up but at a later time than what they are demanding. These collection agencies are affiliated with law firms and they do not get paid unless they got to force someone to pay up, hence "collect". better to transact with the source of the debt itself rather than that 3rd party collection agency.

Answer 10

Call the office and explain that you are helping your mother get on track, because she has been ill. Tell them you have not seen any letter regarding this matter, and you have been going through all her corespondence with her. Tell them that she will not be able to send a payment until January, and tell them how much you are going to send. If they don't go along with this, then they will have to take you to court. Since you have prove that no letter was sent, and you tried to make arrangements, the courts will work with you on this. This is also a way to threaten you. If this causes your mother to much stress let them know that also.