will they really take me to court?

Question

I received a call from some guy who was supposedly a lawyer representing citi bank, about 6 months ago. and he demanded that i settle my depts by sending hundreds of dollars a month, at the time I was not working and had no money at all ( which caused me to be in dept)
well, i didnt and he vanished.
Now recently another guy called me, with the same tactics.
he says the citi bank is filing against me and asked if I had a lawyer i said no. so he ask if i would like to settle this out of court. i said sure, how do i do that? and he said i need to pay up 2,000 dollars. i said cant do that. thats all the money currently in my account and i have bills to pay.(like loans, cell bills and rent, plus food). i asked him, when this be filed and when i will have to go to court, he said with in 72 hrs . he got nasty and disrespectful. so i hung up the phone.
he also mentioned that i will have to pay THEIR COURT FEES! what? is that true? and are they really going to take me to court?

Answer 1

He is a collection agency. He neither has the ability or power to sue you. Only Citibank Corp can do that. Now, I am guessing the debt was less then $4,000. So, if that is the case, if Citibank decides to sue you, they can get judgment on the debt, the filing fees and that is about it. Unless the terms and conditions of the source of the debt provide otherwise. If it was a credit card, I would think that they also have a binding arbitration clause that does not let either of you sue in court, but you have to go to an arbitrator.
I am guessing that they think you won't ever pay, so they sent it out to a collection agency to bug you.
Oh, and if someone says they are an attorney, ask him/her, his bar number and state of license. If he refuses, he is a fraud, so just laugh at him and hang up.
Another was to deal with him is to ask his number so you can call him back. Get his name. They scare off pretty quick.

Answer 2

Hanging up the phone is fine, I'd have done the same thing except I'd have told him where to go before I did.

If this was really a lawyer he wouldn't need to be rude to you, he would just tell you what the situation was.

If he does turn out to be genuine you are still justified in hanging up because he was rude and you can call that harrasment.

Finally if it is all genuine then you will have to be notified IN WRITING by someone at some point.
It isn't enough to phone people up and tell them to turn up at court, that isn't how it works.

If you get that notification in writing then you either try and settle or you get yourself legal advice regarding what other action you can take.

Bear in mind that there is never any point is taking someone to court who can not pay.......that's what "can not pay" means.
Adding court costs to someone who can not pay doesn't mean they can now magically pay...it just means the bill is higher so they are less likely to ever be able to pay it.

Sensible lawyers don't do this, they try and find a way to get the best they can from it on the principle that something is better than nothing.

Wait for the letter to arrive and keep putting the phone down on the jerk.

Answer 3

I doubt it he would have it filed in 72 hrs, and you may not have to appear in court for a few months, but yes you are resonsible for your debts, and any court and attorneys fees. The best way to handle this is to see if they will allow you to make a deal where you give them a sum of money, if not you more than likely will get pleadings soon from the attorney stating the complaint and the entry of appearance from that attorney. Since you do not have an attorney that attorney can and will be calling you for correspondence.

Answer 4

Back in the 80's I was threatened unmercifully by credit card companies. Seriously....they cannot do that ,and verbally, followed by wriiten, ask that they not call you again, respond only by mail for written proof and order them to take you to court or they will be charged with harrassment. Let the judge decide. Inform your employer, tape your answering machine and keep all records. DO NOT IGNORE their attempts to collect what you owe. Send them a buck, 5 bucks.( by check or money order.....(MUST HAVE A PAPER TRAIL)..show you are attempting to pay on a regular basis and preferebly get a lawyer......YOU DO OWE WHAT YOU OWE.....the best you can hope for is having fees reduced......you will have to pay it. The relief is a reasonable payment plan and not being afraid to answer your phone.

Answer 5

These guys are from collection agencies, NOT Citi Bank.
The next time someone calls....
Ask their name, and return phone number.
Tell them are aware of the debt to Citi-Bank, but need a current copy of the ORIGINAL debt, as you have lost your copy.
Tell then upon receipt of the paperwork, your Lawyer will be in touch with their office, to finalize the payment due.

They will disappear. when they REappear, Use the same verbage on them.

IN THE MEANTIME..... get in touch with Citi Bank, tell them a collection company is harassing you, BUT will not send you the information you requested, and ask them to PLEASE send you their copy of the debt due, complete.

Immediately upon receipt, start paying the balance of ASAP, monthly installments every month, and get the amount owed Citi Bank eliminated.

Pay them with Certified Checks, and always send with a Return Recepit Required, from the Post Office.
For your records.

The legitimate debt will be resolved, and you will not have to deal with collections agencies any more on this matter.

Answer 6

According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the company who called you (or an attorney, since they are covered under the Act), is required to send you a follow up letter within a short period after speaking with you on the telephone.

It is also a serious offense at several levels if they claim to be an attorney and are not. If they call you and claim to be an attorney, ask for their first and last name. Ask for the name, address and telephone number of the collection agency. Then ask what state or states in which they are licensed to practice law and ask for their license number for those states. They will provide you with this information. If they do not, its probably an indication that they aren't licensed to practice law. Check with that state's licensing authority (the State Bar Association or Supreme Court, depending on the state) to determine if they are indeed an attorney in that state.

IF they are licensed to practice, then they may still have broken the law, if they do not intend to file suit, (although that's harder to prove).

If they are NOT l icensed to practice, I would do several things.
1) Contact the state where they claimed to be licensed, and report them for unlicensed practice of law. Its a serious offense to claim to be an attorney when one is not.
2) Contact the Federal Trade Commission and report them for the violation of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.
3) Consider retaining an attorney who practices in the area of debtor's rights. Its possible in some cases to sue, and prevail, against collection agencies which operate this way.

I recommend under all circumstances that you consider visiting with an attorney licensed in your state for more specific information. For a referral, contact your local or state bar association.

Answer 7

Hanging up the phone doesn't make it go away. Yes if you lose (and if you owe them and haven't paid you will) they will add court costs and collection fees and possibly interest to the bill. Depending on the state you live in , they may garnish your salary and attach tax returns. Possibly even bank accounts. Set up some kind of payment if they will accept.

Answer 8

You will have to pay their court fees. If you haven't been making payments at all, it doesn't look good for you. Even if you'd sent in token amounts a judge could look at that and see that you were at least trying. You should probably contact a reputable consumer credit counseling service, one that's been around for a long time.

This one has been around a long time, and is quite legitimate: http://www.cccsatl.org/. Good luck with this.

Answer 9

It is most likely scare tactics. I
f they filed suit against you you would have received paperwork to that effect. If you haven't received court documents, don't worry about it.
Pay $10.00 a month to show your willingness to pay the debt. That will show the court (if necessary) that you are not abandoning the debt.

Answer 10

If you had or have a citi credit cared or account, cal them to find out what is up. If it is a scam, & you don't have an account & never did, then ignore them. If you did, then maybe you can sort it out.