My boyfriend is being sued by a major credit card company who passed his debt, some 6,665 dollars (we are not even sure if this is the right amount) onto to a credit collection agency. We have very little documentation and many questions regarding our options. Payments stopped maybe 1 yr and a half ago do to some family problems and layoffs. Everything snow balled and before we knew it we could no longer make payments. At the time we were trying to pay off the debt through care one credit but like I said we could no longer afford to even do that. We planned to pay them back once we got on our feet but apparently we ran out of time.

Is there anyway for them not to garnish his wages? Can we make a deal with the judge like 100.00 a month?

Do they provide you with a public defender? If not, how do we go about getting one?
We are trying desperately not to have to file for bankruptcy but we know nothing about the laws etc.

Does anyone know what the statue of limitations is for New York City?

I know we must sound like complete idiots with our lack of documentation and knowledge but we were naïve. I didn't realize this would happen so soon, we were just getting back on our feet and we have two elderly sick parents that count on our pathetic monthly income?


Any help would be much appreciated,
Christina

It looks like the credit card company sold the debt to a collection agency. The collection agency will try to work out a deal with him to repay what he owes. If you don't come to an agreement, they will file for a judgement against him. He will be served a summons to go to court; if he doesn't show up, the collection agency will get a judgement against him... that is big trouble. They have the power to seize assets such as paychecks or portions of paychecks.

There are dozens of threads by people in the same boat as you are. May I suggest you spend some time going through them. If you have any questions after doing so, please feel free to ask.

So I took your advice Scott, and read through many of the threads, specifically the Mr. Footballs.

I feel very intimidated by this entire process and I don't want to be a pain in the but I just have so many questions and no money for a lawyer.

First of all I live in N.Y. city so I am not sure if all of your advice would be applicable to me since you were advising someone in Maryland.

His summons does not have a place to sign or specify that he wants to defend the debt against him. So I believe this means he has to file a notice to defend or a motion for discovery (Are these the same things?) To acquire these documents should I look online, and if so where or should I just call the court? We are short on time because he received this on Monday but it is stamped Sept 13, which means we need to be there Friday!

Do I bring this motion for discovery with us, to the court; do I also send it to the plaintiff?

If I understood you guys correctly I also want a record of purchases and payments, Interest accrued. Does he need to do this also on Friday? Is there specific paperwork for it or do you just say you want to do that in court? If there is paperwork, do we send it to the plaintiff or the court, or both?

Which brings me to my next question, Is there a substantial difference between being assigned the debt from my original creditor, Bank of America or if the debt agency purchased it?

On the summons the plaintiff is described as follows,
Cavalry Portfolio Services,LLC, as
Assignee of Cavalry spv, LLC, AS
Assignee of Hilco Receivables, LLC, AS
Assignee of Bank of America

I am assuming the debt was just assigned to these other agencies.

The last people we spoke with were the Hilco people. At the time we were using care one credit to come up with a payment plan. We sent them a couple of payments but they kept asking for larger sums every month and we just couldn't afford it. We have no documentation of this because we stupidly did it on the phone and computer.
Will this work against us? Was using care one like admitting guilt? Will they have a record of it?

Should we even try to deny or are the forces that be working against us?

Lastly, since there was no specific date on the summons I am assuming that they will give us a court date when we get there, but he should still say he wants to defend the action against him, right, I mean if you think we have a chance?

Oh one more thing... is the court cost going to add up to some ridiculous amount of money anyway?

We are so confused, any help would be much appreciated :confused:

Yes he has to file an Intent to Defend, the courts should help with whjat format. He sends a copy to the plaintiff asking for verification of the debt. That's the discovery and it is different.

Doesn't matter who the plaintiff is as long as they have a legal right to collect the debt.

There is no issue of "guilt" but your working through Care One does establish acknowledgement of the debt which basically negates the need for verification. The only thing you really need to verify is the amount. On the other hand using Care One does establish an intent to work out a reasonable payment which will help in court.

Your defense here is that you have tried to reach a reasonable payment plan to avoid a suit but they aren't going along.

OK, Once again thanks for all the help. I just want to make sure I understand what you are saying.

Basically, by using care one he said, yes I have a debt with bank of America. So there is no need for a motion of discovery but we still want a record of purchases and payments, Interest accrued. Does he need to do this also on Friday? Is there specific paperwork for it or do you just say you want to do that in court? If there is paperwork, do we send it to the plaintiff or the court, or both? Do you know what site I should look at for this paperwork, in N.Y that is. Should just call the county court where the summons was issued?



So even if there is a chance that they no longer have a signed contract he shouldn't go that route because of care one?

In you opinion, should we just try to settle on a monthly payment plan. The debt was large like 6, 650, 4,821.97 plus 1,828.97? All he can afford is 100 a month maybe 150 but I have a feeling they won’t go for it.


Sorry about all these questions but this is very overwhelming. Thanks again.

One more Question Should he consider Bankruptcy ?

I can't say whether he should consider bankruptcy without knowing his total financial condition.

As for any correspondence with the court, a copy should be sent to the plaintiff. The court clerk should help you, but the wording can be very simple.

The think is, I don't see much hope here. There seems little reason for the court to not award a judgement and once they get it, they can attach any assets. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to fight it as musch as you can.

When you say you don't see much hope here, you are referencing the motion for discovery, right? Yea, I am beginning to see that because of everything we did with care one that would be impossible. However the interest is questionable which is why I wanted him to file for a record of purchases and payments, and Interest. In order to do that he would still be filing intent to defend, right?

I'm starting to think that is a bad idea too, maybe the judge won't be as sympathetic? Or will it look better if we just try to settle. I mean I don't want to fight something that is doomed from the start.

Before you said,
, does that still apply to him.
Because after you said that you also said that it sounded like they would most likely get the judgment against us and attack assets. We don't have any assets but what I am afraid of is that they will try to garnish his pay.

From your experience do you think it would be better to just try and settle? Will asking for a record of purchases and payments, and Interest hurt whatever sympathy we could get from the judge? I was really hoping we could just settle with a payment plan or does that generally not happen. :(

Thanks again,
Christina

When I say I don't see much hope its because this is a valid and acknowledged debt that is clearly in default. That's all the judge has the right to rule on. Is it the defendants debt and have they not paid as originally agreed. If the answer to both questions is Yes, then judgement will be awarded to the plaintiff. The judge might (especially in small claims court) try to mediate and try to get the parties to agree to a payment plan, but the bottom line is the law.

The only other question is the amount of the judgement and that's where you can fight by getting a true record of all transactions.

The plaintiffs have little incentive to settle when they can just garnish his salary once they get a judgement.