I had to default on a Capital One credit card and in the past year their lawyers have gone to court and gotten a default judgement against me. I know this is true as I was served the summons at my door. I later received two letters from the lawyers telling me a judgement had been granted them and they offered me a chance to settle the debt - I can't afford the entire amount and to even make a small payment my husband and I will have to not pay someone else! We can't afford bankruptcy - there are a lot of factors for this that I'd rather not post here.

This debt is in my name only. My husband did speak with a lawyer [we are in Pennsylvania] and the lawyer said all that Cap One could do was put a lien against our house. We stopped worrying for a while because while bad - its not the end of the world and we have no plans to sell our home anytime soon.We have 2 cars ,but they are 16 years old and the lawyer said the blue book value would be too low for cap one to take either of them.

Yesterday I received a letter from cap ones lawyers asking me to contack them about settling in full or making payment arrangements to avoid the execution of the judgement and thus a sheriffs sale of our real property [home] and or personal property. This lawyer my huabsnd spoke to didn't seem to think that going after our personal property was likely, but husband said he saw in a book that sometimes they will go after personal possesions for a low amount - I owe apprx. $3500.00

Now we don't know what to think. My firend who is a realtor said since our home is still being mortgaged and the mortgae payments are up to date, all cap one can do is put a lien against the property. She also saod she used to work for an attorney and is pretty sure that cap one can't sell off my personal belongings at a sheriffs sale. She said the lawyers are trying to scare me ---well they have succeeded!

I can deal with a lien against my home, but I don't want to lose what little I have left! A TV a computer etc. Dolls my mother left me when she passed away... CAN they, in Pennsylvania, hold a sheriffs sale of my personal stuff or is this just a scare tactic?

Thank you

I know from pesonal experience they will say ANYTHING, absolutely ANYTHING to get their money. Yes, positively scare tactics. I stopped listening to them and had my lawyer send a letter. They eventually stopped. Although their was never a judgment against me, it was still unsettling what they would stoop to.

They don't take the time to go after the little stuff, I mean, think about. What are going to get out of a doll collection, a used computer or a couch and chairs ?

I have never, ever heard of a lien being put on a house for a credit card debt.

I may get shot down by our legal board, but I am speaking from experience in Ontario, Canada.

Good luck and stop worrying. Call your lawyer which is the best approach when you are being harassed (and harassment it is for sure).

I don't remember what my lawyer charged for assisting me with these people, it was minimal, if he charged me at all for the letters he sent.

Tick

Hello to the original poster, I am in the same situation as you and I see your post is from March, has anything happened since them to resolve this or have you received any answers that you can help me with, I am in PA as well.
Thank you very much,
Theresa

The lien only makes sense to a credit card company if you were selling the house or if it slips into foreclosure and then a sheriff's sale. The lien gives them a secured ownership interest in the property. The idea is that, when and if the property sells, all secured lienholders get paid in the order of lien seniority with the leftover proceeds. In fact, there could be no transfer of ownership until all liens are either removed and/or satisfied. Liens are positional, that is, 1st position lien gets paid first, 2nd position lien, and so forth. Generally, if there is a foreclosure, most of the junior liens get wiped out anyway, unless they try to buy their way back in.

If you have one mortgage or mulitiple mortgages and they are current, then there is absolutely no chance of a sheriff's sale. And if you own the home outright, the best they can do is to put a lien against the house for the amount you owe them. All this would do is prevent you from selling the house until they got paid. It would also keep you from getting equity loans. Keep in mind one thing please, putting a lien on a home and seizing a home for a sheriff's sale are two completely different things. If your neighbor owed you $1000 and you have a binding contract, you can petition the court and get a judgment to put a lien on his property for that amount in the hope that you would recover your money if he sells it. The judgment would never give you the power to take his house and start selling his possessions.

Credit card companies use it as a scare tactic. In most instances, they'll try to recover their money through a bank levy or wage garnishment. Credit card companies don't want houses, or cars, or computers, or plasma TV's -- they want the money. I've been around this business for a long time, as a tax professional and bankruptcy consultant. But after all that bailout nonsense, I walked away from it. I'm too moral to be a part of that. So now, I try to help people who are down on their luck and educate them about their rights in the financial world. Kindness is free. I don't take a penny for any of the advice. Good luck to you!