We have searched the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and can't find the answer to this question. The situation is this:

In January 1999 two people signed a 24 month lease for a car. One person owned the car, the second co-signed (don't think that part matters in this case, both are liable for the debt.) The second signer truly believes the debt was satisfied, but she doesn't have the paperwork (do you have paperwork for a car loan you paid off in dec. 2001 or Jan. 2002? I know my 10 year old car was paid for in 18 months. I certainly couldn't prove that today in a court of law.

The girl who is being sued in a Florida small claims court knows that there were NO payments made beyond the 24 months by her. Florida SOL is 5 years which means the five year SOL expired in January 2006.

If the first party made any payment of any sort in 2003 does that restart the SOL for this woman who also signed? Although they both signed the contract, she can only confirm that she did not make any payments for sure.

If you don't know the answer, do you know where we can find the answer. Time is critical on this issue and we will need to file a motion to dismiss - SOL this week.

Please, please, please if you are an attorney help us. We have spent hours in the law library, on line going through Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and can't find it. This woman is a mother of three working hard as a kindergarten teacher. She has no resources to fight or argue this case. We are so trying to help her.

We have helped her file the following motions:
1. Motion to Produce
2. Request To Go To Trial
3. Motion to Compel Production

Plaintiff has a very powerful Attorney that is in essence a debt collector... no comment on that.

After waiting months for discovery, the day we filed the Motion to Compel, they piled a ton of useless documents on her and filed for summary judgement based on:
1. A sworn affidavit from the collection agency's record
Keeper that the debt is valid and their books are accurate.
2. An unsigned release form indicating they made a deal
With the other party in April 2005 to release him from
All actions, for $1,500 consideration payment.
(this is not signed by him, only by the collection agency)

She requested proof from them they the are the true and accurate agency with the legal right to collect on this debt. The contract she signed was with General Motors, not this collection agency.

In closing,
She has no funds to fight these attorneys.
She doesn't believe she owes this debt.
We need to know if any payment by the other party to this contract restarting tolling.
Etc. Etc. Etc.

Any referral to a seriously interested consumer attorney would has the experience and passion to help would be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Niki

Ok, first it is very, very easy to prove your car was paid off, you get the title signed back over to you and mailed to you. So if you have a title without a lien on it, then you paid the debt off.

Yes, if any payment was made by either party, that would be the date for SOL on most loans.

Also the SOL on the car, assuming it was repo'ed for not being paid for, actually does not start at the time that the last payment is made, but when the car is repo'ed and sold, and at that point they have a final debt that is now owed.

Now assuming they have not repo'ed the car, this is another can of worms, since actually they would still hold the title for the car and could folow up with a repo at anytime ( from my understanding) Remember this is a secured debt, not a unsecured debt.

You can start by typing the collectors 800 number in this site (search phone numbers) and see what others have said about them Harassing calls from a debt collector? Here is what you need to know This site should also give you an idea on your ? ---->

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Niki B

She requested proof from them they the are the true and accurate agency with the legal right to collect on this debt. The contract she signed was with General Motors, not this collection agency.

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If she is held accountable in court then she can go after the other person but that can be like getting blood from a stone. If the other person made a payment in 2003 I am pretty sure that would start the whole 5 year thing back up for both of them since by co-signing she was and is vouching for her.

Fr_Chuck has a good point on proving any debt and you would think by now they WOULD HAVE re-po-ed it cause they do not play around. They are right on top of re-po-ing in most incidences.

She has had no contact with the other party to the contract. She was young, thought she was cosigning but we think was actually co-borrower. We do know that he does not have the auto any more and hasn't since at least the end of the contract... it was a lease... remember... no title.

We have searched all small claims lawsuits for this company:

Portfolio Recovery Systems LLC in our state for the last 2 1/5 years. The record speaks for itself. And yes, we have checked many Consumer Debt websites including the following: (Judge for yourself, arrive at your own conclusion)

Ripoff Report Search Results:
=&searchtype=0&submit2=Search%21&q5=Portfolio+


Bottom line is there is still a REAL CASE and a Summary Judgement hearing coming up really fast. We don't need opinions, we need real help. Where to find the answer to Tolling in Florida, and a legitimate consumer attorney who cares.

PLEASE, PLEASE HELP HER.

Fact:
Even though she has had no contact with the other party and she THOUGHT she was cosigning whatever ---the court doesn't care what she did/didn't do/thought they go by what the law IS.

She most likely will be held accountable toward whatever is owed

Usually when they go to court and settle the collector will usually agree to a less (often much less amount) than they are going after and set up a payment arrangement.

You can look for a lawyer that says no fee unless we win your case
Like this one
Miami Credit Repair Lawyer - Florida Consumer Protection Attorney - Fort Lauderdale Fair Credit Law Firm

Did you type the 800 number in the site I gave you to see what problems others have had with them?

Please take your time to answer before responding.

I said clearly she was as liable as the other party. And I said yes we've contacted several consumber groups. This attorney does not have a squeaky clean rep. check out the link.
They are notorious. They are also being sued in many, many, many federal cases for alledgely being in violation of the fair debt credit act.

That being said, we have a summary judgement, need to be a to know the exact law on civil procedure that sites tolling. We believe only a Florida Attorney knowledgeable in these matters can help us.

We have investigated many many resoures.

Correction, SHE has a hearing coming up for Summary Judgement. We don't think they have evidence to prove it. But we are not attorneys and they have pulled out their big guns.


We are looking for a Consumer Attorney who gives a damn and who has a heart and compassion.

If they had proof this was a viable debt, we would advise her to work something out. Even though it would be a huge burden on her financially. We have told her she must do the RIGHT thing.

Yes, in this day and age, there are those of us who do believe in doing the right thing.

I was using the link as an example of we will not charge if we do not win
I was not saying to get THEM. You could live at the other end of Fla for all I know
I was trying to help you with at least maybe getting started with a free consultation.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Niki B

We have searched the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and can't find the answer to this question. The situation is this:

In January 1999 two people signed a 24 month lease for a car. One person owned the car, the second co-signed (don't think that part matters in this case, both are liable for the debt.) The second signer truly believes the debt was satisfied, but she doesn't have the paperwork (do you have paperwork for a car loan you paid off in dec. 2001 or Jan. 2002? I know my 10 year old car was paid for in 18 months. I certainly couldn't prove that today in a court of law.

The girl who is being sued in a Florida small claims court knows that there were NO payments made beyond the 24 months by her. Florida SOL is 5 years which means the five year SOL expired in January 2006.

If the first party made any payment of any sort in 2003 does that restart the SOL for this woman who also signed? Although they both signed the contract, she can only confirm that she did not make any payments for sure.

If you don't know the answer, do you know where we can find the answer. Time is critical on this issue and we will need to file a motion to dismiss - SOL this week.

Please, please, please if you are an attorney help us. We have spent hours in the law library, on line going through Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and can't find it. This woman is a mother of three working hard as a kindergarten teacher. She has no resources to fight or argue this case. We are so trying to help her.

We have helped her file the following motions:
1. Motion to Produce
2. Request To Go To Trial
3. Motion to Compel Production

Plaintiff has a very powerful Attorney that is in essence a debt collector... no comment on that.

After waiting months for discovery, the day we filed the Motion to Compel, they piled a ton of useless documents on her and filed for summary judgement based on:
1. A sworn affidavit from the collection agency's record
keeper that the debt is valid and their books are accurate.
2. An unsigned release form indicating they made a deal
with the other party in April 2005 to release him from
all actions, for $1,500 consideration payment.
(this is not signed by him, only by the collection agency)

She requested proof from them they the are the true and accurate agency with the legal right to collect on this debt. The contract she signed was with General Motors, not this collection agency.

In closing,
She has no funds to fight these attorneys.
She doesn't believe she owes this debt.
We need to know if any payment by the other party to this contract restarting tolling.
Etc., Etc., Etc.,

Any referral to a seriously interested consumer attorney would has the experience and passion to help would be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Niki

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Parts of this were posted on another thread - I think it's the same situation. Should the two threads be combined? I believe this is an ongoing problem.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Niki B

We have told her she must do the RIGHT thing.

Yes, in this day and age, there are those of us who do believe in doing the right thing.

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Hello Niki:

Am I to assume, that if you DID know what the right thing was, you'd do it?

The problem is you have no idea what the right thing is. You don't know whether this money is owed by her or not. That isn't the lender's fault or his attorney's. It's clearly HER fault for not managing HER business.

There's a cost for mismanagement of ones affairs. You're not going save that cost by asking here. You're not going to find a lawyer willing to give you free advice. Do you work for free? And, even if you did, what are you going to do about it? Write a letter to the attorney telling him not to bother you again, because you had an attorney on the internet telling you that he's wrong??

No, you need one in court with you. Or, you go to court yourself (herself), and hope the judge makes them produce the proper proof.

They probably do have proof, you know. Lawyers usually aren't in to going after claims they have no hope of winning. So, if they DO have proof, she's going to lose... But, the judgment will be for a WHOLE lot more than they want now, when you add their fees and courts costs.

So, there isn't any RIGHT thing to do here. There's only the cheapest way out. In my view, that would be settling the claim. If she had a little cash, she could probably settle it for half.

I don't know. But, lighten up on us, will you?

excon

PS> (edited) In the very first letter she got from the collection agency/lawyer, there was a note at the bottom of that letter that is required by law. It said that she had 30 days from the date of that letter to request validation of the debt, otherwise it would be considered valid. THAT was the time when they were LEGALLY required to provide proof. That time has passed.

Ex I think she is asking for a site where she can read the exact Florida law on SOL
And for a name of a good lawyer to hire to go to court
I think she means that if the Judge rules that they have to pay $xxxxx amount they
''are willing to do the right thing"

There are lawyers that will give free consultations and not charge you if they lose your case but I don't live in Florida so I have no idea what more to tell her.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by N0help4u

Ex I think she is asking for a site where she can read the exact Florida law on SOL
and for a name of a good lawyer to hire to go to court
I think she means that if the Judge rules that they have to pay $xxxxx amount they
''are willing to do the right thing"

There are lawyers that will give free consultations and not charge you if they lose your case but I don't live in Florida so I have no idea what more to tell her.

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But here's the problem - if you read all the other posts this debt was incurred during a marriage and PRIOR to a divorce and results from a leased vehicle. It's been on the Board in one form or another since January 2008 - now time is running out and the OP is beginning to panic.

If you go through and read the various posts you will see how much time people have put into this, how much research they've done. In the very beginning the advice was (following very lengthy explanations of the debt and questions about the procedure) to retain an Attorney - and here we are, still no Attorney in sight. And the OP is getting testy with the people who answer, trying to help.

Short of taking her by the hand and leading her to the Attorney's office I don't know what else to say -

And I am not aware of ANY Attorney, Florida or anywhere else, who will take a collection matter on a contingency basis. If an Attorney works contingent he/she gets paid if you are awarded a settlement/award - in this case there is no such possibility. This would be the same thing as agreeing to pay your Attorney only if he gets you out of a traffic ticket - no one would work on that basis.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

And the OP is getting testy with the people who answer, trying to help.

Short of taking her by the hand and leading her to the Attorney's office I don't know what else to say -
.

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Yeah I noticed the testy in this post that is why I gave up trying cause it does seem like the only answer she wants IS to take her to the best attorney.

Why weren't her posts merged like they do sometimes?

To answer your questions, if you really care, or if you'd rather just judge me (or her) than that's your decision. I came to this site for help, nothing more, nothing less. I have been polite, responsive when asked for more detail, and have left resources that I have found to be helpful to us for others. I have never, ever been rude. The comment I made was directed at someone who gave us his opinion when we clearly stated that we do not need opinions at this time, but facts of law. That was the only thing I was referring to. Like it or not that's the truth.

Yes, I did ask one person to go back and read what I wrote because he thought (incorrectly so) that I stated that if the debt has not been satisfied that she would NOT be as responsible for the debt as the other person. That was not the case, I know and she knows that she would be equally as responsible. AND AS THE JUDGE EXPLAINED, it is incumbent upon the Plaintiff to prove that the debt has not been satisfied. She has written several letters to the Collection Agency denying the debt, explaining it was paid, and requesting full documentation. BTW, none were answered. She has stated in the Pre-trial hearing that the Plaintiff has never furnished one document to support their case, not one. As instructed by the Judge, she invoked the rules of Civil Procedure, filed a Motion To Produce which went unanswered for 35 days. She then filed a Motion To Compel, and within 48 hours of that filing she received an incomplete package of documents that prove nothing except that she co-signed the note in 1999. However, along with those documents came Plaintiff Motion for Summary Judgement.

If you have read the previous posts, then you will note that this Plaintiff (Collection Agency) has over 20 cases in Federal Court against them for violation of the Fair Debt Collection Act. They don't play by the rules, the make them up to suit themselves, and they don't particularly care if the debt has previously been satisfied. We sat waiting during the pre-trial hearing while an 80 something year old woman sat crying with her daughter. When we asked them if we could help they told us that they too had told this agency several times that their debt had been satisfied in full, AND they had cancelled checks to prove it... this information did not impress the Plaintiff and this 80 year old woman who could barely walk or stand had to bring the checks to show the judge to get the suit dismissed. We have consulted with an Attorney in Connecticut who we have used for over 20 years, he has reviewed all the documents and he is livid that this Plaintiff is allowed to misuse the court system this way.

Don't believe me? Do a Google search on: Portfolio Recovery Systems and see how many law suits have been filed against them.

And to the issue regarding the fact that this all should be one thread, how am I supposed to know that or how to do that even. I was just looking for someone who cared to help not point out my mistakes or for that matter imply that "she" is probably guilty, owes the money and is trying to get away with not paying a debt she owes. And yes, she would do the right thing. I'm done with this site. Someone has been kind enough to get in touch and want to help, and yes there are people out there who really do care to help. And I'm sure that most on here want to help also.

Maybe we are not as savvy as you on this site. We never claimed to be , not even close. We claimed to not be familiar with these laws, the court system or how to proceed.

Sorry if we don't meet your standards. We won't be back.

For those who have lawsuits against them unjustly, we previously have posted some links that were great resources for us. Please look into them. I wish you all the best.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Niki B

Maybe we are not as savvy as you on this site. We never claimed to be , not even close. We claimed to not be familiar with these laws, the court system or how to proceed.

Sorry if we don't meet your standards. We won't be back.

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She this is evidence of the chip on your shoulder. As Judy pointed out, you have received a good deal of help here. But I think you have unrealistic expectations of what a site like this is and can do for. The people here volunteer their time and knowledge to help others. Some of us have considerable knowledge in certain areas. But we are trying to help by remote and that's not easy. If you want legal protection at a hearing then you get a lawyer to go to the hearing with you. You won't be able to stop the hearing while you post a question here and wait for an answer.

If you choose not to return, that's your loss not ours.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Niki B

then you will note that this Plaintiff (Collection Agency) has over 20 cases in Federal Court against them for violation of the Fair Debt Collection Act. They don't play by the rules, the make them up to suit themselves, and they don't particularly care if the debt has previously been satisfied.
Don't believe me? Do a google search on: Portfolio Recovery Systems and see how many law suits have been filed against them.

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That is why I said to check that 800 notes and type in their phone #
I am sure you could find even a lot more complaints about them.

I understood that you said you are willing to pay once it is proven what you actually owe.