I just received a letter from an attorney's office, informing me that Capital One "authorized them to persue legal action which includes, but not limited to, filing a judgement" against me. They also said I had ten days from the date of the letter, to get in touch with them to make "arrangements" to avoid this action. Then a few sentences later, it said, "you must send full payment within ten days..." No, I was not previously informed by Capital One, they were going to do this.

I am barely making mortgage payments, my partner is out of work. What can they do to me?:confused: can they take my house? Seize what little I have left in my bank account?
Should I contact a lawyer? Please help.

The exact remedies available to you will vary upon which jurisdiction you are in (please advise which state or province you are in).

If the threat of legal action is genuine and no "arrangements" are made then legal action will likely follow. If Capital One obtains a judgment against you then enforcement proceedings could be commenced up to and including the seizure and sale of your property (ie. House, bank account, wages etc.).

A word of caution, and one that JudyKayTee is often diligent about pointing out, the debt that Capital One is pursuing could be statute barred. (Again identifying which jurisdiction you are in will aid in this assessment.)

If the debt is statute barred then any acknowledgement or payment from you at this point could revive or extend the limitation period.

Most likely they will allow you to make payments if you contact them. If you don't pay or set up a payment plan, most likely they will file a law suit against you. If you get sued, they may get a judgement.

Depending on where you live, they may be able to garnish your paycheck

At this point they are simply dunning you. If you don't pay, then they could file suit with the consequences previously indicated. Its unlikely they could affect your primary residence, but they could garnish your salary or attach other assets.

What you have not told us is whether the debt is valid and how old it is. With more info we can give more advice.

Thank you Justice, Fr. Chuck and Scott.

I reside in California (Sacramento), the Debt is a couple of years old.

I decided to write a letter to their office, asking for more information regarding this issue, and if possible, if something could be worked out to avoid such a dilema. I kept a copy for myself.

I prefer to have a "written paper trail" -vs- "give us a call" because then they can't say I didn't contact them, and have proof I attempted to work things out, was this an appropriate step to take?

Yes this was an appropriate step and you have the right to demand that all correspondence be by mail.

Just don't make any payments until you have an agreement in writing.