[tj_760]

Hello everyone, I have several questions about credit card lawsuit in Michigan. The quick facts are that I had credit cards accounts with capital one server years, and when faced with financial challenges that we all face from time to time contacted them to make arrangements to reduce the payments owed or to reduce the interest and avoid defaulting on the account – which they refused to consider. The account was later closed for nonpayment and accrued interest and fees, and they were now willing to entertain lowering the payments after increasing the debt substantially. I don’t dispute the original debt or that it is still owed, however, I am being sued for an amount that exceeds three times the credit limit that was available, in addition to other fees. I made several attempts to get information from the attorney claiming to represent the Capital One plaintiff and to make reach an agreement to avoid going to court but they were less than agreeable.

I requested information on how they arrived and the amount they showed due and they refuse to provide details claiming they didn’t have to. Having read similar post in this forum – I have the following question for anyone knowledgeable in these matters. I appeared today in a pre-trial hearing to avoid a judgment being entered, and the Judge set a trial date for 90 days, and suggested that I file a motion for discovery to get information that I had previously requested.

I have several questions if anyone can help.

1) In filing for a motion of discovery how detailed can the records requested be? They show a debt that was a result of their fees and not purchases that are near three times the credit limit that was available. I am disputing the amount owed not that I owe them a debt. Although it’s been some time – I had 2 cards, one with a $300 credit limit, and another for $700, I believe, and the account they are suing for I assume is the higher – although they refuse to provide the account numbers or details. They are suing for $2938.00, $760 of which is interest. How do I get proof they are inflating the debt and show the purchases at over $2000. I plan to ask for records of all purchases and date they were made, and try to figure out how they came up with the amount they show owed. Can they be made to show how they calculated the debt? Is there a limit to interest and penalties that can be charge on an account that is closed? What other information can be reasonably requested to be provided to combat their position of “our client says you owe it – so you must pay it”? How do I know if the amount represents a combination of accounts if there is no account number shown in their summons and complaint? In the process of filing a motion for discovery, is there a certain format that must be used or just that the request was made in writing with copies also being provided to the court?

2) Does anyone know what the Statute of limitation is in Michigan for credit card debt? Does the date start from the last payment made or the date the account was closed?

3) Does the Plaintiff (Someone from Capital one) have to appear in court, or can an attorney appear in their stead to represent them? If their a local attorney appears and no one from capital one – is it grounds form the dismissal?

4) If a Judgment is entered in their favor, what actions can they take against someone with limited assets and income? If someone is struggling to survive in a depressed economy and limited local job opportunity climate, and earning just enough to pay housing related expenses, what is usually order by the Judge?

I realize that there are numerous questions, and I appreciate your time and patience in answering them. Also, in review partial answers to similar questions, expect that a great deal of others would benefit from having the answers to these questions all in one place as they are facing similar challenges. Please answer only if you have experience in these matters. Thanks again Take care - TJ

[progunr]

It looks like Michigan is 6 years across the board.
They can be represented by an attorney, local or not, won't matter.
If judgment is awarded, they can attempt to garnish wages, they can levy bank accounts, they can levy personal property (not a common practice anymore), and may place liens on real estate.
Each State has different laws regarding the amount of income subject to garnishment, it is not left up to the Judge to decide.
If you can work out any type of payment plan before going to court, that would be your best option.

Good Luck!

[tj_760]

Thank you for the prompt reply, Since they are within the 6 year period, it is still inside the limitation. However, In reading other forums,

I have another question – If accounts were applied for online and no signature on a contract exists to compare to my signature – is the contract binding in the same way? Another forum someone says “no signature - no contract – no claim” – but I doubt any major credit card company would not have a way around it.

Investigating every defense in case they are not willing to set up an affordable payment plan when I contact them.

[progunr]

I would assume that you did sign the receipts for much of the debt applied to that card?

It would be rather easy for them to prove that it is your signature on the individual receipts even without a signed application or agreement.

You do raise a good question regarding the application or agreement without any signature. I can't find anything regarding how they handle that when it comes time to go to court? I have to believe that they have this angle covered somehow, I just don't see that it has really been tested anywhere yet?

Good Luck!

[tj_760]

[:confused: Hello –I have questions about Motions filed in Michigan. A quick background - I am in Michigan, was recently summons to court by attorneys’ representing Capital One and a 4 year old debt. I had question about the account in court as the amount they claim due is more than three times the amount of the credit limit that was available on the account. They are suing for over $2900.00 for a card that was limited to $700 in purchases.

I had been advised some time ago and was considering filing for Bankruptcy, but pride and optimism that I could eventually resolve the financial challenges prevented it, as I have several other debts that were a result of conducting a business and not furiously spending but had substantial uninsured losses. The summons was from Attorney in Troy Michigan, the Attorney that appeared in court is from a neighboring county neared where I live 300 miles north. I am confused about several matters and seek advice on the direction to proceed. First – are the attorneys considered Collection agents, or Original creditors as they claim to represent capital One? Would I be better off to contact a BK attorney and file during the process of being sued?

Secondly and equally important – having read numerous posts with conflicting information – What is the difference between a Motion for Discovery, Motion of intent to Defend, Motion to Validate debt? Which ones are pertinent to my situation? Are there templates or samples of each for the State of Michigan that I can use to file? Do the motions have to be in precise language or simply indicate parties to the suit and request information and provide to all parties and the court? Having read the nightmare posting about garnishments, bank account levies, and summary judgments – I understand that I must take immediate action and begin filing. Although the creditor may later choose to accept a settlement or payment arrangements that were offered originally on the account – I’m not counting on it.

Although they are not required to – had they accepted arrangement s previously – this could have been avoided and the debt would have long sense been repaid – however they are essentially forcing my hand and I don’t intend to make their job easy for them. I found this thread that gives an example of Motion for Discovery for Maryland at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/bankru...ry-130640.html
– can it be used for Michigan worded the same?

What is the recommended process – file intent to defend, then motion of discovery to make sure the debt is yours and accurate? Another site that helps to dispel some of the erroneous defense I found at Bad Debt Collection info floating around the 'Net :: Michigan Collection Law Blog published By Michigan Creditor Lawyers Nitzkin & Associates

What about motion to Validate Debt? A thorough answer would be greatly appreciated, and examples of these motions to be copied for Michigan.

I suspect that the “what to do next” and “here are the forms “answer would also be read and duplicated by many others that are receiving summons to appear and intend to exercise their rights in the same position of facing a court that cannot offer it’s advice but expects proper format and protocol to be followed, while not in a financial position to hire an attorney for the matter.

Please answer only if you have solid advice based on positive results and experience as opposed to speculation or opinions as there seems to be as many conflicting opinions as there are questions in other forums. I Thank You for your time and your reply from myself and the numerous others seeking the same answer that doesn’t involve “I think….” ,” I was told…” or “maybe you should…”. Take care. – TJ in Michigan

[JudyKayTee]

Please answer only if you have solid advice based on positive results and experience as opposed to speculation or opinions as there seems to be as many conflicting opinions as there are questions in other forums. I Thank You for your time and your reply from myself and the numerous others seeking the same answer that doesn’t involve “I think….” ,” I was told…” or “maybe you should…”. Take care. – TJ in Michigan

Then I guess you're going to have to actually retain and pay an Attorney because I don't think anyone is going to go through a long list of questions without having seen the actual file and give other than an "I think" answer.

One thing to post and ask for help; it's another to pretty much demand "solid" advice.

[tj_760]

Although it may sound a little sarcastic reading it now – I included that statement to avoid receiving answers from those with absolutely no experience in the matter that would just muddy the waters for others read the post seeking similar advice. If a wanted a “guess” on procedure, I could get that without posting a question. I'd agree the question may be lengthy – but it boils down to “are you familiar and used these motions, and do you know where to find a properly written example for Michigan, to use as a template.”

[prestonlewis]

Based on the amount you state they are suing for, it sounds like a small claims court. It's unusual for any credit card company to actually sue you since the time, effort, is not usually worth it. Capital One customers are not usually wealthy and the chances of getting paid back the full amount is rare. So here goes a few thoughts:

First, are you sure you're being sued? Some collection agencies will try to trick you. You mention a CapOne attorney being involved. That is extremely rare since attorney's charge thousands to do anything. They would almost certainly lose money by suing you after paying the attorney's fees. Find out what court the suit is in and actually call/visit the courthouse (not using any phone numbers on anything sent to you) to make sure there is a suit. Were you served in person? If you received the so called suit in the mail, it might not be real. Even small claims court suits have to be served in person by a process server or a peace officer. If what you got was in the mail, I doubt you are actually being sued.

Since CapOne is a large corporation, you can ask the judge to require the attorney to show proof that he has the authority to perform a lawsuit on behalf of CapOne.

This whole thing sounds fishy to me. Being sued for under $3,000 is unheard of. The attorney's fees are higher than that. You don't mention your financial position in life but if you don't own your own home (or own your home but have little equity in it) I'd visit a bankrupty center and ask for advise and file for ch7 or ch11 bankrupty protection BEFORE the lawsuit. Filing for bankrupty protection will likely end the lawsuit and the bankruptcy court will either put you on a payment plan for your debt, erase all or part of your debt, etc. The lawsuit, if real, will be on your credit record for 10 years along with any garnishment order that might result from it. Bankruptcy also is a 10 year credit report deal so either way is about equal.

However, I'm still suspicious about this whole thing. Attorney's fees are too much for a under $3,000 lawsuit. Make sure you are actually being sued and just not being subject to trickery by a collection agency. They often threaten to sue, garnish etc. but it's not that easy to do any of that and it's expensive for them. If it does appear to be real, I'd got to a bankrupty center. Not one that has an attorney (that costs you quite a bit). Just go to a paralegal bankrupty center which charges (usually) under $200 for everything. They can't give you legal advice but they can answer technical questions like would filing for bankrupty stop the lawsuit (yes), would the bankruptcy court decide if all/part/none of the debt should be paid by you (yes), would it stop their attorney from even calling or contacting you (yes).

[JudyKayTee]

You have once again posted incorrect information - first of all, there are 3 ways to serve papers (I own a process service company): personal, nail and mail, substitute service. Perhaps in your area all papers must be personally served but that is most definitely NOT a universal rule. Do nothing because you don't believe the papers received in the mail are "real" and spend the rest of the year trying to overturn the Judgment against you.

CapOne has Attorneys on retainer - they can either look out the window and admire the view OR place matters into collection. They usually choose the latter. Lawsuits in Small Claims Court by CapOne are not "extremely rare," at least in my area.

I question the whole "request proof that the Attorney has the authority to 'perform' (?) a lawsuit ..." part. If he's got the documentation, he's got the authority. CapOne is steps ahead of the "average" creditor.

I don't know where you live but lawsuits under $3,000 by CapOne are far from unheard of in my area.

As you said - Paralegals cannot give legal advice and unfortunately advising a person what or how Bankruptcy Court WOULD decide is, in fact, legal advice. A Paralegal CAN give you options - it could go this way, it could go that way, but in the US that's about it.

I would be interested in your background and experience in collection matters as most of what you have posted several times is not correct in my area - in fact, it's misleading to the posters - and I'm curious where you are located.

[3facecreations]

As stated before I work for a credit card company and we do file many many suits under 3000. Our attorneys are on retainer and the fees are added to the suit. So that is a way that the balance went from 700 up to 2900. There are court cost, attorney fees, collection fees and so on. If it was turned over to another collection agency before suit was filed then the fee for that is added on also and can range up to 40 percent of the balance.
People are under the misbelief that if they pay 10 or 20 dollars a month someone has to take it and be happy. That is wrong. In your application online or otherwise it states what the minimum payments each month will be. It is your responsibility to read these and to understand them and to keep them at an amount that you can pay. If I were you I would try to work with them now before getting a judgement and a possible garnishment.

[admini]

I can help you beat any credit card lawsuit on any state, I can prepare you the paperwork needed to defend yourself, tailored specifically for your case, if you have received a summons.Please go to http://beatcreditcardlawsuits.com or email me at [email protected] , for more info, this not an eBook sales attempt by me, Instead I offer you a very personalized service, much cheaper than a lawyer, to get rid of that lawsuit YOURSELF, it worked for me and has for another 17 people I have helped so far... Do not bury your head in the sand, fight back and win, is easy and not expensive at all, as most people usually think, and that is exactly what the Lawsuit lawyer wants you to think to pin a judgment on you!
[email protected]