[Younganddumb]

Yesterday after work I stopped by my parents house to pick up my 6mo. Old son. I was greeted by my now very nervous and scared mom who told me to listed to the message left on the answering machine. It was the deep authoritative sounding man who said the following:

"Hello this is a required notice in accordance with state and federal laws for "my name" You need to respond as soon as possible. I'm currently processing information with your local jurisdiction of which will initiate a court proceeding. Please be advised that I've been legally obligated to get a hold of you and serve you a notice and maranderize you on your rights. You need to respond immediately to .......
This is very urgent here. This not a solicitation. "my name "you need to respond immediately. Thank you and Good luck."

My mom then told me to go and talk with my dad, who thinking the call was for him (same names, different middle initials), had already called. The man told my dad that it was in reference to a texaco CC and that the owed 2500. My dad told the man that he has never had a texaco CC or any other gas CC for that matter. The man told my dad that he had to pay for it or that they would take out a lien on his house, my dad replied that it wasn't his account. The man then asked my dad for his SS # but my dad, rightfully so, refused to provide it. But then the man read out my SS# to him, the whole 9 digits! and my dad knew it was me. So then the man just told my dad that it was very important that I call them back and pay or that they would garnish my wages and basically see what other damage they could do.

It just so happened that about a week ago I took out a free credit report but in it I do not have any Texaco cards listed, I was almost certain that it was charged off along with another gas card and a credit card(I went through a couple of really rough years and screwed up my credit pretty good) those other cards are listed as charged off. I do have one bad account on there that is close to the dollar amount the man requested (within a couple of hundred) that was not charged off and dates to around the same time I screwed my credit up.
My experian report for that account states:
Date opened: 5/05
Reported since: 1/01
Sate of Status: 2/01
Last Reported: 02/07
Status Details: This account is scheduled to continue on record until Jul 2007.

What does this all mean? What should I do? Should I call the man back? Will I get a court summons letter in the mail either way? What could possibly be my options? Not that I was any better off before but now that I have a child, trying to keep my immediate family fed clothed and sheltered I really don't have money to pay this debt off.

Please advice. Many thanks.

[ScottGem]

Ok, First, do you still have that recording. If so PRESERVE it. The collection agency is using illegal scare tactics. You cannot be arrested for defaulting on a debt. Therefore, for him to mention Mirandizing is simply ridiculous. Also from his conversation with your dad, he was overstepping the bounds.

Now, I gather this is a valid debt. You had this card and defaulted on it. So you have a moral and legal obligation to pay it. Even if it was charged off, that doesn't change your obligation.

The dates you showed don't make sense, Opened 5/05, Reported 1/01?? You need to check the statute of Limitations for your state. If there has been no activity on the account since 2/01, then its possible the Statue of Limitations has passed on their ability to file suit against you. Which means more lies on the part of the collector.

Once you determine whether they can sue or not, you can figure out how to procced. There is no hurry here since, you have to be served a written notice before a court hearing is scheduled.

[Younganddumb]

Thank you Scott. I understand the Moral and Legal obligations to pay back the debt. However, at this moment is nearly impossible. It is something I want to take care of though.
I did indeed record the message onto a separate source and have instructed my mom not to erase any of those message as well as future ones. They are still in the answering machine.
As for the credit report, I don't understand those dates either. I stopped paying/using that account back in 01. I don't know how it was re-opened.
This website (Debt collection statute of limitations listed by state) has the Statue of Limitations in California as this : Written agreements: 4 years, calculated from the date of breach. But I still do not know how it was reopened.

Thanks for the reply. Any more advice?

[DrJ]

The reason why your report reflects the Date Opened as 5/05 and the Reported Since 1/01 is because the account has been reported since 2001. However, the most recent collection agency or attorneys office that purchased the debt did so in 2005.

If you live in California and you are sure that you have not made a payment or a charge on that account since at least March of 2003, then there is nothing that this guy can do. The Statute of Limitation has passed. They can still ask for the debt to be paid but he cannot pursue you legally (wage garnishment, property lien, or bank levy).

HOWEVER, MAKE SURE THAT YOU Don't MAKE ANY RENEWED PROMISE TO PAY!! This can start the click ticking again and they will likely sue at that point. Even if you do intend to pay this debt, don't tell that to him.

If it were me, I would call his bluff... tell him to f*** himself and to never call me or my parents ever again.

If you do not pay this debt, it will be removed from your credit report in July. If it isn't removed, a simple letter to the credit bureau(s) reporting it and it will be removed. If you DO pay this debt, it will stay on your report for another 7 years. So if you decide to pay this debt, MAKE SURE YOU GET A LETTER IN WRITING FROM THE COMPANY REPORTING THE ACCOUNT THAT THEY WILL REMOVE ANY & ALL REFERENCES TO THAT ACCOUNT ONCE IT HAS BEEN PAID. You don't want any collection accounts on your report.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about this.

[ScottGem]

Jizzle beat me to it. You can send this person a letter stating that all future correspondence must be only in writing. I would add that you believe his collection tactics are illegal and if he persists in them you will report him to the appropriate authorities.

While I strongly believe in the ethics of paying your debts, this is one time I think I would support not paying. I think this guy has overstepped the bounds of decency if not legality in dunning you. I don't think he deserves your consideration.

I believe, as Jizzle said, that the SOL has passed. Therefore, he has no legal recourse to compel you to pay (unless you give him one). Once you tell him to stop calling, all he can do is send letters which you can easily dispose of.

One last point. If you do need anymore advise on this, I suggest you post publicly rather than using PMs. By posting publicly you open your problem to help form a variety of people. Plus you give others the chance to learn from your situation.

[Younganddumb]

Thank you so much all of you. I was re-reading the thread and how I titled it and it sounds like the "respond now" part was directed at you guys. That was my fault, it was meant to be a paraphrase of what the jerk on the phone was telling me in his message. My apologies.
Again, thank you so much for your advice and help.

[Noviceplaintiff]

Yesterday after work I stopped by my parents house to pick up my 6mo. old son. I was greeted by my now very nervous and scared mom who told me to listed to the message left on the answering machine. It was the deep authorative sounding man who said the following:

"Hello this is a required notice in accordance with state and federal laws for "my name" You need to respond as soon as possible. I'm currently processing information with your local jurisdiction of which will initiate a court proceeding. Please be advised that I've been legally obligated to get a hold of you and serve you a notice and maranderize you on your rights. You need to respond immediately to .......
This is very urgent here. This not a solicitation. "my name "you need to respond immediately. Thank you and Good luck."

My mom then told me to go and talk with my dad, who thinking the call was for him (same names, different middle initials), had already called. The man told my dad that it was in reference to a texaco CC and that the owed 2500. My dad told the man that he has never had a texaco CC or any other gas CC for that matter. The man told my dad that he had to pay for it or that they would take out a lien on his house, my dad replied that it wasnt his account. The man then asked my dad for his SS # but my dad, rightfully so, refused to provide it. But then the man read out my SS# to him, the whole 9 digits!, and my dad knew it was me. So then the man just told my dad that it was very important that I call them back and pay or that they would garnish my wages and basically see what other damage they could do.

It just so happened that about a week ago I took out a free credit report but in it I do not have any Texaco cards listed, I was almost certain that it was charged off along with another gas card and a credit card(I went through a couple of really rough years and screwed up my credit pretty good) those other cards are listed as charged off. I do have one bad account on there that is close to the dollar amount the man requested (within a couple of hundred) that was not charged off and dates to around the same time I screwed my credit up.
My experian report for that account states:
Date opened: 5/05
Reported since: 1/01
Sate of Status: 2/01
Last Reported: 02/07
Status Details: This account is scheduled to continue on record until Jul 2007.

What does this all mean? What should I do? Should I call the man back? Will I get a court summons letter in the mail either way? What could possibly be my options? Not that I was any better off before but now that I have a child, trying to keep my immediate family fed clothed and sheltered I really don't have money to pay this debt off.

Please advice. Many thanks.

Sounds like a collection company attempting to collect using fear tactics or a possible scam. Let the company know to cease and decist from contacting you and proceed accordingly. You can contact a debt collection atty for free and discuss your rights. Many good attys will give you brief advice over the phone for no charge without taking your case. If you are served, respond immediately to the summons with your reasons for not owing the debt and file it in the clerk's office and then go to small claims should it go that far. They have the burden of proof.