Posted on June 9, 2009 at 5:56 am Can they say that over the phone or letter? And how can they take a debtor to court?

Posted on June 9, 2009 at 6:02 am Yes they can take you to court, if they were able to secure judgment against you, but even then--they can't just take you to court, it would require for them to sue you first, the whole thing would have to go through a trial, and in it you will be given a chance to defend yourself. You can dispute their claim.With regards to threats, over the phone or letter, they are prohibited from doing so under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Posted on June 9, 2009 at 6:08 am They can take you to court if you refuse to clarify matters with them. A debt collector may contact you the first time and even then, that collector may not threaten you before and after business hours. They are, however, required to tell you how much you owe, the name of your creditor, and the actions that you should take if ever you don't think that you owe them anything.

Posted on June 9, 2009 at 6:17 am If your "debt collectors" are your creditors or lenders they can take you to court, however, there are measures that you can take to prevent that from happening. You'd be surprised at how receptive your original creditors are going to be if you'd just stop dodging their calls or if you'd just sit with them and negotiate your debts. If you are receiving creditor calls it should be your signal that the creditors are ready and more than willing to negotiate your debts with them--because they are the ones that called. You may expect them to give you an offer, perhaps lower the amount of your debt, extend payment period, reduce your interest rates, etc. The point is, you don't have to worry about going to court yet.

Posted on June 9, 2009 at 6:20 am Oh thank you, it's good to know that going to court is a process--meaning it would take time, and also, that I can avoid it. In the meantime, is there a way to stop them from calling?

Posted on June 9, 2009 at 6:24 am Yes, you can request for them to stop contacting you in writing and also via the phone. Make sure that you keep a copy of that letter. Once they have received that letter, they are not to contact you again, except to inform you if they are going to take a specific action against you with regards to your debt, and that's the time where you'd find out if they are suing you or not.

Posted on June 9, 2009 at 8:06 am The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from making threats that pertain to legal action if they are not in fact ready to file suit. Creditors do on the other hand reserve the right to pursue legal action to collect the debt, so you may want to try and work something out with them to resolve your accounts before that happens. They would first have to prepare the lawsuit and properly serve you with a summons. After that point, you would be given a certain amount of time to enter a response to that summons (typically between 20-30 days). As a result, even if a creditor files a lawsuit you have plenty of time to work something out. If you choose to leave everything unresolved, the creditor would then be awarded a judgment against you (they may in fact get a judgment regardless to secure the debt in case you do not meet the terms of any resolution you worked out with them). If you continue to leave the debt(s) unresolved, the creditor would move to execute the judgment in the form of a wage garnishment, property lien or bank account levy. If you are behind on your payments, debt settlement would be a very good option for you at this time. You can fill out a form on DestroyDebt.Com for a free consultation!

Posted on August 2, 2009 at 1:41 am i have had a car repoed and i also owe money to the military for opting out of my contract early.  when they want to take my wages do they have to serve me in person, ex: come to my house?  Or can they just call me and tell me that thats what there going to do?  and since i do owe the money so is it possible to start making payments now that i have secure employment even if it has went to collections.  Anybodys advice would do a great deal to help me.  Thank you  

Posted on August 2, 2009 at 6:32 pm If they were to garnish your wages, they first would have to obtain a judgment against you in a court of law. At that point, if you do nothing to resolve the debt, they would try and move to execute the judgment against you in the form of a wage garnishment, property lien or bank account levy. In some states, even if the debt is resolved, the creditor will still execute the judgment in the form of a property lien to secure the debt. Prior to obtaining a judgment, the lawsuit would be filed and you would be served with a summons. State laws dictate how they must serve you, but in most states they would do so in person. In others, sending the summons via certified mail suffices.

Posted on October 14, 2010 at 11:40 am I have a medical bill that I am currently paying on. I can't pay it off completely until June 2011. The bill collector wants its paid by december 2010. They have threatened to take me to court if I don't pay it off by then. Can they do that? Since I am cooperating and paying the bill but not in the short time frame they've given me. I've tried to negotiate but they refuse to work with me.