Expert: Ray A Miller - 12/20/2008

Question
QUESTION: Dear Mr. Miller:

Collection Problems:

Below I've retyped the letter word-for-word that I received from a Columbus, Ohio lawyer 2 weeks ago and I've typed what my credit report shows.

Seven and a half years ago I got myself into some serious credit card debt and over the last 1 to 4 years I was able to borrow against my house to come up with the money to pay off my past credit cards.  However, in the process I now have myself in a living week-to-week basis and have absolutely no extra money and worse yet have no resources to obtain any money. I owe more then what my house is worth not to mention a second mortgage with a credit line of $25,000 that the line of credit has been frozen due to my house being worth less then those two combined first and second mortgages.

In my efforts over the years to clean up my credit cards I thought that all of them had been taken care of.  However, last week I received a letter from a Columbus attorney  stating that I owe a creditor called Providian Chase an Amount of $6,243.87.  I immediately checked my three credit reports online and found that this is true according to those reports and since I don't recall paying them it had to be one of the many credit cards that I did owe.  In checking my check register I found the last time I paid Providian was 9/10/02.  I noticed in looking at my credit report that this account had been charged off as a bad debt by Providian and that it was purchased by another lender and that lender placed it as a bad debt for collection and that it was passed on from there to another agency for collection and now has been forwarded to the Columbus law office by Marquee Capital, Inc whoever that is.  My guess is they are a collection agency.

I'm not going to dispute that I owe this as it looks from my credit report that I probably do.  I certainly do remember having a credit card from a company called Providian at one time.  As close as I can tell this debt is at least 5 years old.  Yes, I'm ashamed that this had not been paid before now, but I do not recall receiving any collection letters from Providian or any other collection agency or any phone calls from anyone in regards to this during the past 5 years.  I do recall early on receiving overdue statements from Providian, but that was a long time ago.   So, the first time I've heard from anyone about this in the last 5 years is a letter from a lawyer pretty much saying they are going to sue me if I don't pay the amount in full right away.   I know what's coming as I had two similar letters from other Ohio law firms in the past.  They file a lawsuit against me in our local Muni Court and then I appear and either agree or disagree and the judge issues his ruling which in 99% of the cases is against the person owing the debt.  The last two times this happened I was able to refinance my house and payoff $17,000 on one and about $11,000 on another.  However, in those cases I knew it was coming because the companies were calling me and sending me letters and it was just a matter of time until something happened.  Fortunately back then I could respond.  Now, I don't know what to do.

I want to pay this off, but have no friends, family or any place to get the money from and I honestly feel its unfair of them not to have contacted me before this and to only give me 30 days with no other options and in their words "in order to avoid further action being taken".  I lost my job 4 months ago, I'm 64 years old and collecting social security and my wife is on social security too.  We have a $700 house payment alone, groceries, utilities, insurance (no health insurance), taxes and day-to-day things around the house that come up..  I'm looking daily for another job and when I find one I would be happy to pay on this as I can, but I can't afford a lump sum of $6,200.  Even if they offered to reduce it to $1,000 I couldn't pay it.  I can't even send them a letter or call them because in their letter she states "The purpose of this letter is to collect a debt.  Any information you provide will be used for that purpose."

Anyway, I don't know if you can help me or not.   I do not recall ever receiving anything on this for at least 5 years and I feel they shouldn't be allowed to give a person more options then pay now or else.

Any advice or help you can provide will be sincerely appreciated.  See lawyer letter below.

Your truly,
John


HERE IS A COPY OF THE LAWYERS LETTER:

December 4, 2009

RE:  Our Client/Current Creditor: Marquee Capital, Inc.
       Original Creditor:  Providian Chase
       Amount:  $6,253.87
       Account #: xxxxxxxx000875800

Dear Debtor:

Please be advised that the above matter has been referred to this firm for immediate collection.  Please remit payment of the above noted amount to our office at your earliest convenience.  

The purpose of this letter is to collect a debt.  Any information you provide will be used for that purpose.  The amount of the debt is stated above, and will be assumed to be valid unless you dispute the debt or any portion thereof within thirty (30) days of your receipt of this notice.  If you notify this office in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt or any portion thereof is disputed, we will obtain and send verification of the debt to you.

Your prompt attention to this matter is warranted in order to avoid further action being taken.  Please not this may be the only notice you receive from this firm.  Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact our office at .

Sincerely,
The Law Office of xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
Colubmus, Ohio


AND THIS IS WHAT MY CREDIT REPORT SHOWS REGARDING THIS...
         EXP          EQX          TRANS
Account Name:          Providian          Providian          Providian
Account Number:  xxxxxxxx000875800       Same          Same
Acct. Type:          Credit Card/Revolv.     Revol/Option          Revolving
Acct. Status:          Close          -          Closed
Monthly Payment:          -          -          -
Date Open:          3/1/2001          3/1/2001          3/1/2001
Balance:          -          $0.00          $0.00
Terms:          Revolving          -          -
High Balance:          -          $5,000          $6,319
Limit:          $5,000          -          $5,000
Past Due:          -          -          $0.00
Payment Status: Acct trans another office.  Bad debt placed for     Charged off as bad debt
         for collection & skip         
Comments:     Trans. to another lender or     Acct trans. or sold          Purch. by another lender
         claim purchased

ANSWER: Thank you for the information, I rarely get enough.  Could you be a little more specific about what your question is so I can try to help you with this.  I can guess, but I would like for you to tell me so I can zero in on the issue at hand.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: May I first say to you that this service is incredible.  People who are in a position where we have to seek free advice really need it because there just aren't many places to go for help without having to shell out money we don't have.  Thank you so much for your help!

Sorry I didn't make it clear to you what I need to know.  I guess I was more interested in giving you all the information.  Anyway, here are my questions.

1.  Do I still legally owe this debt?

2.  Can this lawyer legally file a lawsuit against me for the balance?  

3.  What is the statue of limitations on a credit card debt in Ohio that has been passed on 3 times?   This debt is at least 5 years old.

4.  Does the fact that this lawyer and their client Marquee Capital made no previous collection efforts before this letter make this legal?  Do I have any recourse to stop them from filing a lawsuit against me?  

5.  What if I pay them $50 a month until I can pay this off?

I only have 2 more weeks to respond to their letter, but as I said I'm afraid to respond in writing because they say they will use anything I write for the purpose of collecting the debt.  

Thanks again for offering this great service.

Regards,
John

Answer
I think I speak for every volunteer here when I say you are welcome for our help.  I will have a for pay web site soon, but I will never leave this site as long as they will have me because of people like you who need help and may not be able to pay for it!

First of all, it looks like the SOL is 15 years and yes they can collect on it.  Your best bet is to call the creditor and plea your case and ask for monthly payments.  I my mind, that beats just having a judgment.  Judgments don't bring in income unless they reduce them to garnishment.

Try that MONDAY and let me know how it goes.  You may need to contact your state's version of Legal Aid and go to court.  I hope not.

Merry Christmas and I wish you the best with this situation.  Spread the word about this site.  The more people that know, the more people we can help.

**********I am sorry you did not find my advice helpful.  Perhaps I did not fully understand the issue.  Please feel free to ask another expert in this area for help.  I am always disappointed when I feel I have let someone down.  If you could be a little more specific with your question perhaps I can take one more swing at it.  Again, Merry Christmas and I will be checking though out the holidays to see if you have sent another followup.