Expert: Creditwrench - 6/9/2008

Question
My wife and I have a medical bill that went to collections within the last 2
months. We just received a certified letter from the in-house attorneys of the
CA stating they are suing us for around $850, plus prejudgment interest and
attorney fees, if applicable. They say the prejudgment interest accrues from
8-12-2007 until judgment is entered.

I contacted our County Court and verified that the case has been submitted,
and the person said that I had 30 days from receiving the letter to respond to
the suit. She told me to write a response to the County Court Civil Division
but did not give me any idea on what I am suppose to write (not that I would
follow any such advice).

My goal is to have this account settled and make sure that it does not appear
on our credit report as either a collection nor a judgment. This would
jeopardize my getting a  federal job for which I have applied.

As of today, I have not seen it reported on my credit report.

Is this a case where I absolutely need to hire an attorney? (I don't know if I
can afford one). A mediator?  What should my response be to the County
Court?  I can probably afford to pay the bill -  is it possible/likely that I can
have it "deleted"?

Any and all input is greatly appreciated!

Randall
P.S.  I just checked my mail and the following question arises, if applicable to
your expertise:

I sent a Letter of Deletion to another creditor (I've been through some rough
times) and they mailed me a counter offer but stated that:

"Credit Bureau reporting rules prohibit us from deleting any properly reported
account . . . we will update the account status code with all credit bureaus . .
to reflect the account as being paid in full" (provided that I pay).

I'm sure I've read somewhere that this isn't true, but what do I reference in
responding to them?

Answer
First of all I would like to say that your comments reflect almost precisely those of a gentleman who called me yesterday afternoon wanting to get some help with an old auto repo problem he is being sued for. He has 4 health food stores here in Oklahoma City. He has to go to court tomorrow. I went to his store and spent an hour or so with him telling him what he had to do to keep from putting out $11,000 to a collection agency who, among other things had actually provided outright lies in their pleadings among other things. He would not even have had to prove the lies because they were self evident on the face of the pleadings.

He said he would go home and talk to his wife and see if they wanted to fight or what. So he called me this morning and told me he had gone to speak with his attorney, a woman, who told him he had no other choice but to pay up and that there was no way he could sue the plaintiff for anything they did even though it might be illegal. She told him that he shouldn't listen to anybody who claimed that he could sue the debt collector.  

Then he wanted me to call his lawyer and tell her that I thoght she was wrong. Of all things!!! You can't tell a lawyer nothing. They went to college, got their credentials and they know what they are talking about. If you don't believe that just go ask one.

so he loses $11,000 simply because he listened to some dumb lawyer.

Now, the difference seems to be that the clerk of the court told you that you have to file a response to the court within 30 days and that is exactly what the court told you on the summons and you say you would not follow any such advice? She didn't give you any advice, she just told you the way it is. That's what the law says you need to do to avoid getting a judgment against you and all she did was tell you what the law said. She didn't give you any advice at all.

You say that you don't want to get a judgment on your credit report because that will jeopardize your getting a federal job you have applied for. Federal job rules require that you keep your bills paid and if you get a judgment against you it must be resolved in a timely manner. They don't care how you resolve it, just so you do.

The person who told you that credit bureau rules forbid them from deleting any properly reported item. That person told you the truth too. But since when did credit bureau rules become law?

My students make the debt collectors eat those words all the time. Like anything else, you have to know how to get the job done or it will never happen.

You already told me you would never do what the law says you should do so how can I help you?

Bill Bauer
405-684-9297
405-227-9423

RECOMMENDED READING:
www.creditwrench.com/howjudgmentswork.html
www.creditwrench.com/18questions.html
www.creditwrench.com/Howtodefeatdebtcollectors

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