Expert: Chris Ebert - 2/23/2011

Question
I live in Maryland and yesterday I received a call from an organization calling themselves the federal customer affairs and business regulations bureau. These people, all of whom were foreign told me that I was being sued in the state of CA for not repaying a payday loan. They claim that the last time the creditor tried to collect payment was Oct 2010. They have me bank information and my employers name. They claim that they are going to have me served at my job by Friday. Yesterday I was told that I could get a Walmart prepaid card and load the amount owed onto that. Then fax these people a letter saying that I did not intend to defraud anyone and also include the card information. I almost sent the money (650.00) because I do not want criminal fraud charges. However the things that these people said just didn't sound right. I have called them several times since yesterday and today when I called the man yelled at me and told me to stop harassing him and wait for the paperwork. I'm no criminal. What do I do, I work for the government and this could cost me my job

Answer
Jessica,

None of this sounds correct.

1) A lawsuit and debt issue is a civil issue. Not criminal.
2) I would not send any money in the manner they described.
3) If you are served a lawsuit then you will need to answer it or hire an attorney to answer for you.
4) If I were you, I would verify the debt before paying. You can see a sample letter at http://www.henleycreditlaw.com/diy-credit-repair/

Chris