AboutCreditwrench Expertise Debt Collections law, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), federal law, how to properly answer court summons for collection cases, how to prepare federal cases against debt collectors, how to deal with debt collection phone calls.
Experience I've been an active consumer advocate for more than 40 years and have helped hundreds of people win cases against debt collectors as well as helping them defeat demands for summary judgment lodged against them by banks, debt collectors and defeat mortgage foreclosures and keep their homes.
Education/Credentials Paralegal courses for the most part. I have been teaching people how to deal with judgments, mortgage foreclosures and other such problems both on and off the internet for many, many years. I am a Richard Cornforth information provider ever since 2000 and worked with many other organizations and causes since 1980. I was Oklahoma State Chairman for the nationwide drive to defeat the Constitutional Convention which was proposed by various factions within our federal government such as the Council of State Governments and the National Organization of State Governors who were working hard to organize a Constitutional Convention to be held in 1995 for the purpose of rewriting our American Constitution to be more acceptable to the United Nations. I worked with Senator Charles Duke of Colorado and Senator Don Rogers of California and many others across the nation to keep them from getting the number of delegate states required to lawfully hold a Con-Con and we were successful. I have worked with many other legislative issues in Oklahoma and have always been very successful.
I live in a suburb in Chicago IL. 2 years ago I qualified for a GMAC 0% interest on a new car. I've had great credit for as long as I can remember. . So it came as a surprise to me when on August 8,2007 I received a letter from a Law Firm Blitt & Gaines, P.C. stating they are collecting from a credit card debt I owed Providian Bank in January of 2001. I spoke with Blitt & Gaines rep and asked what these charges were for. I didn't know what they were and wanted verification. I never heard anything from them and now 2 weeks ago, I received a summons to appear in Will County IL at the end of this month. They are saying that I owe a total of $6174.22( Principal = $3865.65 plus Purchased Interest $571.90; and Interest After Purchase is = $1736.67).
I don't have the money to pay for this. I don't even know if this is mine. I've disputed this with them and asked for proof and now I'm receiving this summons.
What can I do? I'm tempted to borrow money to go ahead and pay this or at least what can I legally have them reduce this amount to settle it? I did have a Providian credit card back in 1999, but closed it in good standing in 2001 when I moved. THANK YOU for any help you can provide me.
Answer When did you make your last payment to Providian? This is important because the Illinois statute of limitations is 5 years on a credit card debt according to Bankrate.com. In order for them to have a claim upon which the court can grant relief you would have had to make your last payment after September of 2002. You say you demanded validation? Did you do that in writing by certified mail return receipt requested? You don't have to do it in writing but it sure does help prove that you did dispute if you send your dispute by certified mail return receipt requested and can prove it by the green card you got back. In any case I would file motion for more definitive statements immediately then follow that up with demands for interrogatories based on their answers to your demand for more definitive statements, then demand for admissions and production of documents and finally a motion to dismiss. Then if the court dismisses the case I would follow that up with a federal lawsuit for misrepresenting the legal status of the debt. I can't advise you what to do of course because I'm not a debt collection lawyer and I'd be ashamed to admit it if I were but that is what I would do. They are also providing you with false and misleading information so that would become my second cause of action in federal court. I'm sure there are more violations that I could find in the complaint if I were to look it over. These are some of the things that I think should be done by everyone who ever gets a summons on a debt and even more importantly when the debt is out of statute for the state they live in. Debt collectors should never be allowed to get a default judgment. If they are going to get a judgment then I believe that everyone should at least make them work for it. Don't give up without a fight because if you don't file a response the only way you could defeat the judgment is to file a federal case on them for their misrepresentations and other violations of federal law. I'll be happy to look your complaint over without any charge or obligation. You can fax it to me or scan it in and e-mail it to me or send it by U.S. Mail. You can reach me at ceo@creditwrench.com or by phone at 405-616-7901
