Expert: Creditwrench - 12/18/2007

Question
QUESTION: Good evening,

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

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

QUESTION: Thanks again Creditwrench!!!! According to the letter they sent me, "Date of Last Payment: 1/03/01."   The date of charge off was 8/08/01.  Providian Bank sold the debt to ASSet Acceptance LLC on 1/30/03, then they referred it to Blitt & Gaines in August 2007. I will scan all the documents and e-mail it to you this afternoon. Thank you so much!!

Answer
Mercantile Adjustment Bureau is trying to collect on an old Providian account of mine. A lawyer in Tulsa, Oklahoma sued me about 5 years ago on that same account and it was already out of statute back then and I made him dismiss his case by filing the appropriate motion. He couldn't run from it fast enough. Now Mercantile has been trying to collect on it and I'm begging them to sue me. Just got a letter from them today and called them up. Here is the audio from the call. http://www.creditwrench.com/mercantileadjustmentbureau.mp3
In the call I told them I want them to sue me among other things. They wanted to know why they would not sue me of all things. LOL