Just got served a summons and its Saturday!!!!

I would call Tricap first thing on Monday and explain that your husband is out of work and is looking for a job. As soon as you are back on your feet, you will call them to work out an adequate settlement. They need to know that they can't get blood from a stone, and right now, you have to meet your basic needs first.

File your answers with the court when summons have already been served to you. Verify the case with the local county clerk and he will let you know how to file the answers. You may also speak with an attorney in this regard. Call the credit card companies and get confirmed that your accounts have been sold to Tri-Cap Investment Partners. If this has happened, they are now the current creditor and will have the rights to garnish wages after winning the case in the court.

You must also try to work out some payment arrangements with them and possibly make them withdraw your case from the court.

They attached all the documents showing that they bought the accounts. On the instructions they specify not to call but to send a response by mail. We will be working on that letter this weekend to send it to them next week. Also I will call the courhouse and see how to respond. DO you think that they will take all of our income to pay off the debts? Should I call a debt consolidation company or is it too late for that now?
Thanks for your suggestions.

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you can pull a free credit report at https://www.annualcreditreport.com and see where the debt is now, that would save you alot of time. You may want to pull one on you and one on your husband. It will reflect if the debt has been sold off or under collection, it should show who has the debt now.

Also, my husband thinks that they can take our house. They say that we owe approximately $20,000 in 5 credit cards. Can this be done? I am planning making an offer to pay $300 month to them and see if they accept. Is that a good idea?

See what they offer you for a settlement first. Men always see the bad side. You will want to figure out what the total amount will be or you will be paying forever. Don't act scared or desperate when you talk to them, be confident. Ask them what the total debt amount is and what they are willing to settle for? Ask them if these debts will be paid in full when you are done paying them? So they don't sell the balance off to another company. Ask them if they will update your credit report for a favorable rating when all the debt is paid? Negotiation is a two way street and they want the money and you want to be debt free. Don't be bossy, but you don't want to come out of this with any lingering debt. You should be able to talk to them civilly. Make sure you keep copies of everything that you send to them in case it does actually end up in court for your proof that you did try and work it out. I am dealing with one now that is being real jerks on one credit card and it is only $2890, should be alot lower, they add their fees. I got a summons, I refuse to pay this much, I know they bought the debt for pennies on a dollar. Hopefully, I am not shooting myself in the foot, but I won't be taken advantage of either. I won't go down with out a fight. Check the laws in your state about judgments. What state are you from, I will see what I can find out for you.

Also see if there is a consumer advocate group in your area that will be able to make sense of your whole situation. you can look on naca and see if you can find someone local that will advise you. Do a google search for naca.

http://www.naca.net/

You can do a search for an advocate on this site that will be able to advise you. Goodluck

fedupinpa, I don't think that I can talk to them on the phone but I will send a letter (according to the summons)about the settlement. We have to file a "written response to the court and mail or take a copy to the 'Plaintiff's Attorney". I wll try to find a group that can help and will visit the links that you poseted.Thank you so much for you suggestions.

Oops, I forgot to mention that I am in Florida.

I called them as soon as i got the summons, it is worth a shot, call them and see if you can handle this out of court. They should talk to you, mine did.

I will give them a call tomorrow (Monday). Thanks.

What state do you live in???Some states(5) have NON-garnment laws.I know here in SC if only one person is working in the family the Judge would rule your "Judgement proof".

Here is garnishment and judgement information in Florida.

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Following is some important information on Florida state debt recovery laws including: Florida Statutes, Florida Judgments, Florida Garnishments, Florida Interest Rates, and Florida Bad Check Laws.


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Thanks for the info. I will check the AG site.

But what does that 10% mean. 10% of what they say we owe, is that what we pay? I am confused. Sorry I am not getting it. I am having bad allergies today and took a Beadryl and have been sleeping this afternoon.

The interest rate is the annual interest rate for the judgment amount.Its basically the same thing as paying interest on a credit card or loan.

10% is an annual rate. Usually judgments accrue simple (daily) interest. To calculate the daily rate you take APR/365 (10%/365) = .0274% per day. Any day that you have an open balance, multiply the daily rate times that balance ($20k X .0274% = $5.48/day). Your account will be earning about $5.48/day interest. As you make payments, and the balance goes down, the daily interest will go down too.

If your the only one working then you are "head of house hold".I do not think they can garnish your wages.Bud-sc

OK, thanks for the info.

Okay, I talked to an attorney today inquiring about if we would lose our house and she told me that it was very unlikely that we would lose our house. In the worse case scenario it would be that the company would file a judgement against us and we would have to pay them before selling our house.
She said that her firm sometimes takes these cases but they want a retainer fee. She wouldn't tell me how much because she had to discuss it with the other partners so I have to see them again tomorrow.
I could do this myself and send a letter to the attorney for the company that filed the law suit and a copy to the courthouse, but I really do not know how to even start the letter. Is there a sample letter somewhere where I can start working on?
Thanks for your suggestions.

There is an ebook section in this website. You will find a sample letter that fits in your situation.

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/letters/

Also, go through the letters section here.

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/books/

Thanks Johnson I will check them out.

Just wanted to update on my second meeting with the attorney. He said that Tri-Cap Investments, LLC was holding the cards and they could do whatever they wanted with our debt. He strongly believed that they would no go for the monthly payment plan that we were going to send them due to the fact that we didn't pay our original creditors way back in 2004, we filed for bankruptcy in 2005, which was dismissed and never attempted to contact the creditors to make payment arragements.
He told me that based on experience, they would make us pay the whole $20,000 plus fees and court costs all at once.
We do not have that kind of money laying around the house or even own anyhting of value, so I really do not know what is going to happen.
My husband is the Head of the Household, so they can not garnish his wages (good thing) and I am not named in the lawsuit.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks.

Please go to www.naca.net and get a referral for a lawyer that deals with credit and collection law!

Oh I did, and the attorney that I went to today is the one listed on the website. He wasn't that much help at all and he was charging me a "retainer fee" of $750 and $350/hour fo rhis work. I though that he was a ripoff, but that is another story. I can not afford to use him (obviously) because of his fees.

Perhaps you could use a paralegal. While they cannot represent you in court, one could help you by assisting in filing paperwork and research. They aren't cheap either, but they often charge a great deal less than an attorney. If you go this route, I would look for one who graduated from a state bar approved school, not a correspondence course.

Thanks Morningstar. I will look into that.

I just reviewed both sites that were listed above and I am still a little confused. Which letter is the one that I need to send to the court and to the attorney of the compant suiing me? SHould I have them validate the debt to make sure that they purchased all 8 accounts, or should I agree to make a payment plan? The papers that were attached to the summons only had affidavits from notaries from the same company indicating that the company purchased the accounts, but I didn't get anything showing each specific account with the amount that they purchase dit for, etc. What should I do?
Thanks

Another poster in a different thread mentioned they were eligible for legal aid. Have you looked into that possibility?

No, I have not but I am afriad that they will think I make too much money. Which I don't, plus I have a lot of bills. I will call them tomorrow and see if I qualify for legal aid.
Thanks.

They may have a website, too. The legal aid site for Los Angeles (or maybe it's California) gives the requirements. Perhaps your local legal aid center will, too. However, I don't think they look at your bills, just income, although I could be mistaken.

I am still looking for a sample of the appropriate letter to send to respond/answer to the attorney's office. Anyone out there know of a link where I can get it?
Thanks so much.

My salary was garnished starting 10/17/07 up until 10/08. We went to court because I was exempt; I had two minor children at home. The court dismissed the case and the attorney and I made arrangements. The garnishment began a day before I received my paycheck so consequently the bills that had been sent off were either paid or returned with a $35 NSF charge. What monies do I have the right to recover?