National Arbitration Forum
I got a letter via UPS today from the Law Offices of Scott P. Lowry. It says that they are making an arbitration claim against me with the National Arbitration Forum.
I do not know how to respond to this and what the ultimate consequences of this are. I am only recently learning about all this debt stuff. I had been unemployed for 2 years and am just trying to get back on my feet.
I never knew to send a request for validation letter so I did not. I live in Texas and oppened the account in Texas and this is well inside the statute of limitations.
Is there anything I can do about this or am I just hosed? If they get a "win" from this what can they do to me?
Thanks
In Texas, your wages cannot be garnished. Only government owed d
In Texas, your wages cannot be garnished. Only government owed debts and child support are garnished. At the most, this law office can come after your bank account though; you need to plan on shifting your money to some other account. In Texas, you have a $30,000 personal exemption on judgments ($60,000 family)
That is semi-reassuring. Plus if I had 30k in the bank or now n
That is semi-reassuring. Plus if I had 30k in the bank or now non-existant 401k I wouldnt have the debt problem in the first place.
Does your response mean that I am doomed to a judgment against me no matter what I do or how I respond?
Your not doomed. But you probably should talk to an attorney, e
Your not doomed. But you probably should talk to an attorney, even if it's just for a free consultation.
Back in February, the U.S. Supreme Court re-affirmed the rule that if a contract contains a valid binding arbitration clause, the case must go to arbitration even if the overall contract is illegal. For those who like to look such things up, the case was Buckeye Check Cashing vs. Cardegna. (It involved a payday loan which pretty much everyone involved conceded was illegal in Florida at the time it was made.)
You can fight them in the arbitration. Usually you can even participate by phone or even by mailing in the documents. My experience is the NAF gets a bad rap on the whole bias thing. I think the reputation comes from the class action attorneys through ATLA's public relations machine. The trial attorneys hate NAF because they can't figure out how to make big money for themselves under NAF rules. But from what I've seen they have no problem ruling for the consumer if the consumer is right.
But let's assume you don't have a legal defense, just an inability to pay. So they get an award. They still have to get that perfected as a judgment and collect. If this happens, take comfort in what Arden wrote. Arden is right. Texas is THE best state to be in from a debtor's perspective.
Very little that can be done to collect on an unsecured debt. No garnishments, a huge homestead exemption (not sure if it's still an unlimited one) and lots of other protections. Compared to a state like Iowa (where you can be arrested for nonpayment of a civil judgment), Pennsylvania or North Carolina (where your property can be seized and auctioned) it's paradise.