Creditors really do use any information you give them against you! They’re even required to tell you that they will. By law collectors must tell you 1) that they are debt collectors and 2) that any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Watch out, creditors are sneaky and they will lie to you. They’ll tell you that you might be able to pay less if you send a letter of hardship or if you send a bank statement showing you have no money. If you fall into the trap, they might know where you work, where you live, where you bank or they might learn personal information about you that you wouldn’t share with your closest friends. Then they can use this information against you. Now they can call you at work, levy your bank accounts if they have a judgment against you or use personal information to scare you. Don’t trust them. The best thing you can do is hire a lawyer who has experience dealing with creditors and collectors.
Tags: collection agency, Creditors, default judgment, hardship letters
Last year creditors filed nearly 350,000 lawsuits in New York City. About 90% of those cases ended with a default judgment. Most defendants probably have no idea they were sued in court. All it takes is a default judgment and creditors can levy bank assets and garnish wages. If this happens you may be able to vacate the judgment but you must act fast. Some laws require that you file documents within a certain amount of time. You can check to see if you were sued in New York at eCourts. If you find that there’s a judgment against you, call Jeffrey Shepro, P.C. at 212-575-2683. We can most likely help.
Tags: Creditors, default judgment
When you’re sick, hire a doctor. When you’ve got a legal issue, hire a lawyer. Last week I got a call from someone who was sued for credit card debt that she thought she settled on her own. Before we got involved, the creditor misled the client into thinking she was settling two accounts. The creditor drafted the agreement and the client signed it. Unfortunately the settlement agreement included only one account. Luckily the client called us before settling the same account twice. Don’t do surgery on yourself, hire a lawyer.
Has this happened to you? Share your story here.
Tags: Creditors, debt settlement, default judgment
Some creditors use sewer service (filing a lawsuit without proper notice) to obtain a default judgment. They will freeze your bank account, garnish your wages and bully you into a payment. If creditors are freezing your bank accounts, taking your assets or taking your pay and you don’t remember being sued, you were most likely improperly served. If you were improperly served there’s a good chance you can get your money back and win an opportunity to defend yourself against the creditor. But the only way to get your money back is to put up a fight — you can’t win if you don’t play.
Tags: lawsuit sewer service frozen bank account