Florida Collections Legal Questions

The summons initiates the lawsuit against you so that Portfolio Recovery can attempt to get a judgment for the debt (plus costs and attorney fees most likely) and then attempt to enforce the judgment.  Since each case is for less than $10,000, your summons should be for County Court (I'm assuming the amounts are above $5,000).  The summons then should tell you that you have 20 days to respond to the Complaint.  This is vitally important because if you fail to answer, you can get what's called a default, which will essentially preclude you from raising defenses.  However, if you answer improperly, you can actually waive potential defenses.  I would highly advise consulting with an attorney immediately.  I would also very much advise finding an attorney to fight this lawsuit on your behalf.  Litigation is complicated and it is very easy to make a misstep.  With regard to the substance of whether or not they can produce the proper paperwork necessary to enforce the debt, it is a possible defense; however, there's no way anyone can tell you whether that defense exists without having the details and pursuing discovery (discovery is the litigation process through which the evidence in the case is exchanged).  The long short of this is to make sure a legal response is filed within the time limit provided - which should be 20 days - and that you should seek the consultation of an attorney.... Read More

No as long as you have proof of paying off the old debt. In fact, if you have such proof you might have a lawsuit against the collection company/lawyer for trying to collect a paid debt. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our office at 1-800-922-6442 for a FREE consultation,    ... Read More

This all revolves around the terms and conditions of the contract first and foremost. You will likely need to retain a consumer lawyer or a contract lawyer to review the agreement as a start. If you have further questions, please feel free to call our office at 1-800-922-6442 for a FREE consultation.... Read More

What you are essentially asking is for lawyers to tell you the secrets to what they do for a living, learned over many years of expense and experience, so that you can do it yourself for free. Don't plan on getting anything useful on that front that you can actually rely on. If you have such concerns, you may want to consider retaining a lawyer for such purposes. As an aside, merely paying a debt does NOT effect its removal from credit reporting and most creditors will NOT settle accounts on such a condition, even when that decision makes little financial sense. If you have additional concerns, we do offer FREE initial consultations at 1-800-922-6442, to determine if we can provide further assistance.... Read More

No way to tell in a vacuum. Whats clear though is that Capital One is taking advantage of thefact that you dont know what you are doing. You really need to hire a lawyer to handle the lawsuit. If you have additional concerns, we do offer FREE initial consultations at 1-800-922-6442, to determine if we can provide further assistance.... Read More

That money is likely long gone, possibly time barred from collection and llikely going to cost you a substantial amount of money simply to chase after. This should  have been dealt with years ago. Should you have further questions, or would like to retain our services, please feel free to call our office for a FREE consulation at 1-800-922-6442.... Read More

This is always a difficult fact pattern to address. First, you need to know whether the procedure was covered under inusrance when it was rendered. You have many ways to contact the carrier toaddress this, beyond the info on the card. If no, then if you got the services pay them. If the answer is yes, then you need to see WHY insurance did not pay for charges and if they will. If dentist did not timely submit or declined you might have what is called a "balance billing" case andthis is usually a no-no.... Read More

Short Answer:  They most likely cannot force the sale of your home as long as you are current on your mortgage and taxes.  Furthermore, any attorney who threatens to force the sale of your home may have committed a violation of the Florida or Federal Consumer Collections Practices Acts -- and you may be able to sue the attorney.   Under the Florida Constitution, Article X, Sec. 4, the homestead of a natural person (i.e. not a corporation) is exempt from the claims of creditors other than taxes, mortgage to purchase, mortgage to refinance or improve, assessments allowed by the deed (like homeowner's associations), construction liens for goods or services used to improve the property.  This exemption is limited to one-half acre within a municipality, or 160 acres outside of a municipality.  (If your home sits on more than 1/2 acre and is inside city or town limits, the situation becomes more complex but you are still entitled to keep 1/2 acre.)  The value of the property does not matter -- only the acreage.   Florida Courts are very supportive of this exemption -- if there is any question, the Courts will usually support the claim of homestead.  Condominiums, mobile homes and even houseboats are entitled to the exemption. I suggest you take a look at Florida Statutes Section 222.01.  That law has a provision that lets you make an official declaration, in advance, that your property is your homestead and is therefore exempt.  If the attorney sees that you have invoked your rights under this section, he or she will probably realize that you cannot be misled about this issue. Also, if this attorney has threatened to throw you out of your homestead, he or she may have violated the Florida Consumer Collections Practices Act ("FCCPA" at Fla. Stat. 559.72) and the Federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA at 15 USC §1692).  You may want to go talk to an attorney who handles Abusive Debt Collections cases -- you may recover up to $1,000 for each statute, and the attorney's fees will be paid by the other side. If you are employed, the attorney may threaten to garnish your wages.  If you are a head of family (i.e. you pay more than 50% of the support for a child or other dependent, even if the child is over 18, or if you are married if you are the primary decision maker for the family), then your wages are exempt from garnishment under Fla. Stat. 222.11.  If they try to garnish your wages, you will need to fill out a form to claim the exemption.  If you are not a head of family, a garnishment can take 25% of your take-home pay.... Read More

This fact pattern makes little sense as it seems that you are a former tenant but the 7 day issue suggests a present tenancy. As a general rule, it is not thier duty to contact and give you "one last chance" to pay what you owe, though many do it outof convenience or courtesy. If you have other questions, please fee free to contact our office at 1-800-922-6442 for a FREE consultation. ... Read More

First, you can't be put in jail for owing a debt -- it must be something else, such as renting a car and not returning it.  Do you know of any debts you owe?  Have you received a letter from a debt collector advising you of your right to demand verification of the debt?If you choose to call the person back (which I would recommend), DO NOT PROVIDE ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION other than what the person already knows.  Before any discussion, make sure you get (a) the name of the person you are talking to, (b) the name of the company he or she represents, (c) the ADDRESS of the company, (d) the phone number for the company, (e) a description of exactly what they claim is owed, including account number and amount.  Take notes of every detail, but do not record the call unless you advise the other person that the call is being recorded at the beginning (which should be part of the recording) and ask permission to continue.  If the debt is not immediatly familiar, tell them you need to do some research and hang up.  Then do an internet search for the company.If the debt is more than 5 years old, it may be past the Statute of Limitations.  If the caller threatens you with jail, or losing your home, or taking your stuff, then the caller may have violated either Federal or Florida debt collection laws (or both), and you might be able to sue them and recover up to $1,000 statutory damages (with attorney's fees paid by the other side).  If you have an attorney and the attorney writes a letter to the collector, then the collector will only be able to contact the attorney and not you. You may want to send the collector a letter demanding that the collector send you verification of the debt -- under Federal law, assuming that this is a consumer debt and the collector is not the original creditor, the collector cannot call you again until this verification is sent to you.  If you do not feel you owe the debt, you can instruct the debt collector to no longer contact you -- there are only a few exceptions when they can contact you, but in general that should stop the collection calls.  If you are called again, find an attorney who handles Debt Collection Harassment cases to sue the collector.... Read More

Assuming that this is a valid judgment, and judgment in Florida is valid for 20 years.  However, the interest rate is not still 11% -- for the last several years, the interest rate has been 4.75% on judgments.  The rate used to change annually, but now it can be changed every 3 months.  The interest should be calculated for each year based upon each year's legal interest rate.Before you pay anything, you should determine if you are "collectable."  Florida has a bunch of exemptions in its Constitution and Statutes, and I can only mention a few.  If you own a home that is your primary residence, that home is exempt from the claims of creditors (regardless of value, but depends on land size) other than mortgage, taxes and a few others.  Every person has a $1,000 personal property exemption, plus an additional $4,000 if you do not claim a homestead.  The personal property value is determined at "fair market" (i.e. garage sale/thrift store) values.  If you are a "head of family" (you pay more than 50% of the support for a child or other dependent, including a spouse and even if the child is over 18), then your wages are exempt from being garnished.  Wages in the bank continue to be exempt for 6 months.  See Fla. Stat. 222.11.  If you are married and your spouse is not on the judgment, then anything jointly owned by both of you may be exempt as "tenants by the entireties" if it meets six requirements.  (If you have an account from before you were married, close it and open a new joint account, and ask the bank to title it as a "Tenancy by the Entireties" account.  Mostly, the requirements are that the things must be jointly owned and acquired after the date of the marriage.)  Retirement accounts are probably exempt.Knowing this is a huge advantage for negotiations.  Many people in Florida are "judgment proof" because a judgment creditor cannot force payment due to the exemptions.  You WILL have to provide financial information if requested through the Courts with a Subpoena, or if you want to negotiate a deal, but you can explain that you are a head of family so your wages cannot be garnished (if that's true), that everything you own is joint with your spouse (if that's true) so it cannot be taken and your bank accounts can't be garnished.  Or you can say that everything you have (which could include money in the bank) is less than your $5,000 exemption (if that's true).  If the debt buyer law firm knows that you know your exemptions and they can't force you to pay, they may be more willing to compromise.   Be very careful if you sign any agreements, as some tricky collectors try to get folks to waive their protection against garnishment for a head of family.... Read More

Not sure what you are expecting should be done. I assume the bank will look to you for the full value of the debt, and it was your obligation to start, is there something else that youthink should happen? If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to call ou office at 1-800-922-6442 for a FREE consultation. ... Read More

No. As described in the results so far, your self lawyering has not gone so well and is likely to make things even worse. You really need to hire a lawyer to address this before something worse happens. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to call ou office at 1-800-922-6442 for a FREE consultation. ... Read More

Yes, because they can likely get to your asset of ownership of the LLC, like shares in an corporation, which has value, though they can't hold the LLC liable directly. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to call ou office at 1-800-922-6442 for a FREE consultation. ... Read More

As a general rule, if you miss or forget to pay HOA fees, you will get assessed collections charges etc., depending on the terms of the HOA bylaws etc. If you then sent in partial payment, without some agreement otherwise, they will often send it to counsel to collect or file liens on the condo, etc. While it may be possible to fight the charges, at the value you described, it would more cost effective to pay the money, or pay themoney and THEN fiight for reimbursement, as you dont want to provoke a foreclosure over such a small amount of money.... Read More