Florida Debtor And Creditor Legal Questions

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. §1692) requires a collector to give you a notice that you have 30 days to dispute, but that notice really has no practical effect.  The creditor can sue at any time, including before the 30 days has expired.  However, you can slow them down by sending a letter to the debt collector asking for "verification of the debt."  The statute says that they must stop collections efforts until the verification is sent.  "Verification" can be something as simple as a computer print out showing the amount of the account, and if they receive your request, and immediately mail out "verification," then they can immediately resume collections activities.You have certain rights about communications under the law.  You can give them specific instructions not to contact you -- if you do, their only options will be to tell you that you are about to be sued, and then to sue you.  They cannot call you at work if your employment does not allow such calls.  They should not call you on a cell phone unless you allow it.  They should not leave voice mail messages with any details about the debt.  Every time they talk to you, they must say, "This is a communication from a debt collector."... Read More

No, you cannot force a lienholder to repossess the car.  You may want to call someone who hauls away Junk Cars -- they usually do not require a title.  To be safe, you could contact the lienholder to warn them that the collateral is going to be hauled away, but it is probably better to just have the car hauled away as junk.  If you haven't paid in six years and haven't been sued, then you may be past the Statute of Limitations in Florida (usually 5 years on a written contract).... Read More

There are a lot of unknowns in your question.  Does the creditor already have a judgment?  Generally, garnishments can only happen after a judgment.  If the Creditor has a judgment against you but not your husband, then generally the creditor CANNOT garnish your husband's paycheck.  There may be some odd and rare exceptions, though.Has the credit card company taken the position that because your husband used the credit card, he is liable for it, too?  If this is BEFORE judgment, then this may or may not be an issue.  However, if the judgment has already been entered, then it is probably too late for the judgment creditor to actually include your husband as a possible liable party.If the attorney is seeking all of this information as part of "post judgment discovery," then you must provide some information or you could be held in contempt of court.  If you claim to be "head of family" under Fla. Stat. 222.11, then your WAGES cannot be garnished.  But you said that you are self-employed -- depending upon the facts, your income as a self-employed person may NOT be protected against garnishment because that income is not "wages."In some cases, if you claim to be head of family under 222.11, your husband's financial information might be discoverable to determine the validity of your claim to be head of family.  NOTE that the person who makes the most income is not necessarily the "Head of Family."  It can be the "primary decision maker" for the family even if that person does not earn the larger income.  Again, it may not matter if you are self-employed.In some cases, a judgment creditor can look into your husband's financial records if there is some evidence that you have been "fraudulently transferring" assets or money to him (See Fla. Stat. Chap 726.) You may want to file and serve a written "objection" to providing any financial information on your Husband, which will force the judgment creditor to set a hearing on whether you have to provide the information.  For the most part, any JOINT accounts will be required to be provided.  Remember that anything owned by you and your husband jointly will probably be protected as "tenants by the entireties."  So if you have been married a long time and most of your personal property and any real estate is owned by both of you, it probably cannot be used to pay the debt. The debt management company has no authority over a judgment creditor unless the judgment creditor agrees to something.... Read More

First, I would strongly recommend you NOT file bankruptcy over a time-barred debt.  That would hurt your credit for much longer, and there is no need. Also, I would suggest that you NOT contact the creditor to pay this debt if it is past the statute of limitations, but if you feel that you have a moral obligation to pay something, then make sure you get an agreement in writing that your payment will be settlement in full AND they will remove the entry on your credit report BEFORE you pay.The best thing to do is to obtain copies of your credit report from all three credit reporting agencies, and challenge the entry about this debt since you no longer have a legal duty to pay it.  Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the credit reporting agencies must confirm the validity of the entry, and most of the time the creditors will not bother to confirm the debt.  This may get the entry off of your credit report without having to pay anything.... Read More

From what you describe, it sounds as though your husband's bank was served with a Writ of Garnishment.  If that is true, then Florida Statutes section 77.16 applies to "third party claims," explaining the procedure to try to get your property back.  (You can look up the statute online.)The procedure is not really that difficult.  You will need to prepare an affidavit fully explaining that the property is yours, why it is yours, with a good description of each item.  That must be filed in the court where the garnishment occurred.  The court should then set a trial on whether the stuff is yours -- it is supposed to be a jury trial unless all parties waive the jury.Obviously, it would be far better if you had an attorney to help you, but you may be able to file the affidavit on your own.  However, you need to do it quickly, before the court makes a final decision on the disposition of the garnishment.... Read More

If you are being sued in court, you will either need to hire a lawyer or find a way to educate your self about it ASAP. Zombie debt and payday litigators have a business model of suing to get judgments against people mostly becuase they dont know what they are doing in court. You may find this site of interest www.pro-sepower.com... Read More

Something is missing here as you speak of charges on YOUR credit report and affecting YOUR credit, then speak of your HUSABANDS obligation and HIS credit report related to your sons charges as an authorized user. Adding to this,  if there was a default on son's card for which husband was a guarantor or theprimary account holder, thecharges should haves shown up on his account from where the card was issued and  the bank  would have made numerous efforts to contact husband about this to demabd payment before 2012. Merely making payment in any event does not entitle anyone toremoval of existing accurate credit reporting.... Read More

THis may be a violation of the FCCPA where you are entitled to recover up to $1,000.00 or actual damages for violations andmake them pay your attorney's fees. 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

There are simply too many variables to sort this out absent you simply retaining a lawyer to do so. Youhave a signed agreement, with a dispute about the bank not actually getting the money, and then inject a military SSRA issue in the mix after the fact and complaints about the repo conduct from years ago. At a core level this sounds like the bank claiming it is not getting paid the money at all, irrespective of how you have making the payment to them. I presume you have negotiated checks for all payments to show reciept of the payment made, as if the proof is imply proof of mailing, you will likely find yourself on the wrongside of that issue. 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

If there is a judgment against you, the court file shows you WERE served. You need to pull that court file and see what happened and may need to hire alawyer to set aside the judgment if you weren't properly served. Should you have further questions, please feel free to contact our office at 1-800-922-6442 for a FREE consultation.... Read More

If this is a legitimate collection company, meaning REAL, then this is a violation of both the FDCPA and the Florida FCCPA. HOwever, this sounds like a pay-day loan fraud scam, so you will have to sort out whether its a real compnay as you can't effectively file suit against a scammer. If you have other questions, please fee free to contact our office at 1-800-922-6442 for a FREE consultation. ... Read More