Recently I exchanged emails with a reader who went to court to defend himself against a collection agency. I thought it would be a good idea to release the contents of the email (after receiving permission from the author) to demonstrate a real life experience in a court of law. The debtor walked away from court WITHOUT a judgment against him. In court you have the right to force the plantiff to produce the documentation which would prove you ever entered into a legally binding agreement with the creditor. You have the right to request the collection agency provide a copy of the original contract, which would include your signature, that indicates you ever entered into an agreement with any lender. If the collection agency fails to produce a copy of the contract with your signature, there’s a good chance the judge will move to dismiss their case against you. Details of this email have been changed to protect the identity of the email’s author.
**Disclaimer – Debtprison.net does not administer legal or financial advice. The contents of this website are my opinions on collection agencies and how to deal with them. Nothing on this website should be interpreted as legal advice or council. No opinions on this website should be used to replace the advice of your financial advisor or your legal council.
Dear Barry,
On May 5th, 2009 I was summoned to appear in my County Court as I was being sued by a collection company by the name of **Debt Collector. As sat and waited my turn to be called, there were several people who found themselves in the same boat as I was. Each of them agreed that they owed money and made some sort of payment arrangement.
When I was called the Judge asked me how I felt about owing this money to this company. I stated that I never heard of **Debt Collector until I received the summons and as far as I knew I had no contract with this company stating that I did owe them anything. The Judge looked at the paperwork and said, he didn’t see any contract and that I might have a point. He since dismissed the case, but gave **Debt Collector 20 days to come up with a signed contract between myself and this collection company.
Also, on April 10, 2009 I sent the attached file (letter private via author), through snail-mail, to **Debt Collector, the Clerk of Courts and the Federal Trade Commission. I know they all received my mail, as I required signature confirmation.
What I need to ask you is, is there a possibility that **Debt Collector would continue with this case in the 20 days allowed, in other words, could they possibly proceed unless they could produce a signed contract (not a copy), with my original signature and a signature from the company?
Please, if you have the time to reply I would certainly appreciate it. Thank You.
Sincerely,
For the debt collector to continue with the suit, a signed contract must be produced, indicating that the defendant ever entered into any legally binding agreement with their client. Failure to produce the signed contract should prevent the case from moving forward. This debtor handled this properly.
When you are sued by anyone… defend yourself!
Recent Comments