Can debt collector file lawsuit?

Bingo you might have them on the ropes and I like top contributors answer. If this debt is old, factored and sold several times, and they can't substantiate debt (hope you haven't paid it in a while, that may help) but when these debts are factored, its thousands at a time, unless big balance, origingal app, and one seller to the next seller, usually don't interact, send over a balance name and address, and phone nums if they have them. Again they don't interact well. Just move em like cattle take the cream off the top, usually only hold onto them for six months and get sold again, I believe that is how my friends lien holder got lost on his car a few years ago. Filed bnkrptcy, car was in there, pulled it out wnt delnquent again----debt got sold, and put back in bnkrptcy. No one responded he has car, and no one to pay, rare situation sounds good right. Well now wants to sell car, can't no record of lien holder, and he hasn't title, and car sits in garage.

Good thing you disputed in first 30 days also: So called lawyer left message on answering machine "serious", and did he mention debt. I doubt an attorney would do that violation of fair debt collection practices act. Can't leave message on an answering machine unless genaric, like "please contact me in regards to business matter", those who follow the law, when I worked at bank couldn't even say important business matter. Therefore, if left message to call back about a serious problem and mentioned debt, violation. Why? Can't disclose personal financial info to third parties, in Mass I believe can't even speak to wife, about hubbys debt, unless hubby gives permission. Hypothetical situation. Dad, friend, sister, girlfriend, aunt, comes in room and hits answering machine, hears call serious matter about such and such account- has disclosed, personal debt info to 3rd party by way of answering machines, real professional bank level and law abiding collection agencies would never leave that on answering machines.

Worked for a collection agency years ago. Guy had message on machine, " if you are debt collector under fair debt coll. practices act, please be advised the hearer perceives messages regarding debt as harassment please don't leave message on this answering machine". This guy was sharp, knew the ropes. What does one of our dumb collectors do, when he called the phone number? Please call me at abc-45dx (example), regarding your delinquent M/c account. Manager almost hung him from the rafters, but only fired him, when we received a $1,500 fine for disclosing personal info, could have been worse, we weren't law breakers w/alot of complanints, could of fined us for harassment too. BTW collecor gets fines also, and debtor gets to keep fine, or portion of as damages. How dumb can you be, there are law abiding credit collectors out there, and there are dumb ones, and the ones in the middle consider flagrant law breakers, get the $$ anyway you can, cheats, and law breakers.

You did the right thing, first notice from agency requires sentence "Do you dispute debt" and if so, especially small balances, good, big collection agencies aren't going to go thru all that hassle, for your peanuts in commission debt, will throw it in dispute que, maybe they have someone working that cue, probably not, unless big balance, good collectors are looking for the "cream" have cues of 1,000 to 4,000 thousand accts to cover in a short period of time, they are looking for the "lay downs", who will pay just not to hear from them, have weak shoulders.

I once had a cue of 3,000 to 4,000 accts to cover in three months time, which would be replaced by a new cue, same amount of accounts, and those 3,000 I creamed took what I could get; the easy ones. Of course this was a big, national firm.

Still leaving a message "serious" on an answering machine, or with a family member, violates the law if he combined it with regarding to your credit. Might be a violation for using word serious, alarming family members, grannny w/a weak heart can't be hearing things like this. From the Fair debt collection practices act quote : "anything perceived by the hearer as harassment, , is harassment", fits in this case.

As far as dispute is concerned, consider late fees delinqunt interest rates, one bank now over 40%, exceeding state usory laws, in some cases, excluding payday advance loans, some senators (who live in glass houses, do not know what we the working people are experiencing) expressed shock at this when informed in last years senate hearings, shock at Universal delinquent interest rates, you are up to date on one card, and they raise you to delinquent rate because of being late on another card, what has one to do w/the other, the senators were shocked. For the most part, most banks have been self regulating on that one, gave committment to senate investigators would cut that out. Most have complied and discontinued.

Why my militancy you may ask, re this industry? When the FDCPA came into being it dropped, or curtailed the abuses of the past. These abuses were outrageous, agencies calling the ill, the most vulnerable, recently divorced, the unemployed, impersonating attorneys, city marshalls, calling saying they were picking up peoples TV's, were lost, could you give me directions, or call my boss, and put the repo off - debtors would get scared into making payment arrangements. When the law passed these abuses stopped for the most part. Then factoring took off, became a big business, buying and selling of debt, and a new ruthlessness set in, putting old debts purchased for pennies on the dollar, on peoples credit bureau reports. Past seven years, by law should be deleted and the credit bureau putting them on claiming even after being notified and proven past 7 years, take them off, and a person checks their credit bur. report and there it is back on. How? Credit bureaus claiming they don't sell your info for $$, but in reality are selling your info to marketing firms, criteria, age, amount of debt, things marketers (magazine sellers love elderly people who don't understand pitch for sale, a criteria being over 80 years old, buyers of debt suing past the statute of lims, hoping you won't show up in court, and get default judgement when all you have to do is show up and say "your honor a pmt has not been made in five years, the statute of lims, in this state please dismiss this case, it is no longer qualifies for suit, or trying to trick you into making a pmt right near the end of statute fo lims.......in some cases actually paying on the account themselves the owners of the debt, and claiming you made it; their intention to get statute of lims started again.

So now you know why www.answersfordebt.com came to be. A whole new set of laws, maybe even criminal laws, is now necessary, as this industry which can ruin your life, prevent you from getting an apt., actually cause you to be homeless, and throw in a generation that has mounds of student loan responsibilities thrown in......it is time to clean up this industry. A persons life, ability to get a job, a roof over their head, transportation, should no longer be up to three major credit bureaus, who willfully will follow the directions of anyone who will pay them, honest, or dishonest. Awaken, the young spirits of America, take back our country from white collar criminals, the rich and priviledged classes, as your generation (oil, gold, printed money w/nothing backing it) will face the worst economic situations since the 1930's, never before were 1 in 20 homes facing the possibility of a foreclosure, as the greed and "suits" on Wall street, picked our pockets, and destroyed the middle class.

Take back our countries lead in economic world matters......as the large corporations get welfare (Bear Stearns), but how about all those mortgages they were responsible for, lock people in to mortgages where pmts can jump from $500 a month to $1,100 the next month, then to $850. try budgeting on a mortgage like that, bail out Bear Stearns, ok I understand, but how about bailing out the people that have those mortgages, wages aren't going up, how about saving the homeowners?

Most of these mortgages were made in 05, or 06, so this isn't going away, neither is high gas prices and spikes in food prices.

Time for economic reform, and the wealthy to cough up those lavish CEO salaries and return the country to real choices, not just two parties......who cater to lobbyists, and the wealthy, as the poor debtor can't sleep because of the phone calls, and broken laws, made by those same
CEO's, taking one hundred million dollar bonus', or selling their stock for 60 million, just three days before the stock crashes and burns. Awaken and fight the credit cheators.