Comments on: Broke-Ass Student Just Got a Whole Lot Broker

By: MollysBrother

MollysBrother — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 10:38:31 +0000

DUDE! You’re kidding me. Jesus. What a &^$(! headache! Thanks for giving us a heads up. Is there anyway you can mention the name of the law firm?

By: DeuceDeuce

DeuceDeuce — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:42:47 +0000

You sometimes hear about these things and think that they couldnt possibly happen to you. Its out there and its real. I too checked my credit report with annualcreditreport.com and found plenty of discrepencies. Ripoffreport.com is a good site to research debt collection agencies.

By: Tyler Ingram

Tyler Ingram — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:42:51 +0000

OMG that is total BS. Some law firm is trying to collect money they can’t prove you owe??

Damn, what a bad turn of luck Though I do wish you best of luck and if I could help I definately would!

By: ispf

ispf — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 19:15:31 +0000

Man, That’s awful I hope they will back off when they realise you will fight back and are not an easy victim. Also, I came across this link the other day -http://redtape.msnbc.com/ You could check if they will do a story on this which might scare away the scammers. Good Luck.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 03:36:36 +0000

That really sucks!!! I hope you’re able to clear this up. My fiance had her credit card number stolen a few weeks back; we’re still waiting to hear back from the bank but that’s nothing in comparison to this.

Good Luck!

By: Flexo

Flexo — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 05:03:11 +0000

I hope everything works out, Broke-Ass Student. Good luck!

By: Jennifer Lynn

Jennifer Lynn — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 06:44:54 +0000

This particular ‘law’ firm is listed on ripoff.com twice. Although I’ll hold off for now, I absolutely will reveal who they are.

Thank you, everyone, for continued support through this nightmare.

By: Dennis

Dennis — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 11:40:28 +0000

Thanks for sharing this with us! Hope everything works out and you should DEFINITELY consult a lawyer! Even if it costs. Sometimes they can write just one letter in the appropriate tone and you never hear of them scumbags again. Good luck!

By: homeimprovementninja

homeimprovementninja — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 18:17:51 +0000

This really sucks. Be sure to file your answer on time. When you go to to court, they have to prove you owe them money, so the ball is in their court. Make sure to ask for the documents in discorvery.

Also, I would file a complaint (right after you file an answer) to the NY State Bar against the firm.

I probably can’t help you in time to file an answer, but if you want to file a complaint against them, contact me and I’ll forward you the info for the NY Bar.

By: AGEE

AGEE — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 20:42:51 +0000

Just check my credit report and freaking Target shows up. I don’t have a card from them. I call them up and to my amaze, it wasn’t my name (one letter difference) but ssn and address all match. I think target is trying to f-me over….Oh yeah…Good luck with the case…I hope those people rot in hell for picking on ya like that.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:53:00 +0000

Wow. That’s just awful. I hope that you manage to beat these guys! It sounds like you will, because I think what usually happens is that people DO just bend over and take it.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 23:22:29 +0000

I have a friend who was recently contacted by a debt collection agency out of New York. They attempted severe scare tactics, telling him he was about to be arrested and sent to prison. Worse, they called and harassed his parents and got them scared too.

After a little sleuthing online I found that the company was much like the scumbags you’re dealing with. They have bad reputation for skirting (if not completely breaking) the law.

By: mjh

mjh — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 00:05:54 +0000

good luck with this, don’t let these scumbags win. I’ve tipped this to www.consumerist.com and hope that all this explodes in an internet hate-fest on these sleazy bastards.

By: Hannes

Hannes — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 00:28:34 +0000

Man, that sucks! Hopefully it’ll work out for you. Good luck

By: finance guide 101

finance guide 101 — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 09:49:46 +0000

Hello Jennifer, I came across your site from I will teach you to be rich site and found you got an interesting site too. Well I am not going to say best of luck but I will prefer to say all the best. Cos you deserve it let that scammers know whom they messed up with.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 10:31:24 +0000

You should definitely hook up with Consumerist.com over this! This is right in their sweet spot.

By: Nik Agarwal

Nik Agarwal — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 22:34:41 +0000

I’m really angry to read that you are the victim of some cruel and barely legal “law firm” that is trying to squeeze cash out of you. I’m glad to read that you are fighting this out and I hope that in your fight, you can actually get a couple of good punches in on those crooked “lawyers”. Kudos to you and stay positive.

By: david

david — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 23:02:02 +0000

just came across your site, cause i just signed up for igobanking.com and wanted a review of it. i have been using INGdirect for a while but their interest rate isn’t the highest anymore, so i figured i’d switch. but igobanking doesn’t look as easy to use as ingdirect. i’m still not convinced about going with INGdirect’s new checking account either. writing electronic checks? hmm. have any thoughts on that?

anyways, i’m sorry you’re going through this lawsuit bullshit. i hate lawyers. hope you get through this okay. stay positive!

By: Allen.H

Allen.H — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 12:21:27 +0000

What a bummer, I’ve had this kind of issues with my ISP that wouldn’t just give me my account details (for how long I’m contracted and such..) because THEY have registered me under a WRONG ID number. But it’s nothing comparing to your case i guess.

But if there is so much evidence on this company being a total scam you have good chances to win the case, no? maybe you should even counter them after you get the first case settled?

Allen.H

By: Patty

Patty — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 17:11:07 +0000

What is the statute of limitations on debts in your state? I know here it’s five years and then you cannot be sued.

By: tim

tim — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 11:04:24 +0000

I’d counter sue in small claims court. If they don’t show, you’ll win.

The scumbags are mass mailing small claims court lawsuits in anticipation that a certain percentage of people will not show. Notice that $5000 is the limit for small claims in New York.

Don’t forget to include all the court costs added when you counter sue.

If your campus does not have a law school, check to see other local campuses which have a law school. Normally, they’ll, all them wantabee prospective lawyers, provide free look over of a small claim’s court claim.

By: Don

Don — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 20:12:47 +0000

DO
NOT
TALK
TO
CREDITORS
ON
THE
PHONE!!

If you do nothing else, if you don’t go over to DebtorBoards.com and educate yourself, if you don’t take advantage of ANYTHING ELSE in the FDCPA, PLEASE, start insisting on written communication!

Their statement that they can’t find anything over the phone is almost useless. A written acknowledgment that they have nothing would. If they wrote back to a request for validation saying they had nothing and then sent you another demand for payment dated one day further out - that’s continued collection activity after failure to validate, effectively a $100 check.

THE PHONE IS YOUR ENEMY.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 03 May 2007 05:02:56 +0000

Centurion Bank attempted to sue me for a credit card debt they bought from another 3rd party collection firm. My lawyer sent a response to their complaint, which was filed in my local district court. I denied all clauses in their complaint, which my lawyer was instructed to indicate in the response. This put the ball in their court. Centurion would have to validate the debt since I denied all clauses in their complaint. The original creditor couldn’t validate the debt, which was sent certified mail. Centurion dismissed the case without prejudice.

Credit is not money! Congress defines money as a medium of exchange. Federal Reserve policy states that credit is the postponement of the payment of money. If you do the homework, you’ll find out that numerous court cases have repeatedly said that banks cannot loan its credit and that all loans of credit are ‘ultra vires’ (unlawful).

Why do you think a bank cannot validate a debt? Because the one who funds the so-called loan is the only one can validate the debt. You, the borrower, provide the asset for the credit card or bank loan. The credit card company is perpetrating fraud with the help of the “bought-out” congress. When a bank advertises it loans money, it is practicing false advertisement.

Stank firm people. Everyone should wear a shirt that says “Who funds the bank loan?” This would really shake up banks.

By: Searching

Searching — Tue, 29 May 2007 13:29:11 +0000

So, who was the “law firm” who filed this? Is the lawsuit over, so you can talk about it yet?

Though, I suspect I know who it is…

By: TF

TF — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 07:07:24 +0000

I believe I know the law firm. Either that, or one just like it with a NJ /NY address, has tried to contact me too to attempt to collect a debt I don’t owe, on an account I don’t have.

Hang in there.

By: Deborah

Deborah — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 01:31:15 +0000

There should be an automatic assignment of your costs and court cost to this kind of complaint, and the onus ought to be on them that they’ve served you with the details of the debt and have gone through reasonable steps before being able to do this.

By: Sean

Sean — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 04:13:23 +0000

One thing with annualcreditreport.com is to check one credit bureau every 4 months. Then, you can be consistent with checking your reports with enough frequency, for free, to see any weird patterns that pop up.

By: aaron

aaron — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:37:32 +0000

Thanks so much for the link to the real credit reporting place. I have been paying for this… I don’t get a credit score but I never have really cared about knowing that anyways. Pay cash…
also, so sorry to hear about your legal problems. Gotta hate firms/agencies like that. Keep us updated!

By: GL

GL — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 07:27:30 +0000

I came across your site while researching collection agencies. I believe someone is overcharging me and now is threatening to take me to a collection agency if I don’t pay up. It’s awful that there are such greedy, unethical weasels in the world, but I’m glad you’re turning your experience into something constructive. Thanks for sharing your story with us and warning us. All the best to you, and bad karma to the weasels of the world.

By: jamesbain

jamesbain — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:16:45 +0000

I spoke with my attorney about a firm from Portland, Maine attempting to collect an almost 5G Citicard debt and he alerted me to an interesting fact, which I recommend you follow up on. These “collector/attorneys” often file in small claims court. If and when they do, and the amount collectible through small claims is less than the entire amount owed, the moment this is before the judge, it is sufficient to have it dismissed by pointing out that the amount presented as owed is actually less(because small claims allows only so much to be recoverable…) than the true amount. The judge, according to my mouthpiece, will order them to take it to the proper venue, usually district court, which costs more in fees, etc.. Naturally, if you are sued there, it is imperative to go down the checklist of validations which will/will not establish your responsibility and provide you with a clearer course of action.
As with anything I say, don’t take my word for anything-do your homework and remember what Von Clauswitz said; “Fools learn from their mistakes; the wise learn from other people’s mistakes”
Terrific blog. Further proof we are learning to be a cooperative, rather than competitive, species…How much time do we have???