Feb 02, 2017 · Information about whether you or someone else may owe the debt; When a debt collector first contacts you in writing regarding a debt, it must provide you a written notice that has certain, legally-required information. If the collection agency first contacts you by phone, insist that they contact you in writing.
Jul 20, 2017 · You should know that even if a debt collector violates the law, the debt does not go away. You do have the right to sue, and if you win, the judge can require the debt collector to pay you damages. The court can also order the debt collector to pay your attorney fees if it is determined that they did violate the law. 2. Make sure the debt is yours
Jun 24, 2015 · You come home to find a notice from the post office that you have certified mail waiting for you. You retrieve the certified mail, open the envelope and find a court document called an “Information Subpoena”. . As it turns out, you have a default judgment entered against you for an old debt.. The law allows judgment creditors who have won a debt collection …
Jun 23, 2021 · If you are unfamiliar with the case and this is the first notice you received, you might be concerned that being served with a subpoena means you’re getting dragged into a lawsuit. Don’t worry. Here’s some information to help you understand what information subpoenas and restraining notices are, what you’re required to do, and more.
You will then have seven days to return your answer the attorney for the debt collector. Failure to answer the Information Subpoena may result in contempt of court; although, it rarely does. More often, the Court will give you a second chance to comply before it issues an order of contempt.
The law allows the debt collector to serve an information subpoena on anyone it has a reason to think might have information about your ability to satisfy the judgment including you, your friends and your family.
The Rules: After a judgment has been entered against you the debt collector is on a ferocious hunt to find your money. The law provides the debt collector with an ample tool-chest of devices to satisfy the judgment. You can have your bank account frozen, your wages garnisheed and even have your property sold.
If the judgment was won by default or if you have reason to fight the merits of the judgment, you may consider trying to vacate the judgment.
If you’re not sure that the debt is yours, write the debt collector and dispute the debt or ask for more information . If you find out that the debt does not belong to you, don’t delay! Write the debt collector and tell them that the debt is not yours and that you do not want to be contacted about the debt again in the future.
1. First, know your rights 1 Call repeatedly to harass you 2 Abuse or mistreat you 3 Contact you at a time or place they know or should know is inconvenient, including before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. unless they know otherwise 4 Use obscene language 5 Make a false or misleading statement about what you owe 6 Publish your name for not paying the debt 7 Lie to you 8 Threaten to have you arrested for not paying the debt
If the debt is yours, don’t worry. Decide on the total amount you are willing to pay to settle the entire debt and negotiate with the debt collector for the rest to be forgiven. This could be a lump sum or a payment plan. Be honest with yourself about how much you can pay each month.
1. First, know your rights. There are laws that restrict what debt collection can say or do. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits debt collection companies from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect debts from you. Under this law, a debt collector cannot:
A debt collector must tell you the name of the creditor, the amount owed, and ensure you can dispute the debt or find out if it is legit.
If the debt is several years old, be sure to find out what your state’s statute of limitations is for a debt collector filing a lawsuit to collect the debt from you before making a payment. You may want to consult an attorney or the applicable law in your state.
Use obscene language. Make a false or misleading statement about what you owe. Publish your name for not paying the debt. Lie to you. Threaten to have you arrested for not paying the debt. You should know that even if a debt collector violates the law, the debt does not go away.
Information subpoenas are often served on friends, family and employers. The information subpoena asks questions about your income, assets and property, where you work and where you live.
Your answer to the information subpoena is a sworn statement like an affidavit. Meaning, you must tell the truth in your answers. If you are not truthful, it may be considered a perjury and subject you to contempt of court.
The judgment creditor needs to get an order from the court for permission to have you transfer the asset (s)
An information subpoena is a type of subpoena used by judgment creditors and their attorneys to reveal more information about the judgment debtor. It’s an information-gathering tool used to uncover information about assets that the judgment debtor may own that are held by a third party. The assets could be monies on deposit at a bank or monies owed to a judgment debtor by a third party.
A restraining notice is a legal document served by a collection attorney or creditor that requires the recipient of the subpoena to hold any monies or other specific types of assets that belong to the judgment debtor. The judgment debtor does not need to be in possession of these assets. In most cases, a third party holds the assets for the judgment debtor.
The bank searches its database and, if they locate an account or safe deposit bank, absent an exemption, the bank must restrain the asset for up to one year.
For example, a judgment creditor can serve a bank with an information subpoena to ascertain if the judgment debtor has an account at the bank and, if so, the amount on deposit, the account numbers, the last known address for the judgment debtor, and more.
Yes, you can absolutely inform the judgment debtor that you were served. We would suggest that you do not take advice from the judgment debtor about how to respond to the subpoena and/or restraining notice. Providing false or misleading information is grounds for perjury and possible financial liability for trying to help hide assets.
A third party does not need to be represented by counsel when responding to an information subpoena or restraining notice. However, it is a good idea to understand which assets can be restrained to satisfy a judgment and how much information should be divulged in responding to an information subpoena.
More importantly, by knowing what to do and say when a debt collector calls, you can avoid making a mistake that could put you at legal or financial risk. First, you should decide if you want to talk to the collector. If so, be sure to keep a record of what you and the collector discuss.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a final rule amending Regulation F, which implements the FDCPA, to clarify how collectors may use texts, emails, and use other forms of digital communication, like social media, to contact you.
The rule explains how the FDCPA's protections apply to digital communications and gives consumers the ability to unsubscribe from debt collectors' electronic messages. It also describes how collectors may use voicemails and limits how often debt collectors can call you.
If the debt that the collector is calling about is several years old, find out what your state's statute of limitations is for filing a lawsuit to collect the debt.
But if you decide not to talk to the collector, send a written request that the collector cease communication with you.
If you need help dealing with an aggressive debt collector, figuring out what option is best for handling your debts, negotiating a settlement, or responding to a lawsuit for nonpayment of a debt, consider consulting with a lawyer. Once you've hired a lawyer, under the FDCPA, a collector must talk to your attorney only—not you—unless you give permission to contact you or your lawyer doesn't respond to the collection agency's communications.
Your instinct might be to hide from collectors by changing your phone number or refusing to provide your address. But hiding your whereabouts won't prevent a collector from trying to collect—it just will mean they might send letters and make calls to others that they think might know where you are or who they think are you. Collectors who don't know your location have a lot more legal leeway to contact employers or friends to ask for information about you, like for your address. But if the collector has your location information, then talking to employers or friends is illegal.
My response is specific to New Jersey practice. I am assuming that a judgment was entered against you and you were served with an Information Subpoena. You are required to answer all of the questions and return the Information Subpoena within 14 days.
In most states, you are required to answer questions about your assets, and if you fail to do this, you can be cited for contempt of court. That could land you in jail! Check state law & the court rules for more information. Most states post this info on the state website. Hope this perspective helps & good luck!
Yes you would if it is a citation to discover assets. A citation to discover assets is issued after a judgment has been entered against you. In Illinois, failure to respond to the citation can result in a motion for rule to show cause (explain why you did not answer the citation).
If you don’t recognize a debt, send the debt collector a letter, and ask for verification of the debt. Once you get the validation information, if you don’t recognize a debt, or don’t think the debt is yours, send the debt collector a dispute letter saying you don’t owe some or all of the money, and ask for verification of the debt. Make sure to send the dispute letter within 30 days. Once the collection company receives the letter, it must stop trying to collect the debt until sending you written verification of the debt, like a copy of the original bill for the amount you owe. Consider sending your letter by certified mail and requesting a return receipt to show that the collector got it. Keep a copy of the letter for your records.
To avoid debt collection scammers, be careful about sharing your personal or financial information, especially if you’re not already familiar with the collector.
If a debt is time-barred, a debt collector can no longer sue you to collect it.
The FTC enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which makes it illegal for debt collectors to use abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices when they collect debts. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions to help you know your rights.
A collector has to give you “validation information” about the debt, either during the collector’s first phone call with you or in writing within five days after first contacting you. The collector has to tell you four pieces of information. how much money you owe. the name of the creditor you owe it to.
Mail a letter to the collection company and ask it to stop contacting you. Keep a copy for yourself. Consider sending the letter by certified mail and paying for a “return receipt.” That way, you’ll have a record the collector got it. Once the collection company gets your letter, it can only contact you to confirm it will stop contacting you in the future or to tell you it plans to take a specific action, like filing a lawsuit. If you’re represented by an attorney, tell the collector. The collector must communicate with your attorney, not you, unless the attorney fails to respond to the collector’s communications within a reasonable time.
Once the collection company gets your letter, it can only contact you to confirm it will stop contacting you in the future or to tell you it plans to take a specific action, like filing a lawsuit. If you’re represented by an attorney, tell the collector.
If the judge grants the motion, the court will enter a judgment against you without a trial.
Once the collector gets a money judgment against you, you might face wage garnishment, a bank account levy, or a lien on your property.
“ Discovery ” refers to the formal procedures that parties in a lawsuit use to get information and documents from each other to prepare for trial or settle the case. If you don’t raise any defenses or counterclaims, the collector probably won’t engage in discovery. But if you have a good defense or file a counterclaim, you and the collector might want to participate in discovery.
Generally, you’ll get around 20 to 30 days to file a written answer to the lawsuit with the court. You’ll have to respond to the allegations in the complaint and raise any defenses you have, like that the statute of limitations (the law that sets a time limit on the right to file a lawsuit) has expired, or counterclaims against the collector, such as violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If you don’t respond to the suit, the collector will most likely ask the court to enter a default judgment, which means you automatically lose the case. The court might then simply award the collector the amount it requested, or it might scrutinize the documentation to make sure the amount is legitimate, or the court might require the collector to present evidence before awarding any money. The collector will probably be able to get attorneys’ fees, court costs, and interest in addition to the amount you owe. Once the collector gets a money judgment against you, you might face wage garnishment, a bank account levy, or a lien on your property.
A debt collection lawsuit begins when the collection agency files a “complaint” (sometimes called a “petition”) in court. The complaint will explain why the collector is suing you and what it wants—usually, repayment of money you owe, plus interest, fees, and costs.
To challenge a summary judgment motion, you’ll have to file paperwork opposing the motion. If you don’t, you’ll probably lose. Because the outcome of the lawsuit is at stake, you should seriously consider consulting with a lawyer, if you haven't already, if the collector files this kind of motion.