Riverside County Bankruptcy Lawyer BlogRaymond Lee sues a lot of people in southern california and in Riverside county where I typically practice. Most cases in my jurisdiction are heard in Indio and are often brought by American Express who sends a lot of there accounts to Zwicker and Associates. You have many options in how to deal with the law suit that you have recently been served but first thing you need to do is speak with a competent lawyer to examine those options. When you have been sued you have 30 days to answer or you could face a default judgment which essentially says you agree to everything and allow them to collect against you through a judgement. Remember a judgment is good for 10-20 years with a renewal and collects 10% interest plus when they win they tack on attorney fees, costs for bringing the suit etc so now is not the time to put your head in the sand. Many times I negotiate these cases down to 50% of what you owe. Sometimes we have to answer the law suit, other times I call them directly and work on a settlement prior to answering to save money. If they won’t come to the right number then we answer to make them realize they are going to have to work and expend money to get potential money. This often brings them back to the negotiating table quicker. Another option that I have and they realize is that I file chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy cases which either means they get paid nothing or what you can afford over either three or five years. All of a sudden a settlement sounds good to them. Raymond Lee is located in Pasadena so sending someone out to fight this case with someone that fights them every step on the way in Indio is not cheap. This is done for clients that might not be perfectly situated to file a current bankruptcy. Sometimes filing a bankruptcy case is all about timing depending on where you income is or certain financial things that you have done too recently to filing a bankruptcy case which necessitate waiting. Filing an answer to buy time in these types of cases is critical. Also, sometimes bankruptcy isn’t necessary depending on how old other debt that you have is, if you are about to meet the statute of limitations on your other debt and make above the median income, filing a 13 might not make sense so answering and negotiating becomes advantageous. If you have debt and have been served and wonder your options, call a knowledgeable riverside county bankruptcy attorney who looks at things from all angles before sending you down a one road solution.
Articles Posted in Settlements
Collection letters from ACI /American Coradius International
Are you receiving collection letters or threats for law suits by American Coradius International (ACI) for your second mortgage? In all likelihood, you have already lost a property to foreclosure or short sale and the 2nd mortgage is now trying to collect what is essentially an unsecured debt since the security has been lost or transferred. This is bad paper that is very hard to collect since you are in a precarious financial situation. You want to deal with this now while you have a good chance of getting a low settlement and or qualifying for bankruptcy. Once your income goes up or you are able to buy a new property, they could sue you and collect a judgement through putting a lien on your new property, getting a wage garnishment for up to 25% of your wages or levying your bank account. If you can come up with 10% then I might be able to settle these accounts. There potentially are tax consequences since you get 1099’d for forgiveness of debt. Talking with an experienced bankruptcy attorney is in your best interest as I can potentially tell you how to avoid those tax consequences through insolvency or advise you to file bankruptcy if the tax consequences are too much.
American Coradius International LLC is a collection agency based in Amherst, NY that specializes in collecting 2nd mortgages that have been foreclosed on. They are often very persistent when calling, mailing letters, and have been known to be a burden to my clients prior to filing for bankruptcy. If you have been notified by them or have been served with a summons from a law firm, your options include filing for a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 or settling the debt with a lump sum. A second mortgage is considered an unsecured debt after a foreclosure, making it possible to settle with creditors like American Coradius International for a low percentage. I have been successful in negotiating as low as 8% of the original amount here are several examples on accounts I have worked on for clients, including one from ACI. Low percentage results are typical and very possible if you have some money set aside, and prefer to pursue this option instead of filing for bankruptcy. If you would like help or further advice on either filing or negotiating a debt with ACI call my office today to discuss your options.
law office of patenaude and felix lawsuit for Credit Card Debt
More and more of my Bankruptcy clients are being sued by The Law offices of Patenaude and Felix. They are based in San Diego and have many California lawyers who sue on credit card debt. If you have been served a summons or are being sued or looking at a default judgment from this law firm then we should look at bankruptcy as a potential option or possibly trying to settle the debt if you can come up with a lump sum payment. Default judgments will allow them to collect 25% of your net income through a wage garnishment and for most people even who make a lot of money a chapter 13 plan will be much less on a monthly basis then the loss of 25% of your wages. If you are below the median income you can do a chapter 7 bankruptcy and most likely keep all your assets. Call my office to find a solution to your legal problems with Patenaude and Felix.
Law suit from Legal Recovery Offices in San Diego?
Have you been served or sued by Legal recovery offices on behalf of a Portfolio Recovery account. I have been noticing more and more clients with old debts that are getting law suits by this firm in San Diego. There is still time to settle the suit and hopefully for pennies on the dollar since that is what they bought it for. California has a 4 year statute of limitations on written contracts and it seems like this firm likes to sue people right before that runs which usually means they bought the account for very cheap. I have been successful in negotiating good settlements with them and if they don’t want to settle we can always file chapter 7 bankruptcy and either extinguish it or pay it back over time for less than what is owed at 0% interest. Now is the not the time to wait if you have been sued by this firm. Call my office to discuss options.
Law suits from Zwicker and Associates, Fredrick J. Hanna, Mann Bracken
Mann Bracken LLC , Professional Recovery Services Inc, Receivable Management Inc, Capital Management, Frederick J Hanna and Associates PC, Zwicker and Associates, Hemar and Rousso, are some of the debt collectors that I have had to deal with the most in terms of law suits or law debt collection activities. Zwicker and Fredrick J. Hanna, Mann Bracken are so big that they would rather pursue collection activities and work on settlements, then go to trial quickly. If coming up with a reasonable percentage is something that you can do then settling some of these accounts can be worth your while. If your debts are overwhelming then you really need to look into the bankruptcy laws and realize that most if not all of your assets can be protected.
Sued by Brewer and Brewer or Goldsmith and Hulll?
Have you been sued by Brewer and Brewer or Goldsmith and Hulll? Collection attorneys sucha as Brewer and Brewer, Goldsmith and Hull sue on behalf of credit card companies when people are in default.They often times file numerous cases on a monthly basis and typcially firms hope that you will not answer the summons and the case will result in a default judgment. That is the easiest way for a firm to collect money on behalf of their client. By answering the case, it takes an easy case and turns it into a time consuming and potentially expensive case. If 10% of people answered the cases that some of these law firms file, they would not be able to coninue filing the volume of cases that they do as they would be inundated with actual legal work and document production, discovery requests and court dates. This does not necessarily mean by answering a case that you will win it or they will drop it altogether, but it will allow you to reach a better settlement or buy some time to see if bankruptcy might be a better alternative. If you received a complaint or summons in the mail now is the time to talk with a debt attorney who can help you determine you best way to move forward.
Letters from Zwicker and Associates for collections?
Zwicker and Associates is a major law firm that collects on credit card debts but I have rarely(if ever) spoke with an attorney there and they must have 500 collectors(non-attorneys). If debt settlement is an option that you are considering and you do no want to file bankruptcy to eliminate the debt, then you should be happy that Zwicker is collecting as they are pretty good about giving reasonable settlements. I frequently get settlements between 30% and 40% and have not seen them actually sue someone in a long time. Have someone negotiate for you who knows how to deal with Zwicker. There are certain times of the month when they are more willing to drop down the % that they get and when there is a bankruptcy attorney on the other end of the phone, they know the alternative to not settling. Zwicker has offices in California but they are a bigger play on the east coast and I have not seen a lot of cases filed by them so there is likely time to work out a settlement if that is an option and you can afford to pay a lump sum within a few months. If not then talking to a bankruptcy attorney is probably your best bet.
Sued by Rory Clark
Have you been sued by Law Office of Rory Clark? Now is the time to answer the complaint or think about filing bankruptcy. Rory clark collects for Chase cards and other credit card companies by issuing a summons and hoping that you don’t answer. That allows them to get a default judgment and easily collect through a wage garnishment or a lien on real property. Answering the law suit can get you a better settlement and buy you time to make a payment. If that is not possible then you really need to consider the filing of a bankruptcy petition. I have been trying to negotiate with Chase for one of my clients recently as the sued really quickly on a debt. At first Chase legal was handling the account and they served the summons. Once I answered the case it is now being dealt with by Law office of Rory Clark but of course I am not talking with an attorney yet but only a collection agent and she wants to settle the case for essentially the same amount that Chase legal was offering. Getting discovery started will make them realize that it will cost them time and money to aggressively pursue my client and they might not have all the itemized bills and documents to prove the money owed. If they do they will still have to put someone on the stand who is familiar with the case as a witness. All this costs money so hopefully they come to see that accepting a better settlement on behalf of my client is cheaper then the current alternative they are seeking. Bankruptcy is always an option if you have been sued so whether defending a case and answering the complaint is your objective, or seeking bankruptcy relief, call a Riverside bankruptcy attorney today to understand your options.
Answering a lawsuit to buy time to settle
I recently had to answer a law suit filed by Chase on behalf of my client that we are doing debt negotiations on. The answering of the suit will likely buy us 3-4 months to make any payment and hopefully come up with a better offer then what they had initially proposed. I’m wondering if the reason they sued my client so quickly is because they pulled her husbands credit report and saw that he had settled all of his accounts within the last 18 months. I settled 200,000 dollars worth of debt to about 55,000 with him and had just started to work on his wifes account. Chase sued her within 2 months of me starting on her case. Unfortunately this was the biggest account at around 20k of the 50k she had in debt. What we’ve now done is worked out 30% settlements on 2 other cards which saved her 14,000 dollars and we will pay off one other card next month when she has money. This will now leave only Chase to deal with and hopefully after my affirmative defenses and denial that I wrote to their complaint, they will come down to something more reasonable than the 65% over 3 months they tried to get which was not doable. We’ll see if fighting the case against them and making them spend resources and time instead of the typical default judgment that they get will ruffle their feather enough to come down to 40%. It will at least buy us some time so she can come up with larger payments. Sometimes you have to fight these things and that is why having an attorney by your side instead of a debt settlement company is the way to go. The crazy thing is I charge less than most of the debt settlement companies out there. Talk to a riverside county bankruptcy/debt settlement attorney if you have been sued or need financial representation in dealing with your creditors
FTC imposes new rule on Debt Settlement Industry
According to the new FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule debt relief companies who receive inbound calls are also now prevented from receiving up front fees until a debt is settled. Many debt settlement companies charge upwards of 15% and charge this before anything is paid to your creditors. Meanwhile your interest rates are rising, late payments are accumulating, and other fees are being asessed. Essentially there will be no frontloading payments only to have you sued by creditors inevitably unless you can pay quick enough on a settlement and depending on your assets a company might not want to settle. Unfortunately many companies do not truly look into whether debt settlement is the right option and consumers are constantly bombarded by advertisments of promises to settle at 50% of what is owed and saving their credit. Typically by not paying your credit cards for months on end you will be offered a settlement to pay as a lump sum, you end up with late payments and settled for less than amount owed on your credit report for 7 years. While its true that bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years, by the time you settle all your credit cards if you have a lot of debt it will take 2-3 years and then it will be reported for 10 which is virtually the same thing.
Fortunately debt negotiations will still be a viable alternative for a bankruptcy attorney to review since attorneys aren’t making telemarketing calls or receving inbound calls from advertising. Clients that meet with a debt relief agent in person are not subject to the rule but some will still try to charge up front fees that are egregious fees, this at least stops the deceptive phone campaigns that are being waged across the country. I do believe in debt settlement for some people which is not a popular position amongst bankruptcy attorneys as many have seen the perils that it has had on clients who have wasted their money only to end up in the same situation but with much less of a fresh start. I understand that but also see it as a tool for people who have access to quick funds through a new business or have the ability to get a loan from family and who might otherwise pay more over a long Chapter13 plan.
The new rules ensures that companies disclose tax consequences associated with debt settlement, stops them from using bad statitstical data on past successes by not including drop outs and other important considerations, and makes sure they explain the time it will take based on current payments and other important disclosures. These are all things that I have been doing and assessing with any client that considers having me negotiate with their creditors. Debt settlement can be a risky venture to take although it can be very worthwhile if done right and should come with a list of disclosures and verifable statitics that can be enforced through fines and penalties assessed by the FTC. It is a good day for consumers and hopefully this will direct some of the people who really should be considering filing for bankruptcy instead of being lured into a false illusion of debt settlement based on small savings and 3 years plans that often fail. Talk to a qualified riverside bankruptcy attorney to see if debt settlement is a viable option and then learn about bankruptcy.