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Fri 13 Aug, 2004 02:28 am
I received an "Early Judgment" to a bill collector due to not responding in writing to the courts within 30 days after being served.In California. I was never served, First time I heard of this was when on vacation in Hawaii, and my accounts were seized, the first day I was thereat my local credit union. Paper work says my wife was actually served. I am not married!!! Furthermore- every time I get some money, over 1500.00 in my bank, they seize it. I file the exemption paperwork and have always been rewarded my money back to me. But it takes 30 to 60 days. All bills go late, house cars ect. Its a nightmare. Cant afford a lawyer- can I do anything myself. I was told I need to request the clerk to throw out the judgment and reconsider the case due to not being served. I know about the legal info thing- but if you had a buddy in my situation, could you tell me what he did????????hint. hint.....i have no $ to spend on legal stuff ect. ect
ddogdbp
The money you are losing through all this would more than pay for a lawyer.
Get smart.
Get one.
Maybe you can sue the service official for false representation of service.
Joe
Go to your yellow pages and look up Legal Services. If there is no such listing, look up the local bar association. Tell them that you cannot afford a lawyer and are looking for (use these exact words so they'll know what you're talking about) Pro Bono representation for a collections matter.
maybe stop vacationing in hawaii and pay your bills.
That's some of that compassionate conservatism we've all been waiting to see for the past three and half years. Wow! And maturely intelligent too!
Joe
Sorry for butting in. My read on this is that ddogdbp has some outstanding bills that have been sent to a bill collector. If he/she has been served, it surely can not be the first time this bill collector has attempted to contact ddogdbp.
Quote: First time I heard of this was when on vacation in Hawaii,
I was responding to this statement. Last time I checked, Hawaii was NOT a cheap place to vacation, must less actually reside. If ddogdbp can afford to vacation in Hawaii, then surely he/she can afford to pay the bills and would not need the services of a lawyer.
Sorry if I came across abrupt. My brother was guilty of this all the time.
Default Judgment
I don't usually agree with McGentrix, but he has a valid point.
Even if the poster succeeds in having the default judgment set aside for lack of personal service--that doesn't make the unpaid bill go away. The poster will still owe the bill.
If the statute of limitations has not yet expired, the bill collector may simply have him properly served and obtain a valid judgment.
It serves little purpose to get the judgment set aside if there is no valid defense against paying the bill. He would be far better off if he contacted the creditor and made arrangements to make affordable payments. Otherwise, the creditor will continue to levy the bank account--and the poster will continue to file exemptions and wait 1-2 months to have his money returned. This sounds like a vicious cyle that could be ended with a little common sense . . . .
Well, if a mythical wife was served, my instinct is that the wrong person has been sent this "Early Judgment". It's possible that there was a mixup due to similar names. I suggest contacting the collection agency asap as it may turn out to be just that.
I wasn't going to post anything here, because I hate to agree with McG, but Debra pretty much summed it up. I have, in the past, had to deal with collection agencies and it's generally fine as long as you stay in touch, and make arrangements. I cleared 90% of my debt that way. However, IF it's true that the collector claimed to have served his non-existent wife, and DID misrepresent their services, then there might be a case.
Questions that still remain before this can be settled: Who does the poster owe money to? Why has it gone legal? Why do they think you have a wife? Why is that actually on paper? Yes, late bills are a problem for many people, why has this gone so far? Why have the accounts been locked down? Not everyone has that power, which brings us back to the first question, who do you owe money to? I would suggest trying to go pro bono, should your story be true.
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