Has a Private Investigator every call you?

[busted]

Just wondering, do you know anything about private investigators looking into assets and bank accounts. My husband got a call this morning from a PI that said he was hired by an attorney that was suing us for one of the companies he owes. He said he will be looking for assets. Our attorney is out of town and we wont see him untill June 5th to start our chpt 7 filing. Any advice?

Thanks,

Busted

[CPO]

Just wondering, do you know anything about private investigators looking into assets and bank accounts. My husband got a call this morning from a PI that said he was hired by an attorney that was suing us for one of the companies he owes. He said he will be looking for assets. Our attorney is out of town and we wont see him untill June 5th to start our chpt 7 filing. Any advice?

Thanks,

Busted

I would be suspicious.

Why on earth would a private investigator call someone he's investigating and announce what he's going to do?

That's not investigation, that's stupid.

Additionally, private investigators are very expensive....especially considering the labor involved in searching through public and private records.

And, what would a private investigator find that could not be found by a decent skip trace collector?

Are you some third world drug cartel dude? With loads of money?

Don't mean to be flippant...but if a P.I. called me and told me what he was going to do to me, I'd laugh.

Talk about broadcasting punches...........

I have my doubts. Anybody can call anybody and claim to be anything.

Next time he calls, tell him you hired a private investigator to investigate him.



CPO

[tofargone]

I wouldn't worry. Unless you have something to hide what can they find ( if they are for real ).

Just remember that they are private, so even if they are for real you do not need to cooperate with them in any way. If they call again I would tell them that you only have one offshore account in the Caymans, but you think it only has a couple of mil in it. If he is stupid enough to tell you who he is maybe he's stupid enough to spend the time to look for fictitious accounts.

[SinkingFast]

Did your Hubby happen to get the guy's name?? Maybe contact info??

I'm with CPO.

Generally Collectors use Skip Tracers to gather that type of info. Skip Tracers check out the Court House looking for property owned. What do you own and is it worth getting a Lien against?? Do you work, where, and can your wages be garnished??

When we started our Credit Clean Up, we learned BoA had been pulling our Credit once a week for months. They were looking at who all we owed how much to and if we were paying anyone else anything.

What ever you or Hubby do, if this person calls back,........... Don't tell them anything. Don't talk. Hang up. You'd be surprised at how much info you give up just in casual conversation.

[busted]

I would be suspicious.

Next time he calls, tell him you hired a private investigator to investigate him.

CPO

LOL, right

[busted]

Well he actually left a message, guess with name and contact info. We have our home that can have a lien but thats it. No wages to garnish either.
We will just not answer that phone number for sure ;)

Did your Hubby happen to get the guy's name?? Maybe contact info??

I'm with CPO.

Generally Collectors use Skip Tracers to gather that type of info. Skip Tracers check out the Court House looking for property owned. What do you own and is it worth getting a Lien against?? Do you work, where, and can your wages be garnished??

When we started our Credit Clean Up, we learned BoA had been pulling our Credit once a week for months. They were looking at who all we owed how much to and if we were paying anyone else anything.

What ever you or Hubby do, if this person calls back,........... Don't tell them anything. Don't talk. Hang up. You'd be surprised at how much info you give up just in casual conversation.

[HenriettaHen]

Sounds like a slimy scare tactic to me. Once my accounts were sold into collections, the calls became much more intrusive.

There were a couple of memorable voices with ridiculous names, like Wade Rogers. Wade considers himself a Very Bad Dude, apparently. The first call I got from him made my skin crawl, and he did use the words "investigator" and "attorney". Then the second time I got a call from him, I realized it was a TAPED MESSAGE! It was laughable after that.

This same account went eventually to judgement proceedings, but not before they had looked up my name in the public record and harassed everybody in my family. Bastards!

Don't talk to these "people".

[treehugger1]

The next time any debt - collector or fake PI or collection attorney calls, ask them for their name and address. If they are unwilling to provide both, hang up the phone. You should also tell them they can contact you via US postal service only. If they are unwilling to give up their contact infomration to you, tell them to bug off. Once you have their contact information, send them a cease and desist letter (if they are or represent a debt collector). If they call again to hound you for money after receiving the C&D letter, find an attorney who will take them court on a recovered fee basis. No cost to you, except some record keeping.

In terms of phone calls, move to cell phone only and never answer the phone to a number you don't recognize. You can program all valid numbers into your phone and see whose calling (this is a superior form of caller ID).

Whatever you do, try to force them to communicate with you in writing.

Some folks say not to divulge anything. But, if the call is legitimate and you know it is legitimate, you can talk all you want; just don't make any promises.

My income was cut drastically, and I have no problem telling creditors or collectors such. I don't tell them any detail other than my income decreased 30% since January. i have even told folks who called that I am trying to avoid a Chapter 13 (in which case they might get pennies on the dollar of debt). I'm not lying or committing fraud. I am trying to avoid a chapter 13. If they say they are going to sue, so what, unless you have a home or a car that exceeds the exemption value in your state.

Small claims versus larger debt: Small claims and judgment can happen quickly in most states. A larger debt, $3000 +, in my state requires a lawsuit. If you accept BK as an option, so what. Judgments can live on after a BK. But, in many states a judgment is nothing other than an acknowledgement by the court that you owe the money. It doesn't imply the debt can't be discharged. It is true that a judgment can stay on your credit report after the BK vanishes. If a judgment results in a lien on real property due to an unsecured creditor, you can often times avoid the lien in a BK. (The lien is the result of an unsecured creditor.)

My point here is that unless you are trying to protect very real assets that you cannot live without, you are in control. Check your state laws and/or statutes. Find an attorney who is willing to deal with collection activity that goes beyond the legal boundaries (many of these consumer advocate attorneys work on a fee recovery basis.)

Don't take any guff or bluff from these folks.

Cheers

[NYCountry]

I don't understand what you are saying about judgments; that they can live on after BK. They are wiped off after BK, right?

[lrprn]

I don't understand what you are saying about judgments; that they can live on after BK. They are wiped off after BK, right?

Not all liens are wiped out by bankruptcy. For example, a lien on your assets won as a result of a crime, many civil violations, fraud, or a judgment involving child support are not wiped out. See http://moranlaw.net/lawsuits.htm and http://www.debthelp.com/kc/97-bankru...judgments.html for more details about lawsuits and bankruptcy.

[treehugger1]

A judgment and a lien are two different animals. The judgment is generally a court order stating you owe the money. Once someone has a judment, then they can take legal action to recover what you owe. If wage/bank garnishment is available, the judgment can lead to a writ of garnishment (separate than the actual judgment). If you do not have ready cash available, then liens can be placed against your real property (home, auto, etc). Liens can be "avoided," but keep in mind that in many states a debt with a lien is considered secured. Many times the lien can be avoided and the debt discharged. A judgment is a court order. I think in bankruptcy one wants to try and have the judgment "vacated." If the judgment is not vacated it just sits there until it reaches its lifespan (10 years in my state). The actual debt may have been discharged in a BK, but the judgment can remain. I'm not an attorney, but if you have judgments and/or liens you definitely want to have legal counsel walk you through how they are dealt with in BK proceedings. I think there is a great deal of confusion regarding debts, liens, and judgments. A debt is what you owe, a judgment is a court document verifying you owe the debt and it can be collected via garnishment, sheriff sale, etc, a lien is a "security" interest in real property. These are very loose interpretations, but do they help you a bit?

[chpxiii]

A debt is what you owe, a judgment is a court document verifying you owe the debt and it can be collected via garnishment, sheriff sale, etc, a lien is a "security" interest in real property. These are very loose interpretations, but do they help you a bit?

I'm not the original poster, but thank you for these distinctions on a debt, judgment, and lien. It did help me.

[familyof7]

Say I am in the process of filing bk and have an attorney and then hang up or just hang up