question about judgement

[helpsoneeded]

I received a letter today from a company that said they took over my account from american express. They said if i dont respond in 30 days that they will send me a copy of a judgement. What does that mean? We are planning on retaining a lawyer Aug 1st. Do i have that long now because of this letter? We are just waiting because we wanted cleaner bank statements. Thanks again....

[AngelinaCatHub]

You cannot get a Judgment without a hearing and trial. A default Judgment can be gotten if you are subpoenaed and do not show. It is very important to show up after a suit. 'Hub

[WhatMoney]

I received a letter today from a company that said they took over my account from american express. They said if i dont respond in 30 days that they will send me a copy of a judgement. What does that mean? We are planning on retaining a lawyer Aug 1st. Do i have that long now because of this letter?

How exactly was this worded? They don't have a judgment on you yet, you have not even been sued yet - so they can't "send you a copy of a judgment" in 30 days. It is also illegal to threaten a lawsuit unless they actually intend to sue and do so. That is an FDCPA violation.

There should be a notice if this is the first letter you have received from this colllection agency that is required by 15 U.S.C. p1692g and 15 U.S.C. p1692e(11), as is required by the FDCPA. That notice should spell out your rights to dispute the validity of the debt, and mention the 30 day deadline for the dispute. The language also mentions verification of the debt or copy of a judgment agains the consumer which will be mailed to the consumer. This is standard language right from the act. Are you confusing this notice and it's mention of judgments?

Just send them a debt validation letter, with certified mail return receipt requested, within 30 days of their letter. That will stop them from any lawsuit until they answer your DV request. If they still sue you after the DV, you should then be served with a summons to answer their complaint from your county court. If you ignore the summons they will get a default judgment on the hearing date set by the court. But with the DV letter it would be hard for them to actually get a judgment before Aug 1 even if you let it go to default. And a BK filing will stop any suit.

There are many ways to delay the suit by answering the summons - but you will need to pay court fees to file an answer or to appear to defend.