Mann Bracken-RECEIVED INTENT TO SUE LETTER!!!!

ugh. i think i am going to puke. just went outside and checked the mail and i received a letter (non-certified) from Mann Bracken LLP that stated: "as a result of your failure to resolve this matter, we have made the decision to initiate litigation against you." It also states at the bottom of the letter that is has been personally requested by the above attorney. Is this something that I should be really concerned about? I have been ignoring letters and calls left and right from all of my creditors. I file them away each week but now I am really scared. It's for a little over 6K. They are in my same state, about 20 minutes away so that makes me think that they really will follow through. I have been unemployed for over 2 years, own no house, car, property, stocks etc. Should I send them a debt validation letter and then see what happens after that? Should I offer to settle? I have no idea what to do and now I am sick to my stomach. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

You're unemployed and you have no assets, right? The worst thing they can do is take judgment against you. You have no wages to garnish, you have no bank accounts to attach, you have no assets to seize. They can't imprison you.

So what's the big deal? They sue you and get a judgment. Tell them to put it on REALLY good paper because that's all it's going to be worth.

Is the debt valid? Could you successfully oppose their 'threatened suit'?

Have you filed BK? I got a ton of letters from them. They are just a junk debt collector.
I ignored them and they finally went away.

No need to worry until you get a summons. Then respond with, I want a full accounting of this alleged debt, just to take up time. Seems like anything you do gobbles 20 to 30 days of time in the legal system. Quit worrying. Life is too short. They are bluffing and if they are not, the above poster is right. They can pound sand for what they can get off you. 'Hub

Hi,
Thanks for your responses. No, I have never filed BK. I was wanting to either settle or just let it fall off my report. I really never thought I would be sued since I have nothing. I have a savings account with around $100.00 in it and less than $75.00 in my checking. That's it. The only money I have coming to me anytime soon is financial aid from school but I need that for books etc. Can they take that money? Is the intent to due just a scare tactic? It wasn't certified, no delivery confirmation, nothing. I just don't see how and why they would want to sue me since I am "judgment proof." Can't they see that just based on my credit report? Nothing is in my name except a ton of bad debt. If I do receive a real notice of suit with a court date etc, is it too late to file BK then? I haven't even done my online credit counseling so I am not sure what I will need to do! Thanks!

Hi Angelina,
I didn't see your response until I posted mine. So I can send a debt validation letter AFTER receiving a summons? Or I should do that now? Won't the court look down on me for not responding to letters/calls until I was forced to go to court? I am so sick to my stomach after this but the madder I get the more it just makes me want to file and say f' em!

Notadeadbeat,
You said they finally went away. Did they ever send the intent to sue letter and then went away or it never got that far? Thanks :)

If you end up getting server you can file a response stating

I dispute the amount of the debt as my balance was much lower.

This will buy you some time (a couple of months)

Are you considering bankruptcy?

Hi Cal,
I was and then went to wanting to settle and kind of back and forth for awhile now. But I thought that debt validation didn't stop a lawsuit? I thought it was too late then. I just want to make sure I do everything correctly so that I don't end up getting screwed.

It doesn't stop the lawsuit. It buys you some time to either settle or file Bankruptcy. What is does is puts the ball back in their court and makes them decide whether to proceed or not. If the do proceed then a court date has to be set.


What it does accomplish is preventing a default judgment from happened for not responding with in the given time line for your state.

Thanks Cal,
Do debt validation letters though ever make law firms change their mind not to sue? It seems as though they would already have the debt validated before sending an intent to sue notice. I would assume (although i am probably wrong), that it is illegal to send that type of letter without really intending to sue.

Hi

From personal experience Mann Bracken was easily defeated! We were originally sued by Wolpoff And Abramson. The first attempt we filed an answer Pro Se and they did not show. The judge would only dismiss without prejudice.

The second time Wolpoff And Abramson was acquired by Mann & Backstabin. They dunned us without a right to dispute on the notice. We immediately fired of a validation of debt. They responded back saying they do not have to validate the debt and demanded payment. We responded back with a letter pointing out their error and demanded the never contact us by mail or phone until they validate since our response was timely.

The next time we heard from them was a summons. We hired a consumer lawyer and handed over the communications between us and them, including the previous lawsuit.

Our atty pointed out their violation of the FDCPA and we counter sued. Midland Credit Management and Mann Backstabin folded. They paid our atty fees $1500.00, dismissed with prejudice, and agreed to not submit a 1099 forgiveness of debt.

These people are some of the lowest bottom feeders alive. If you fight they will run! The worst thing you could do is not answer the complaint.

Make sure and document everything. Our case was in Michigan in an area where the judges are in the bag for debt buyers. They were suing us for 10K plus costs.

Wow thanks unclear. I will send out a debt validation tomorrow morning. So is my "answer" to the lawsuit my dv letter? If I receive a summons before I receive validation from them, do I need to go to court? Thank you so much and congrats on kicking them where it hurts :)

Wow thanks unclear. I will send out a debt validation tomorrow morning. So is my "answer" to the lawsuit my dv letter? If I receive a summons before I receive validation from them, do I need to go to court? Thank you so much and congrats on kicking them where it hurts :)

Your DV needs to be within the first 30 days of contact with them. If you have missed the window then your opportunity may be lost.

A DV is not an answer to a summons. A summons must be answered properly or else the entire case can end up turning against you.

i think in a debt validation you would say you owe nothing and ask them what they are talking about. i wouldn't say i owe "less" because then you are admitting you owe something.

it would be crazy of them to send you a summons before a validation, but if they do then you would have a date by which to respond, and you will respond by that date saying you owe nothing and they did not validate (or something like that).

also, you can file bk after a judgment as well.

There is no reason to panic until they have a judgment against you. At that point your assets are at risk but you can still file BK and remove the judgment.
If you get sued, depending on the state, filing an answer might cost significant money and might be a fruitless effort. Unless you're prepared to fight off the next round of paperwork which is summary judgment motions you probably shouldn't answer.

you can answer even if you then default on answering summary judgment motions. it will still buy you time. i think filing an answer might have a filing fee but it's minimal, and can be waived for the indigent.

thank you to everyone so much for your help. do you think it might just be better for me to file BEFORE i am summoned so that i do not have to worry about "answers", judgments etc? if i am being sued by one creditor now, i can only assume the rest will follow even though i have nothing. i might just file an emergency petition now and that way prevent it? and then i think that gives me like 10 days to finish the paperwork. if anyone knows and can tell me it would be much appreciated. thanks again and i feel better already :)

you'd have 15 days to complete the paperwork, though the creditor matrix has to be filed with the "emergency" petition.

your decision depends a lot on how you think you handle stress. if the fear of a summons is paralyzing to you even though they can take nothing because you have nothing, then maybe you should file now. however, many people wisely suggest that you have health insurance before you file. otherwise, a medical emergency could sink you.

Thanks music,
I am going to go to my school on Monday and enroll in the student insurance. It's not that great but its something. Do you think I should bother with a debt validation letter or just start filing my BK paperwork? I would like to wait till the end of the year to file but I don't think I will have enough time if they are serious about going to arbitration.

did they say they would go to court or to arbitration? those are very different. (i'm guessing they said court, not arbitration).

i don't know how serious they are. however, it would be a good idea to have the bk prepared so you know you are ready to go at the drop of a hat. that will give you peace of mind. once everything is ready, you can more quietly decide the timing of actually filing.

i think a debt validation letter is a good idea - it at least slows them down. sometimes once you send such a letter, you never hear from them again.

Hi Music,
The letter states "Notice of Intent To Sue:
As you are aware, this law firm represents the above client regrading your outstanding obligation. This letter shall inform you that as a result of your failure to resolve this matter, we have made the decision to initiate litigation against you. In the event you wish to avoid the time and expense of litigation, we invite you to contact our office. We sincerely hope you take advantage of this opportunity to avoid the consquences of court proceedings."

It then stated at the bottom that my file had been personally reviewed by an attorney and that the attorney after looking at my file decided to file suit. It was just in a regular envelope in my mailbox. No hand delivery, no tracking, no anything. So is litigation arbitration or court? It is the only thing I got from them aside from a few previous letters asking me for money. Thanks so much music!

Ooh.....I just noticed that this letter was sent to an address of mine that I haven't lived in for almost a year. It was forwarded here. They don't even have my correct address and I don't live anywhere near my old address. Does this work in my favor? I would assume if they were going to serve me, they wouldn't be able to because I no longer live in that house. Also, I think a DV letter might harm me since they would then have my current address now?? I have to wonder if they truly are intent on suing me since they aren't even up on my current address....

They really should have your new address so that you don't get "served" at your old address and do not know about it.

Don't worry about Arbitration, The NAF and AAA have shut down due to being sued by a State Attorney General. So Arbitration is off the table. If you indeed are filing this year then you have plenty of time before a judgment could even be entered and enforced. Let them spend their own money litigating, drag it out, and then when you file they are done.

When we filed our 13 last week, I called the law office that got a judgment against my wife. I asked for the attorney whom we have never talked to since the suit. (Though we have made 1/2 of the payments) I told her we had some good news, she thought we were going to pay off the 3,500 balance. I said no, I have a BK case file for you! She almost started crying... That atty spent a lot of money fighting us in court. We filed all kinds of motions and crap, she was getting pissed at us until she finally got her judgment.

Make them work for it...

they don't mention arbitration, so they mean court.

do they mention a name for the attorney who "personally" reviewed your case?

the address thing could work in your favor as far as delaying things. if they go to court they will try to serve you at the old address. if they realize you don't live there (they might not because in some cases, depending on local rules, they may be allowed to slip the summons under the door instead of hand it to you, and the process server might be too lazy to check you still live there), then they would go to the postoffice to ask for your forwarding address. the postoffice is required to give that to them if they are there to serve you with court papers. then they would serve you at your new address.

if you do respond with a validation letter, don't put your new address on it. the only risk is, they would know you received their previous letter so eventually they would realize their mail was being forwarded and they'd know to get the forwarding address from the postoffice.

these are just my 2 cents. please don't take my suggestions too seriously. consult a lawyer and see what they say. you can get a free consultation in most cases; maybe also legal aid if you qualify.

they don't mention arbitration, so they mean court.

do they mention a name for the attorney who "personally" reviewed your case?

the address thing could work in your favor as far as delaying things. if they go to court they will try to serve you at the old address. if they realize you don't live there (they might not because in some cases, depending on local rules, they may be allowed to slip the summons under the door instead of hand it to you, and the process server might be too lazy to check you still live there), then they would go to the postoffice to ask for your forwarding address. the postoffice is required to give that to them if they are there to serve you with court papers. then they would serve you at your new address.

if you do respond with a validation letter, don't put your new address on it. the only risk is, they would know you received their previous letter so eventually they would realize their mail was being forwarded and they'd know to get the forwarding address from the postoffice.

these are just my 2 cents. please don't take my suggestions too seriously. consult a lawyer and see what they say. you can get a free consultation in most cases; maybe also legal aid if you qualify.

The worst thing you can do is dodge service!

That is the quickest way to get a judgment entered. Most cases will take at least two to three hearings. That could take at least nine months before you get a judgment and another 30 days before it is enforced. If you are filing BK soon then drag it out and you will be fine.

unclerico could very well be right. why rely on a process server to acknowledge you don't live there? if he doesn't, you will be defaulted.

also, maybe if you gave them your new address and told them that you will contest any litigation, they might not want to waste their time. they usually try for a default judgment.

as you can see, you can get opposite advice from different people.

Hi Music and Unclear,
Since they do not mean arbitration and they mean court, is that good or bad? I don't even know the difference. Court sounds sooo scary to me. Ugh. I have never had to go to court in my life. Unclear, you said to drag out litigation and make them work for it. Is that a really involved and time consuming thing to do? I ask because I am in school full-time in Fall and will be up to my eyeballs in work with papers etc and I don't think I can mentally handle it if the court fighting and back is forth is like an all day everyday thing. I think I would just have a meltdown. Music, yes, it mentions a specific lawyer name on the paper they sent me. I was thinking of calling them on Monday and telling them that I am planning on filing and they can do whatever they see fit. I do not know if I am supposed to ask for that lawyer specifically or what. I really hate these people lol. I felt bad in the beginning about not being able to honor my debts but now I could give two craps. They wouldn't help me out when I asked for payment arrangements after my first surgery and then after my second and third, they jacked my interest to over 29% and lowered my limit. Argh! Maybe I should drag it out and waste their time so its less time they have to screw other people. Thank you guys :)

oh and is there a way for me to find out if i have been served if they just drop it off in my old town? it doesn't seem fair that they could just leave it there and not verify and then i don't show up and it gets chosen in their favor.

oh sweet lord, i just checked the mail and got another letter from another law firm. this time telling me i owe over 20K to them and they are reviewing to see if my file should be turned over to their litigation department for review of whether or not a lawsuit should be filed. i have 10 days to pay in full (yeah right) or apparently i am at risk of even more fees and court costs. i swear, its almost funny that they send me this stuff. i have nothing to give them and yet they expect me and others to cough up over 20K in 10 days. are they on drugs all the time?????

oh sweet lord, i just checked the mail and got another letter from another law firm. this time telling me i owe over 20K to them and they are reviewing to see if my file should be turned over to their litigation department for review of whether or not a lawsuit should be filed. i have 10 days to pay in full (yeah right) or apparently i am at risk of even more fees and court costs. i swear, its almost funny that they send me this stuff. i have nothing to give them and yet they expect me and others to cough up over 20K in 10 days. are they on drugs all the time?????

:cool:Stay Cool... This is typical Boiler Plate stuff from them. My wife and I successfully defended a 10K lawsuit from them and counter sued. We won!

If you objective is to stall until you file then contact them in writing (don't call). Tell them to only contact you by mail. Don't tell them you plan to file BK!

As far as how much time court would consume, it depends on which state you are in. In MI, filing a response does not cost anything and motions only cost 20.00.

Arbitration is BAD for consumers but thankfully arbitration is all over with.

they aren't on drugs. they are debt collectors. it's their job to be the way they are.

i don't know if it's a good idea to tell them you will be filing bk before talking to a lawyer. i just don't know.

of course it's not fair if they just don't check whether you have been served, but unfortunately due process doesn't always happen in practice. maybe it will in your case, but i don't know. you could check by finding the local courthouse or court website and checking whether you have been sued (but i would call anonymously, or search on the website).

i don't know how time consuming it would be to stall them. probably a couple of letters at the beginning, though at some point if you really go for it there would be a court appearance. it all depends on your local court rules. that's also something to ask a local lawyer.

If these bottom feeders actually indicated in their letter they are going to file suit they had better follow through otherwise it's a violation of FDCPA.