Notice Of Intent To Sue

[epiphany]

I've posted about HSBC before but I will give you the nutshell history.

HSBC sent my account to collections rather quickly (think it was three months late) and I was getting calls from a collection agency. This collection agency also called work and my sister in law. When they did that, I sent them a cease and desist and also requested debt validation. I did not get the validation.

A month or so later I got a letter from a law firm seeking to collect on this debt. I requested debt validation within the required time frame and again never got the validation.

Today I got a letter from the law firm entitled NOTICE OF INTENTION TO INCUR COURT COSTS AND LEGAL FEES BY FILING SUIT. This letter requests payment within five days of the date on the letter (which would be today).

The requests for debt validation were just a stall tactic on my part, and they actually worked. I am wondering if I should call them and let them know that if they take me to court, I will be mentioning the lack of validation to the judge or if I should call them and just simply let them know about the BK. Or should I just blow it off? I should be filed in a couple weeks.

The reason I don't really want to blow it off is because I seem to recall another poster saying that their work had been notified of a pending garnishment even though they hadn't gone to court yet. I don't want that to happen.

Any advice? Thanks in advance.

ep

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Epiphany, others have much more experience on this than I do, but my gut call is that this is just another dunning letter. It is not a summons. Of *course* they will incur legal fees and court costs if they sue. Duh. It's a way of threatening they're gonna sue without actually saying they're gonna sue.

And never let your opponent see your cards. They'll know about the bk when you file -- I'm certain they are electronically notified, so they'll have it within minutes of your filing hitting PACER -- and don't tell them how you intend to fight their suit, if it comes to that. If you're filing in a couple of weeks, you're golden, I think. But keep your eye on the court filings anyway, call the courthouse from time to time, because I can't count the number of times people have said they had a judgement entered against them and never even knew they'd been sued. Any judgement you could move to vacate after your bk, but if something made you have to delay your filing I would not want you to get blindsided with a garnishment, so it's worth keeping an eye on. Once you file, obviously it's no longer an issue.

I really wish you the best -- you've been studying and preparing and I am impressed with the amount of care and attention you've put into the details of your filing. I *know* it will work out for you. Good luck!!!

[epiphany]

Epiphany, others have much more experience on this than I do, but my gut call is that this is just another dunning letter. It is not a summons. Of *course* they will incur legal fees and court costs if they sue. Duh. It's a way of threatening they're gonna sue without actually saying they're gonna sue.

And never let your opponent see your cards. They'll know about the bk when you file -- I'm certain they are electronically notified, so they'll have it within minutes of your filing hitting PACER -- and don't tell them how you intend to fight their suit, if it comes to that. If you're filing in a couple of weeks, you're golden, I think. But keep your eye on the court filings anyway, call the courthouse from time to time, because I can't count the number of times people have said they had a judgement entered against them and never even knew they'd been sued. Any judgement you could move to vacate after your bk, but if something made you have to delay your filing I would not want you to get blindsided with a garnishment, so it's worth keeping an eye on. Once you file, obviously it's no longer an issue.

I really wish you the best -- you've been studying and preparing and I am impressed with the amount of care and attention you've put into the details of your filing. I *know* it will work out for you. Good luck!!!

Sweet Flad.....you are too kind.

Perhaps I should have provided more information because it may change your opinion. Or maybe not.

In the content of this letter is says:

OUR CLIENT HAS AUTHORIZED OUR FIRM TO PROCEED WITH A LAWSUIT IN ORDER TO OBTAIN PAYMENT OF THE ABOVE REFERENCED ACCOUNT. WE INTEND TO ASK THE COURT, ON BEHALF OF OUR CLIENT, FOR AN AWARD OF COURT COSTS AND DISBURSEMENTS INCURRED AND, IN THOSE CASES WHERE IT IS FACTUALLY AND LEGALLY APPROPRIATE, AN AWARD OF REASONABLE ATTORNEYS' FEES INCURRED.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT, UNLESS PAYMENT OR SATISFACTORY ARRANGEMENTS FOR PAYMENT ARE MADE WITH OUR OFFICE NO LATER THAN FIVE DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS LETTER, A SUIT WILL BE FILED IN THE PROPER VENUE AND COURT WITHIN CALIFORNIA TO ENFORCE THIS DEBT.

Okay, those were snippets, but they did say that they were going to sue if I didn't pay by the day that I actually received the letter, which is today, Saturday....just wanted to emphasize how ridiculous that is......Do you think that they could be bluffing?

You are right about not showing my hand...and I won't tell them about the debt validation violation, but I am still wondering if telling them about the BK would stop them in their tracks or not. I mean, I would rather have them not start the process than to have them start the process and have to deal with stopping it.

I feel like I am playing Stratego.....

ep

[FreshLikeADaisy]

To be honest, I don't think anything you tell them will matter, including your impending bk. And the excerpts you provided just made me MORE certain it is nothing but another dunning letter. For instance, it demands payment in a very short timeframe, and while they say they will sue (and probably will, now that they've committed to it in writing) it is STILL not a summons. Maybe just one last good ol' college try.

And if you turn it over the outcome is the same: what can you do to forestall their suit? Nothing you haven't already done. You've been as proactive as you can be, so unless there's some other tactic you and I both are just missing (which is possible, and I hope someone would be kind enough to jump in and save us from ourselves if so ) even if they sued you tomorrow there would be nothing you could do but file your bk, and maybe respond to the suit with a motion or two of your own. But even then, you have to wait for them to sue.

I guess if you really wanted to give it a shot, you could look up this law firm in Martindale.com and see if it really exists and then call them and declare your intent to file bk, but if they don't believe you or don't care or just take the opportunity to demand payment, don't be surprised.

Your question, if I'm getting it right, is, "Is it okay for me to blow them off?" And my response, knowing that you're filing Ch7 in a couple weeks and have already done all you can do, is that blowing them off may very well be the only remaining course of action left to you until either they sue or you file. If they're going to sue and you've already gone for the dv, etc, there really is nothing to prevent them from doing so. Until and unless they sue, it ain't a suit. Good luck!!!

[epiphany]

Hmmm, I failed this assignment and must go back to creative writing 101 because I didn't make my question clear. So here it is:

Would calling them and telling them about the BK (giving them lawyer info,etc) potentially stop them cold in their tracks? (meaning before they actually file suit)

I would like to stop them before they sue. I am thinking that maybe they will not want to invest money on a claim that will inevitably just lose them money. Would that not be the smartest business decision for them?

They do exist. I looked them up on the web and they are quite proud of themselves.


I think I have already answered my own question with your help. The hamster in my head just climbed off the wheel....no harm in calling but a potential benefit. I will be calling them Monday, rat bastards.


ep

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Ep, I just don't think they will believe you or even care... but it's worth a shot. As you say, no harm in calling. I forgot you had an attorney, THAT might stop them in their tracks as far as proving you're serious about bk and not just threatening it. At the very least, FDCPA requires that they contact him and not you in regard to this debt, once you tell them you have him and give his contact info. Good luck!!!

[epiphany]

Ep, I just don't think they will believe you or even care... but it's worth a shot. As you say, no harm in calling. I forgot you had an attorney, THAT might stop them in their tracks as far as proving you're serious about bk and not just threatening it. At the very least, FDCPA requires that they contact him and not you in regard to this debt, once you tell them you have him and give his contact info. Good luck!!!

You Pro Se People forgetting about all the little attorneys!

Wish I'd had the guts to file pro se, but honestly think it would have made me nuts. I find the ability to refer creditors to my lawyer more priceless than Mastercard will ever know.

ep

[bkdone]

Yeah...tell them...

I had the identical situation. The minute I told them about the BK and who my lawyer was, there was silence on the other end of the phone. I never got another call and I filed the actual BK about 2 weeks later. The creditor got $0 and the account was discharged!

[FreshLikeADaisy]

You Pro Se People forgetting about all the little attorneys!

Man, you are so right it's embarrassing. I hardly ever remember someone has an attorney. But then again, the people with attorneys are asking the same questions as if they didn't, so it's almost the same from my point of view.

I would have given *anything* to be able to direct collection calls to an attorney!!! But alas, I had nothing left to give. That's how I ended up pro se. I don't think anybody really likes the idea of going pro se at first, but for me it was either that or don't file. As I went along, however, I find myself embracing my inner attorney.

Bkdone, that's a good point you made there, but don't forget that having an attorney only stops creditor calls. It does not stop collection activity, such as a creditor lawsuit. Only filing bk can do that.

[SANRA308]

We had a law firm still attempt to sue us even though I told them we had a attorney and were going to file BK. The man was very polite and stated people say that all the time sometimes they wait months or even a taer or two to file,and it is thier policy to proceed, about 3 weeks later we got served. The funny thing is that it was one of our smaller debts, so be prepared it might be a scare tactic then again they may sue, but it still takes them some time. Debt was american express. we also had HSBC they just harrassed us A LOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bkdone]

Bkdone, that's a good point you made there, but don't forget that having an attorney only stops creditor calls. It does not stop collection activity, such as a creditor lawsuit. Only filing bk can do that.

True! Dont say you have a lawyer and that you're filing if you really arent. But it takes more than 2 weeks for any creditor to get a judgement against you...that takes awhile. But, if you really have consulted a lawyer, and you really are filing...go ahead...tell the creditor. They usually know that there isnt much they can do at that point, except file a claim when they are noticed.

[treehugger1]

If you are served, or receive a summons in whatever manner, and you answer, it will be much longer than two weeks. Once you receive a summons you should have 14 - 30 days to answer (depending on small claims or district court,) and if you provide an asnwer to the summons, you will probably have another 20 - 30 days before someone figures out what to do with you. Then, there is more time to wait out a trial or hearing date (who knows how long this can be, dependent upon your local or district court backlog.) You should only sweat if you do nothing, which is what any debt collection attorney expects you to do. TH

[ThisCantGoOn]

Almost every time I gave a collector my attorney's name and number the calls stopped immediately. I started doing that last November, I will actually be filing (I think) on April 1. I figure since I retained an attorney, I should let his office deal with the calls.