John
Louisville,#2Consumer Comment
Tue, October 09, 2007
If you do a Google search on Calvary you'll see just how sleazy this firm is... These firms usually use the following dirty trick to get judgments against people....they file judgments against people and deliberately have the court summons sent to an incorrect address or an old address...somewhere where they know you won't be there to receive it....So when the appointed court date comes along...bang...you won't be there to defend yourself....They will get a DEFAULT judgment against you for not showing up....even if the debt is not yours. This is the bread and butter tactic of these bottom-feeder companies... If you can prove that the summons was sent to an incorrect address...you can probably have the judgment voided.... Here's a story similar to yours from this site: ========= I am a law student who just learned of this company today (Jan. 5, 2007) because attorney Anne Thomas with Thomas Law Offices, PLLC froze my parent's bank account on behalf of Calvary Portfolio Services. I have to wait until Monday to get a copy of the court judgment but I did contact the bank and was successful in having them fax me the information that Anne Thomas sent them to have the account frozen in the first place. It turns out, someone living in NY has my dad's same name. That person apparently incurred credit card debt. Some how or another, we are checking credit reports now to be sure it's not identity theft, but Anne Thomas got my dads Social security number and filed a court action nearly a year ago (Feb. 2006). Judgement was entered against my dad without either of my parents knowing. They were never contacted about any of this. My mother went to the bank on January 5, 2007 to make a withdrawal and learned that the account was just frozen this week. The bank said that they mailed a letter but she hasn't received it yet since it just happened and it was mailed from their corporate office in another state. Long story short, the court document alleges that my dad works and resides in the state of NY and owes nearly $16,000 to this credit company called First USA from an account opened in 1996 and charged off in 2002. Of course my dad has never lived in or even visited the state of NY and has no clue what this debt is. Cavalry violated several laws (as I'll explain below) because you can't file suit in NY unless the credit application was signed by my dad in NY. Of course, he signed nothing and has never been to NY. They also lied in the docs by saying that he was a resident and does business in the state of NY. They were also never notified of this alleged debt. They've resided in the same home in the state of TX even before this account was apparantly opened in 1996. They have also had the same bank account, with a TX address on it for about the last 20 years. So there is no way that Anne Thomas could make the mistake of thinking that my dad is anyway associated with NY. But long story short, Anne Thomas immediately faxed a letter to the legal department of the bank and a copy to me when I told her that she had the wrong person and that I was a law student. I noticed in the letter that she completely indemnified the bank - which is basically admitting that Cavalry & her law office made a mistake and will be responsible if my parents decide to sue the bank for any reason. However, the bank has yet to unfreeze their account because they said they got the letter too late in the day on a Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, not many consumers have the luxury of looking up the law and easily understanding it - so I'm going to give you some information to try and help now or in the future. Please be aware that I am not an attorney and am NOT offering legal advice