Complaint Review: Midland Credit Management & Jacques A. Marchol Jr. - San Diego California

I had dealt with Midland a few years ago when the received an old junk debt that was dismissed years before that. They attempted to collect and I told them in certified-return receipt mail to provide proof and to only communicate with me via U.S. mail. They went silent for about a year and a half and then they attempted to recollect again and also place this now extremely old debt on my credit reports. I laughed and disputed the debt with the credit reports agency's and filled a complaint with Midland again. This time I also placed a time period to respond of no more than 30 days on the letter then this attempt to collect a old debt would be submitted to my home state of financial affairs (the department that handles credit cards and collection agencies) and also may progress to the local courthouse. After not hearing from them in the time stated in the letter, I sent a complaint via the internet website of the state finanical affairs office and waited for them. They contacted me via email to submit the letter(s) that I sent to them and more information on this debt and any letters I had received from Midland. I copied everything and sent it to the state via overnight mail and the fun began. The state sent a warning letter to Midland for not filing as a collection agency in the state and demanded them to immediately pay the filing fee since they were a collection agency that was collecting from residents in this state. Then demanded immediate answer (15 days) on proof this debt was valid and any other proof that this debt was a valid debt. Of course they went silent except for the filing fee. So after 30 days the state sent Midland and I a letter saying that they feel this debt was invalid and expect Midland to stop collections on this debt for the failed to respond in a proper matter. So all was quite till nearly another year when a new collections attorney from Maryland contacted me on the same debt but was also representing Midland. So I immediately sent a letter that he was not to talk with me since this was in the hands of the state financial affairs department and gave him all the details of the case (case number, address and phone number) and any violations from this point out will be noted to the state and legal fees as allowed per the agency will be demanded (all sent via certified return receipt mail). I also reopened the case with the state office via the internet and provided the state with the attorney's name, address, phone number and case number. The state lets say was not happy and sent a serious letter to the attorney and to Midland Credit demanding the timeliness of the response to the previous states request and why this was now (appears to be sold). They demanded for further information on who sent this to this attorney which I would say scared the living out the attorney from Maryland. He ratted out the whole case to the state and the state stepped down hard on Midland. Midland again went silent and I demanded the full damages that the state can fine a collection agency ($1000) for violations. The state denied my request but told Midland that this best be the last time they ever hear from them or that this junk-debt is sold to someone else ever. That the state would come down hard on them and that my request would be granted. I suggest also looking into seeing what state agency handles credit cards and collection agencies and contacting them for assistance. It costed me nothing and in most cases the court will not touch anything that is being handled first by a state agency. Hope that helps you.

Here... debt-consolidation-credit-repair-service.com/forums You can get a lot of good information regarding the courts, including filing responses, here.

Hi, Amy- Can you tell me how this all shook out for you? My date is Jan. 14, 2009 at 2:15 at the Boulder Cty. Court and I got a summons last Sunday, Jan. 4 (must be a 10 day window law or something)! The law firm sat on mine since Nov. 21, which is the date on the summons. The summons was left loosely between the door knob and the door jam on my front door because I wasn't home. Nobody was there to physically take it! Anyway, I spent the entire day yesterday preparing my answer and stating that there was no proof of validation of the alleged debt and am also claiming the 3 year SOL (the 'alleged' debt is 5 years old). I am planning to file it with the court tomorrow. I also got the EXACT same summons with the EXACT same wording that you did. What happened to you? Can you give me an idea of your outcome? I would GREATLY appreciate a quick answer as I'm filing my response in the AM, first thing. Cheers! -Jill

Thanks again for your great advice Steve! I WISH I have been given the "luxury" of having 7 days to prepare for all this, but those #!$&-sucking-@$$&*!@$ deliberately played their hand so I wouldn't have time to prepare. They're counting on it. They are hoping to get a default judgment against me by using devious but just-inside-the-law means to trip me up. My Court date is still set for tomorrow afternoon. Unfortunately for them however, I am not working, so can devote 100% of my time to finding out reverse ways of tripping THEM up instead - HA HA! I spoke with Legal Services this morning, they are a helpful bunch of people so that anyone who finds themselves in a sticky situation and in need of legal assistance of just about any non-criminal variety, do look them up for the county you reside in and give them a call. I've given the contact information for the Boulder County Legal Services above for anyone who needs it. Oh, be sure that if you do use Legal Services, that you ask ALL your questions when you go in for your appointment - if you forget one and call back to ask it, you'll have to re-schedule to get it answered! Legal Services has an attorney on staff, who, if it had been ANY day other than a Wednesday, would've been able to go to Court with me (so I was told). Either way, he said I have a very good case - or rather, they (MCM) have a very lousy one. Anyway, what they told me down at Legal Services is that this may or may not be a real Summons. The only way to find out is to be there at the Court House, with all my paperwork filled out and ready to go. If the Plaintiff and/or their attorney doesn't show up, I'm free to go and this is all done with (in theory!). If they show up, they will at that time file the case with the Court, it will be assigned a number and we proceed from there. The actual hearing before the judge may be set for another date, but within 4 weeks I believe. Right now, I am filling out the paperwork - my Answer namely. You DO have to pay to file an Answer. If you're poor unemployed folk like myself, you can be declared indigent and there is a form to fill out that waives the filing fee. Basically it asks what income and assets you have. Oh, one point you mentioned Steve, about if the court date is less than 7 days away to hand carry it to the clerk - you should do that even if it is more than 7 days (at least in Colorado). They need to witness you signing it. Time being ridiculously short (this being COMPLETELY the Plaintiff's attorney's fault by his design), do you know if faxing the Plaintiff's attorney a copy of the Answer will suffice?? If you send a fax from a place such as Kinko's or similar, they'll give you a receipt to verify that the fax went through. I'm about to wrap up here and go down to the Court and file this Answer (I'm thinking today is better than waiting for tomorrow). So how does this sound for my Answer? Constructive criticism is ENCOURAGED!! I do not owe Midland Credit Management, Inc. anything. There is no agreement, signed, verbal or otherwise, between us for them to have cause to make any substantiated claims that I owe or have agreed to honor any amount of money they claim. I have never engaged in any business transactions with them. Thanks!

Amy, Use whatever information that is on the summons such as the name of the court and the case#. This way you have your response documented and if it is a bogus summons, they just engaged in a felony for falsifying an official/court document. Each state varies some on the filing requirements. I have seen 3 to 15 business days as the requirement to file a summons with the court. However, if the summons does not have a case# on it with a specific court and appearance date, it is invalid. Keep your response short and sweet. Deny the debt. Period. Do not make any reference to any other creditor, as they are irrelevant except for SOL purposes. Just state that you never engaged in any business transaction with Midland credit management and do not owe them anything. Be sure the plaintiff gets a copy too, and be sure to send it by certified mail, return reciept requested, and be sure to put the certified# on the letter itself and keep a copy for your records. This is very important to do it this way. If the court date is les than 7 business days away, hand carry it to the clerk of court and ask them to date stamp it as recieved and provide you with a copy. The summons always has the response requirements on it. Don't be shocked about the lack of knowledge these lawyers you have been calling are demonstrating. Collection law is highly specialized, and you should only use one who is able to appear in FEDERAL COURT. The FDCPA and the FCRA are federal laws and they supercede every state collection law unless there is a pre-emption act in place with that state law. I have had to educate judges and administrative hearing officers on collections law. They simply don't know what is going on. You have to educate them on your rights..[nicely]..

We were probably even served by the same man Eric! Was he driving a beat-up old, red Toyota truck perchance? HA! Anyway, when I called and talked with them down at the County Court here in Boulder, the first person I spoke with told me "we get a lot of those" when I told her I suspected it was a fake, so it appears that such manipulation IS going on. I did manage to finally find someone to talk with about this. In my "poking around" looking for a lawyer to help me, I came across Boulder County Legal Services, and have an appointment to speak with them tomorrow morning bright and early. Their number is (303) 449-7575. I don't know that they can help you over in JeffCo Eric, but I'm willing to bet there is a similar organization over in your neck of the woods. You might try giving them a call and see if they have a number for you to contact? I'll keep everyone posted here about what I find out and how things turn out. Good luck yourself Eric, with your dealings with the undead! ======================= Don - I agree with you 110% about that lawyer I spoke to today. It was the biggest load of waffle I'd ever heard. In retrospect, I suspect his listing as specializing in "collections'', was more that he preys on consumers, rather than protecting them. I knew about 30 seconds into the conversation with him that proverbial hot places would freeze over before I'd ever hire him to help me. Thanks!

The lawyer who told you that it is not charged off is an idiot. If you have not made a payment within 180 days at the minimum (it can go over the 180 days becuase companies do not charge off till the last business day of the month usually, the debt has to be charged off. That is the law.

Thanks for the advice Steve! We have a similar law here in CO, lovingly called the "Make My Day Law", and it not only includes people coming into your house, but was ruled a few summers back to include anyone standing on your door step. At the time this guy yanked open my front door however, I was just finishing up slicing potatoes for dinner, and all I had was wet hands covered in 'potato juice' to defend myself against intruders with. I'm thinking as you are that this is a bogus Summons (but I don't want to be wrong about that!), especially after reading of the past behavior displayed by both this company and the lawyer. MCM has been in trouble with the FTC this past year for their debt collection practices. It seems that other people have also had a lot of problems with both this lawyer and MCM independent of one another. I even found one website that was offering a $10,000 reward if you could get this lawyer dis-bared! But that was all they were offering in regards to assistance, so not very helpful. After talking with literally another seven lawyers so far today, I called up the County Court again, and they still have no record of this case that is supposedly two days away. I've gotten conflicting advice from the many lawyers I've talked to, some say that they (Marchol) have to file with the Court within 10 days of serving the Summons (which would've been too late when they served me if that is the case) and other's say they have until the 22cd to file. Apparently I have to be standing in the Court house the nano-second they file, (if they file) to post my Answer or the Judge will find against me. I'm not buying that AT ALL. I cannot even get a straight answer on the SOL, whether it is 3 years or 6 years (renewable every 6 years if a judge finds against me) here in Colorado. You have stated, "MCM are junk debt buyers. The ONLY way they can usually win is by default if you fail to respond, and that is what they count on." by response, what does this mean exactly? Is the letter I have sent to MCM requesting that they Validate the Debt response enough or is there something else I need to do? None of the lawyers I have actually talked to on the phone agree with what action I should take - some say that I should go down to the court house and file an Answer, but when I point out (again) that the Court has no record of this case so how should I file an Answer, they stutter and hem and haw around and give no clear answers. All of them have agreed however that I do have to pay a fee to file an Answer. As of Noon today, I have called 29 lawyers since Monday Nov. 13, only three of them had any clue what I was even talking about (and all of them were listed as handling collections cases!). One lawyer even suggested that he didn't think the Original Creditor has charged this debt off. Does anyone know how to verify this?? It seems like an incredibly bad assumption on his part to me, but he stuck with it even when I told him that this thing has changed hands 3 or 4 times now, and the Settlement I had with Moore etc. He struck me very strongly as a flake and I'm thinking, as my dear old dad used to say, that "various other body parts of his" were talking because his mouth knew better. All in all, I think they are going to stumble and fall on their face when it comes to chain of title, as I've said, this thing has been passed around a lot, and among some pretty sloppy companies too (pretending they are lawyers when they're not, harassment, threats of violence etc.). who knows who has the actual right to it, if anyone? At this point in time, though I would dearly love to have a lawyer by my side in this, I think I'm going to have to exercise my tongue and put it to the use I've been accused a few times in the past of - that I argue like a lawyer. Unfortunately my brain is ignorant of the laws surrounding this case, and that's what is going to trip me up. Thanks!

Your report is identical to my own. I believe my report is listed right under yours. The exact same things took place except the summons was brought to my ex wifes door on the 16th. Our summons is from the same lawyer and the same company. I am going to also request all the info from midland. I called the Jefferson County Court and they said the summons may be legit however it has not been filed with the court yet. I do not know if they actually intend on filing this summons or not, but I am definitly going to file my answer at the court tomorrow just in case. Good luck to you with this as it seems we have both been victims of a "zombie" collector.

Larry, Pay a fee to answer a lawsuit/summons? I have responded to many summons/lawsuits and have NEVER paid a fee. Maybe that's a CA thing. Amy, If there is not a case number along with your name on the docket at the courthouse, the summons is bogus. And why can't I get lucky enough to have some lowlife force my front door open? I love FL deadly force law. He would do that only once here! MCM are junk debt buyers. The ONLY way they can usually win is by default if you fail to respond, and that is what they count on. Most of the time, these JUNK DEBT BUYERS cannot PROPERLY document the debt as would be required in court, so as soon as you fight back, they dismiss. Be sure to countersue for legal fees and court costs if they dismiss. Nobody gets my time without paying for it. The SOL thing is your best defense, and keep in mind that starts when the original creditor charged it off. Other than that, the original creditor is out of the picture here. They must prove that you owe THEM the money. They need to provide you with something that you signed to create the debt as well as something that shows they own it or have the legal right to collect it. This would include proof of payment AND amount paid. Then, chain of title must be provided to prove that everyone past the original creditor owned the debt and had the legal right to collect on it. If there is one broken link in that chain, these people do not have a legal right to collect on the "debt". Make them prove everything! Every little thing. This is your right. Make it hard on them. I have so much fun with these morons. It is like a hobby. It is really sweet when you can make a debt collector pay you! Good luck!

Thanks for the information Larry, I will most certainly take your advice and go down to the Court House later today and ask again in person! To cover the whole "beat up and rape" fiasco, that is water way under the bridge I'm afraid. I've forgotten that debt collector's name by now, I just remember the company was based in Kansas City, because I have relations living there. My lawyer at the time couldn't get anywhere with it, because it got to be a ''he said, she said'' situation with the debt collector's employee who called me, and as it was over the phone and there was no recording of the conversation, providing solid proof of the threats was impossible. That was also that debt collector's first contact with me, and their last. I never received a letter from them, only that one horrible phone call. They sold the debt off, I assume, to this MCM, but when that was I do not know, because it's been over a year since the threats of violence to my person, and this MCM popping up out of nowhere Sunday. I've just re-read the paperwork I have from MCM/Marchol, looking for that ''you must appear and defend'' wording or similar you mentioned, but saw nothing like this. The only thing is said was if I disagreed, I needed to file an Answer, and that was stated in 8 out of 8 of the instructions included on this paper. They are as follows: 1. On, NOVEMBER 22, 2006 AT 2:15 P.M., in the COUNTY COURT OF BOULDER, IF AN Answer IS NOT FILED, THE COURT, MAY BE ASKED TO ENTER A JUDGMENT AGAINST YOU AS SET FORTH IN THE COMPLAINT. 2. A COPY OF THE COMPLAIN AGAINST YOU AND AN ANSWER FORM WHICH YOU MUST USE IF YOU FILE AN ANSWER ARE ATTACHED. 3. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE COMPLAINT, THEN YOU MUST EITHER: A. Go to the Court, located at 1777 6th ST,Boulder CO 80306, State of Colorado at the above date and time and file the Answer stating any legal reason you have why judgment should not be entered against you, or B. File the Answer with the Court before that date and time. 4. WHEN YOU FILE YOUR ANSWER, YOU MUST PAY A FILING FEE TO THE CLERK OF THE COURT. 5. IF YOU FILE AN ANSWER, YOU MUST GIVE OR MAIL A COPY TO THE PLAINTIFF(S) OR THE ATTORNEY WHO SIGNED THE COMPLAINT. 6. IF YOU DO NOT FILE AN ANSWER THEN THE COURT MAY ENTER A DEFAULT JUDGMENT AGAINST YOU FOR THE RELIEF REQUESTED IN THE COMPLAINT. 7. IF YOU WANT A JURY TRIAL, YOU MUST ASK FOR ONE IN THE ANSWER AND PAY A JURY FEE IN ADDITION TO THE FILING FEE. 8. IF YOU WANT TO FILE AN ANSWER OR REQUEST A JURY TRIAL AND YOU ARE INDIGENT, YOU MUST APPEAR AT THE ABOVE DATE AND TIME, FILL OUT A FINANCIAL AFFIDAVIT, AND ASK THE COURT TO WAIVE THE FEE. Dated: October 16, 2006 I have copied that down, letter for letter, including the errors in punctuation etc. I especially am angry over that last bit, "Dated: October 16, 2006". This lawyer has been sitting on this for nearly a month, before he saw fit to have it brought to my attention November 12 by sending a trespasser to open my front door without permission or consent and literally shove the papers in it at me - exactly 10 days before the court date specified, and 3 of those days are useless as they were not business days. It is obviously a deliberate attempt to sabotage me, and it is working, I haven't been allowed a reasonable amount of time to find a lawyer. I suspect that half of the lawyers I've called have been out-of-town for the holidays! To clarify a bit on one of the things you mentioned, with the first debt collector, it never actually went to court, and no judge was ever involved. My lawyer sent him a letter outlining my complaints of the illegal actions that were taken by their attempt to collect a debt (harassment etc.), and stating a monetary amount that we would accept as a settlement instead of going to court. I never did see the actual letter my lawyer sent to them, but I suppose I could probably get a copy if need-be. Anyway, that debt collector agreed to the price and everything was settled out of court, and I never heard from him again. I do not know if what you mentioned about collateral estoppal would be in effect here or not? What is collateral estoppal anyway? Believe me, I've been looking like crazy for a lawyer!! I really REALLY want one! I'll take your advice about contacting the state and county bar assocs., Does anyone have any other recommendations on how to get one? I've called everyone I could find out about, and every single one that those who answered their phones recommended I talk to (and all of those recommendations were so far off base as to be completely useless). I literally spent all of last week, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm calling lawyer after lawyer. No one seems to handle this particular sort of thing within a 80 mile radius of where I live, and I live not far from Denver, where most the lawyers are in this state. The lawyer I have used in the past has VERY reluctantly agreed to represent me, but he doesn't want to, and I'm not AT ALL comfortable having a lawyer representing me, who is friends with the one persecuting me. This is just begging for trouble, and judging by some of the things he suggested I do, it did not sound as if he had my best interests at heart, but rather his friend's.

Thanks for your comments Michael, very helpful! Unfortunately, filing bankruptcy is out of the question for me for about another 2 years. I was finally just starting to get back on my feet again from filing a Chapter 13 and getting it paid off when a bunch of things happened all at once that managed to throw me back down to the ground again. Personal injury and great big airplanes crashing into skyscrapers in NYC (effectively gutting the field of work I was in) among them. Pleading poverty in my case will be very easy, as I haven't been able to work the past 5 years. I have used the threat of filing Bankruptcy in the past to get debt collectors to back off, but that's not something that will work this time I think, as I am dealing with a real lawyer now, not some flunky in a cubicle working for minimum wage with delusions of grandeur thinking he's a big-shot attorney with loads of power to bend my will! I did ask MCM to prove the Statute of Limitations had not expired in the letter I sent, and as this debt they claim a right to is from an credit card (an open account) from about 4 years ago and the SOL in CO on Open Accounts is 3 years, I expect I've got them on that as well. They of course, do have to provide proof contrary to that if they wish to pursue this further and actually file a case with the Court, not just make one up and try and scare me with it. Please, if you will, explain that "vacate the judgment to the courts" you mentioned? Is this a legal action I would take if they do not come up with proof in the next 30 days, independent of anything MCM and Marchol would do, to insure MCM cannot further bother me on this matter, or is this a response to them actually filing a case with the Court without proof I owe them money? At this time, all they've done is threatened me by making it appear they have opened a case against me. The Court has no record that MCM or Marchol has actually done this, so at this time, as far as the Court is concerned, there is no lawsuit in action. Thanks again!

I used to work as a process server in Arizona. It sounds to me like you have been served by a private process server. Some of the language you quote sounds legitimate. And, yes, you normally have to pay a fee when you file an answer to a lawsuit. I would strongly recommend making a trip down to the courthouse and showing the clerk what you were served with. The clerk can tell you whether it is for real or not. I would not take the response you got over the phone as the final answer. If the attorney is licensed by the state bar I cannot imagine him jeopardizing his standing by serving simulated court documents. Quite often a summons has a statement in it something like "you must appear and defend." That wording sounds like you have to appear before a judge, but it really means that you have to file a written answer on or before the date in the summons. It sounds like you need to file your answer on or before November 22. If the complaint and summons are for real, your letters to MCM will not alter the date the court has set for you to answer. If the lawsuit is for real you should cease all contact with MCM as you are now required to communicate only with their attorney. Most interesting in your description of events is your statement that you sued a different collector trying to collect on the same debt. You really do need to find an attorney because the action filed by MCM may be barred by what I think is called collateral estoppal. Basically, this means that you and your creditor (through his agent) have been to court on this matter already, they had the opportunity to litigate, and they chose to fold their tents and go home. The lawyers love to say that you only get one bite at the apple. The collector was an agent for the principal and the principal is bound by the agent's actions. The principal cannot try to get a second bite by hiring a new agent, even though it is highly probable that the first agent did not bother to report to the principal that you sued. In most jurisdictions the first agent -- the one you sued -- would have been required to bring his complaint against you when you sued or to forget about suing forever. The courts do not want the same parties clogging the calendars by filing multiple lawsuits arising from the same matter. Also, if you can prove the statement that one collector threatened to beat you up and rape you you could get the present lawsuit dismissed under the clean hands doctrine. A person cannot try to collect using criminal means and then try to seek redress through the courts. Again, the principal is responsible for the actions of his agent and cannot evade his responsibility by hiring a new agent. Many state or county bar associations have a lawyer referral service and sometimes offer a discounted initial consultation with a qualified lawyer. Check it out if you cannot get help elsewhere.

I have one of these junk debt collectors after me too and I am fighting it. I have asked to have the debt validated, as you did. Oh, and don't forget about the statute of limitations. The statute starts from the original date of the debt not when or if the debt is refiled. Anyway, after I got no response I sent a request to vacate the judgment to the courts. I also sent a copy of this to the attorney, who promptly sent a letter explaining why he hasn't validated this debt and to not have the judgment vacated. I am still waiting on this one. I have also filed a small claims action against this attorney for violations of the FCRA and FDCPA. I am sure he will hit the roof when he gets the summons. If I should fail in court then I will file what is called a slow-pay. I will just plead poverty to the courts. I will pay a very small monthly amount to the courts and it is then forwarded to the attroney. This stops fees, interest, garnishments, and other collection efforts in their tracks. Not to mention aggravating the attorney. If all else fails, Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If you decide to file Chapter 7 don't tell the collection attorney untill AFTER you have done it. Collection attorneys have been known to get around bankruptcy's because they have been tipped of that someone is going to file one they are trying to collect on. Let the bankruptcy attorney do all the notifications. I am just telling you what I am going through and briefly what the legal process is here in Utah. I don't know about Colorado but what I wrote should give you a push in the right direction. Above all, don't let them push you around. Once the collection attorney sees that you are not an easy target, he may just cease collection efforts on his own and go after someone else. Never discuss anything on the phone, get it in writing. Send correspondences certified mail so you get a signed receipt back. Good luck! Cheers!

I have one of these junk debt collectors after me too and I am fighting it. I have asked to have the debt validated, as you did. Oh, and don't forget about the statute of limitations. The statute starts from the original date of the debt not when or if the debt is refiled. Anyway, after I got no response I sent a request to vacate the judgment to the courts. I also sent a copy of this to the attorney, who promptly sent a letter explaining why he hasn't validated this debt and to not have the judgment vacated. I am still waiting on this one. I have also filed a small claims action against this attorney for violations of the FCRA and FDCPA. I am sure he will hit the roof when he gets the summons. If I should fail in court then I will file what is called a slow-pay. I will just plead poverty to the courts. I will pay a very small monthly amount to the courts and it is then forwarded to the attroney. This stops fees, interest, garnishments, and other collection efforts in their tracks. Not to mention aggravating the attorney. If all else fails, Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If you decide to file Chapter 7 don't tell the collection attorney untill AFTER you have done it. Collection attorneys have been known to get around bankruptcy's because they have been tipped of that someone is going to file one they are trying to collect on. Let the bankruptcy attorney do all the notifications. I am just telling you what I am going through and briefly what the legal process is here in Utah. I don't know about Colorado but what I wrote should give you a push in the right direction. Above all, don't let them push you around. Once the collection attorney sees that you are not an easy target, he may just cease collection efforts on his own and go after someone else. Never discuss anything on the phone, get it in writing. Send correspondences certified mail so you get a signed receipt back. Good luck! Cheers!

I have one of these junk debt collectors after me too and I am fighting it. I have asked to have the debt validated, as you did. Oh, and don't forget about the statute of limitations. The statute starts from the original date of the debt not when or if the debt is refiled. Anyway, after I got no response I sent a request to vacate the judgment to the courts. I also sent a copy of this to the attorney, who promptly sent a letter explaining why he hasn't validated this debt and to not have the judgment vacated. I am still waiting on this one. I have also filed a small claims action against this attorney for violations of the FCRA and FDCPA. I am sure he will hit the roof when he gets the summons. If I should fail in court then I will file what is called a slow-pay. I will just plead poverty to the courts. I will pay a very small monthly amount to the courts and it is then forwarded to the attroney. This stops fees, interest, garnishments, and other collection efforts in their tracks. Not to mention aggravating the attorney. If all else fails, Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If you decide to file Chapter 7 don't tell the collection attorney untill AFTER you have done it. Collection attorneys have been known to get around bankruptcy's because they have been tipped of that someone is going to file one they are trying to collect on. Let the bankruptcy attorney do all the notifications. I am just telling you what I am going through and briefly what the legal process is here in Utah. I don't know about Colorado but what I wrote should give you a push in the right direction. Above all, don't let them push you around. Once the collection attorney sees that you are not an easy target, he may just cease collection efforts on his own and go after someone else. Never discuss anything on the phone, get it in writing. Send correspondences certified mail so you get a signed receipt back. Good luck! Cheers!

I have one of these junk debt collectors after me too and I am fighting it. I have asked to have the debt validated, as you did. Oh, and don't forget about the statute of limitations. The statute starts from the original date of the debt not when or if the debt is refiled. Anyway, after I got no response I sent a request to vacate the judgment to the courts. I also sent a copy of this to the attorney, who promptly sent a letter explaining why he hasn't validated this debt and to not have the judgment vacated. I am still waiting on this one. I have also filed a small claims action against this attorney for violations of the FCRA and FDCPA. I am sure he will hit the roof when he gets the summons. If I should fail in court then I will file what is called a slow-pay. I will just plead poverty to the courts. I will pay a very small monthly amount to the courts and it is then forwarded to the attroney. This stops fees, interest, garnishments, and other collection efforts in their tracks. Not to mention aggravating the attorney. If all else fails, Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If you decide to file Chapter 7 don't tell the collection attorney untill AFTER you have done it. Collection attorneys have been known to get around bankruptcy's because they have been tipped of that someone is going to file one they are trying to collect on. Let the bankruptcy attorney do all the notifications. I am just telling you what I am going through and briefly what the legal process is here in Utah. I don't know about Colorado but what I wrote should give you a push in the right direction. Above all, don't let them push you around. Once the collection attorney sees that you are not an easy target, he may just cease collection efforts on his own and go after someone else. Never discuss anything on the phone, get it in writing. Send correspondences certified mail so you get a signed receipt back. Good luck! Cheers!