Legal Question in Business Law in California

Sounds like a couple of my last debt collection cases I defended lately. The answer is yes and no. If you truly do not live there then they cannot serve you there. If you do then what they did is called a substituted service. Which means they have tried at least three times to personally serve you there and then on the last attempt they can leave it with anyone present who is over the age of 18 and competent i.e. not crazy. They then have to mail you a copy to that address. That works for them if that is where you live. If you live elsewhere and can prove it i.e. have drivers license or ID card address somewhere else then they have a problem. What they will next do is file this proof of service with the court claiming that they have served you, wait 40 days after the mailing was done and then request the court to enter a default judgment since you have failed to respond to the complaint within the allowed time. You had 40 days after the date of the mailing of the papers to you to file your response to their complaint. After they get the judgment against you then they might start collection proceedings against you. They could seize your bank accounts or garnish your wages. You can get the judgment set aside but you will need the services of a lawyer to help you.

So what do you do? If you do not live at your Mom's have her write a letter to the attorney whose name is on the complaint and tell them that you don't live there anymore and enclose the complaint. Keep a copy of the complaint and the letter and see what happens.

A better course of action would be to get an attorney through one of the many free lawyer groups in area. There is probably a free program through the Alameda County Bar association and there is Bay Area Legal Aid just to name two.

What has happened to you is typical of the dirty tricks and shoddy tactics that many collection companies employ to get judgments against people.

Do not let that happen to you by ignoring this. It is much simpler to deal with it now than if they get a judgment against you so go find a lawyer, a free one that is.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Sorry for the bizzare answer from the Belli guy. Every time I come in behind one of his answers it's a joke, but this one takes the cake. We're all independent attorneys here answering your questions, but I'm just embarassed for him as an attorney.

To answer your actual question, though, how often they can audit you should be governed by the written agreement with them. If it is not, and it just gives them the right to audit, then it just has to be at "reasonable" intervals. It also does not, unfortunately, have to be fair. As long as they are not illegally discriminating against you, like for race or ethnicity, they can audit you more often than others if, in their business judgment, they trust your accounting for your proceeds less than others.

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