Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

laws regarding debt colloection and reporting to credit reporting company

Hi there....I have a question regarding the area of debt collection and the collection company reporting to credit bureaus....

...my wife retained an attorney 4 yrs ago and paid him the total of 50K and we agreed that if it went to trial we would give him another 50K...it never did...the attorneys agreement was very vague and I know for a fact that he does not have great cooting fo rhis claim...one its not enforceable (st of limitation two we dont owe him a dim)

Now 4 yrs later we get a letter from a collection company...demanding 52K...we never recieved any other communication...we are not taking this seruously as far as owing this attorney but we are concerned as how this will impact our credit since we have good credit and do not want it damaged.....do I retain an attorney to send a strong message to the collection company or do I just send them a letter showing proof of the 50K lready paid and that to our mind we paid this debt in full....is there a provision I need to look at and what ever recommendation you could give me will be greatly apprectiated...


Asked on 2/13/05, 11:59 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

Re: laws regarding debt colloection and reporting to credit reporting company

Write to the attorney (do not call) and say that 1) you do not owe the attorney any money; and 2) if there are any further collection attempts, or if a report is made to any credit reporting agency, you will report the attorney to the State Bar of California, and also you will pursue legal remedies under the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Cal. Civil Code Section 1788). You might want to pay another attorney a small sum to write this letter on his or her letterhead.

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Answered on 2/14/05, 12:05 am
Peter De Bruyn Law Offices Of Peter De Bruyn

Re: laws regarding debt colloection and reporting to credit reporting company

The Collection company is an assignee of the original or primary creidtor, the attorney. So your fee dispute is with the attorney. Under California law, fee dispute's are handled through the State Bar mediation program. Contact the attorney and demand that he withdraw the claim and correct your credit report forthwith.

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Answered on 2/14/05, 7:13 am


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