Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
respond to collection notice?
An older car I was planning to donate
was parked on the street in front of
my house. While I was away on vacation
it was towed for 'being parked more than
three days'. The towing company contacted
me and wanted several hundered dollars for
towing fees and 'storage' charges. This for
a car I was planning to give away for free!
Their letter stated that if I chose to ignore
this they would sell the car to defray their
charges. I was irritated but decided to write
it off.
Now I've recieved a debt collection notice from
a creditor that says I owe them $1600! They say
I have 30 days to respond (more like a week
and a half by now...) or they will assume the
debt is valid. First off, is this true? The letter
was not sent certified mail, so who says I even
recieved it? Second, should I bother responding
to them at all, or is it better to ignore them?
I have a feeling there is a loophole in the law
that would support there claims, but as far as
I am concerned this is extortion and there is
no way I will pay a cent.
Any advice appreciated!
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: respond to collection notice?
Your problem is one of the most efficient expenditure of funds. I understand that you could resolve this problem for $1,600, or even less, if you could compromise with the collection company, which is likely, and I don't believe that you could afford to litigate the issues, with an attorney, for less. If you wanted to handle the defending the claim on your own, you may find the settlement proposal more and more attractive. You may, in fact, win any trial of the claim. I cannot tell you what the real basis for the claim is; clearly you were given no notice of the charges being demanded. It's all up to you to choose the least costly of the methods described.
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