Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
I got a voicemail message from some place called XXXX Law. They informed me that they have a judgment for $12,000+ that has been awarded to DirectTV and they want to collect. This is news to me. How can DirecTV just be awarded a judgement without a trail taking place? How do I get these people off of my back and get them to quit calling me and harassing me and all of my relatives?? Please help!! I am in the SF Bay Area of California.
3 Answers from Attorneys
My first suggestion is to find out if they really have a judgment against you. You can do this by searching the registry of actions at your local courthouse. Some of these can be searched online, and some have to be searched in the courthouse. My second suggestion is for you to get an attorney, who can send a letter requesting verification under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If they in fact do have a judgment, then they are probably alleging they served you a summons in a lawsuit and that you failed to respond to it in time. This may be false or sometimes service of a summons does not result in actual notice of the lawsuit. In any event, you should act quickly because time for you to do certain things to protect yourself can be shorter than you think. Let me know if you want more help.
You don't provide enough information for me to evaluate the situation. If you would like to discuss the details, feel free to contact my office.