Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

You already know if you owed them money. They don't have to ask you for permission to collect, or sue you. Pay it now, or see an attorney to weigh options such as bankruptcy.

I would disagree somewhat with Attorney Ashman but you do not post any of the relevant details.

First, why would a landlord put you into collections? Did you pay your rent? Were you evicted? Did you vacate the property at the end of your lease, clean it properly, do a move-out inspection and leave the property clean and undamaged? What is the money for?

Assuming you leave property at the end of the lease (no evictions) and the property is returned in good condition and undamaged, usually the landlord has to send you a damages statement within 30 days. See OCGA � 44-7-34 (which talks about the return of the security deposit and requires an itemized damage statement from the landlord if he is using the security deposit for unpaid rent or property damage).

If you were evicted or you skipped out on rent, then no notice would be required and in that case, I would agree with Attorney Ashman's analysis.

Bankruptcy is a drastic remedy and you post no details. How long ago did you live there? How much is owed? Is this your only debt? My ballpark rule of thumb is that you should have at least $10,000 in dischargeable debt before you consider bankruptcy. Assets and income also have to be considered. So if this is your only debt and its not a lot of money, then I would look to resolving this outside bankruptcy.

Debts can be settled if in in fact you do owe money. Apartments are a bit tougher to settle than ordinary unsecured debt (credit cards and the like) but they will settle generally for 50% to 80%, depending on the creditor. Usually, you have to have the money to pay in a lump sum and before you pay, get it in writing that they will accept whatever amount they and you agree upon in settlement and that they will not seek to collect the balance.

You also have the right to dispute this and ask for proof if you really do not believe you owe any money. Have you done that? It needs to be done in writing. Were you contacted by a debt collection agency? Or did you just discover this on your credit report? It makes a difference because the dispute process varies a bit.

If you are looking to resolve this debt in a non-bankruptcy context, please contact me at [email protected]. If you have lots of debts and bankruptcy looks like its a viable way out, then you should get a consult with Attorney Ashman or another bankruptcy attorney (you can find several here at a Law Guru). Many attorneys give free bankruptcy consults and if that is something you are interested in, then take advantage of it.