Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

I don't know who told you that you have an FDCPA case or the conduct here which gave rise to that. You may or you may not. However, violations of the FDCPA by the debt collector do not have anything to do with the underlying credit card or other debt.

If you have a possible FDCPA violation, try this firm, which has affiliations with GA attorneys:

http://www.krohnandmoss.com/Debt-Collection.aspx

I am referring you to the portion of their website which deals with the FDCPA. You can read what is there and see if the conduct that occurred in your case falls within the type of conduct that is prohibited. If so, depending on how much the debt is form they may be able to help you resolve both the FDCPA claim and the underlying debt. The nice thing about the FDCPA is that the debt collector will pay the legal fees if they have violated the law.

Regardless of whether you have an FDCPA claim. you need to figure out how you wish to resolve this debt. You can litigate in court, file bankruptcy or do nothing and risk judgment.

Even if you succeed in getting a copy of the contract, the court may ultimately find that you owe the debt. Then what? A judgment is going to be entered against you if this is your debt. You claim you have nothing to garnish. Do you work? Are you self-employed? If you are a W-2 employee, they can garnish wages unless there are prior garnishments in place. You also say there is nothing to levy. What about your bank account? They can get that unless you only get things like Social Security or unemployment etc. If you have an account with someone else it can also be garnished so get your name off of their accounts. Judgments act as a lien on any real property or personal property, like a car, if you own it free and clear. And the creditor can seize and sell these things if they are owned free and clear. Judgments also get bigger as they earn interest. Judgments are listed on your credit report. Judgments never go away. The point is that a judgment may have consequences. If you want to own a home or rent an apartment or get a car, you may not be able to do that if the judgment has not been paid.

Do you have funds to resolve this debt or would you be able to accumulate funds over time to resolve this debt for between 50% and 80% of any judgment? If so, then maybe it would be more productive to save up and get this debt resolved. If saving up is not an option, what about bankruptcy?

By litigating, you may only be delaying the inevitable. However, you can file a motion to compel them to produce a copy of the credit card agreement or credit card application if you explain in the motion why this piece of evidence is relevant. If the judge holds a hearing on a motion to compel, he or she is going to want to know why you should have this information and you need to be ready to respond. Read those cases that they cite. Read the Georgia discovery rules (they are free and online under Title 9, Chapter 11 of the Civil Practice Act found in the Georgia Statutes - http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/default.asp)

I know that you cannot afford counsel, but you are really fighting an uphill battle in the legal system. Try to look around to see whether there is a Georgia attorney who will do this "pro bono" (for free) or whether the attorney will provide you with limited legal services. Many attorneys will do that now - so if you need a motion to compel, maybe they will draft it for you.

Hill v, American Express was not an "account stated" case. There the court ruled that a contract was formed between the parties where American Express sent the debtor a credit card and he used it. The upshot of the court's holding was that a creditor has 6 years from the date of default in which to sue.