Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

You've been sued which means you need a lawyer. To get material in your case you would get that through proper discovery.

The rules change when a lawsuit was filed. Many collections are law firms, and what they paid for the debt is largely irrelevant, so if you are thinking you can out-wit them on these issues, that is highly unlikely.

First, under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, law firms are required to state that they are a debt collector. But that does not mean that they are not a law firm or that they cannot sue.

Sending a request for validation now, after lawsuit, is wholly improper. If your answer is filed and this is not in small claims, then you can request information via discovery - interrogatories, request for production and request for admissions. However, discovery is not allowed in small claims. Is this in regular court (state or superior) or in magistrate's court? Anything under $15,000 can be in small claims.

The law firm would not be on your credit report, but if you owed a delinquent debt, it might be. If there is nothing listed, then either the debt dropped off your report because its stale or somebody somewhere did not report it for whatever reason. If its not reported, hooray for you. However, it does not mean that you do not owe the debt or that you cannot be sued on it.

Finally, the discovery that you seek is inapt. They are a real law firm - look them up in the lawyer directory. You don't get that in discovery. If the debt has been sold by the original creditor, then you need proof - either an affidavit or bill of sale showing that the account was sold to the junk debt buyer or was part of a larger portfolio that was sold. You get bills of sale or affidavits for all purchasers in the chain of title (A to B, B to C, C to junk debt buyer suing you). If this is small claims, ask for it at the hearing.

What the junk debt buyer paid is not relevant. Regardless of what they paid, they stand in the shoes of the original creditor and are entitled to collect every penny of the prinicipal, pre-judgment interest, late fees, over the limit fees as well as court costs and post judgment interest if a judgment is entered. That said, most junk debt buyers will settle because they paid a very low sum for the debt. They probably bought a portfolio of debts of which yours was just one of them.

I don't know what you said in your answer but you have to admit or deny the debt.

Your posts suggests that you think you are being clever. You are not and the law firm is going to walk all over you. You will be held to the same rules and procedures as an attorney even though you did not go to law school.

Your options are: (1) get a lawyer if you wish to litigate; (2) file bankruptcy if you have a lot of debts (over $10,000 is my rule of thumb); or (3) try to resolve the debt before they garnish your wages (if you are a W-2 employee and not self-employed or a 1099 contractor), freeze your bank account or levy on any assets owned free and clear.

Who is the law firm? Frederick Hanna? Zwicker? This sounds like Hanna and the creditor suing you sounds like a junk debt buyer like Portfolio Recovery, Asset Acceptance or something like that.

If you want to resolve the debt for a reasonable fee in a non-bankruptcy and non-litigation context, please contact me at [email protected]. If you wish to litigate or file bankruptcy, you might want to check out one of the other above attorneys or someone in your area who handles credit card defense.