Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Massachusetts

I co-signed for a car for my daughter and the car was hit and totaled. She had it repossessed right away. I got a letter from a credit collection agency stating that they are going to take me to court for the credit union that gave us the loan because I never contacted them about the money owed to the credit union. This is the first I heard of this. I did get a letter from the credit union months ago stating that they got money to fix the car and then got money when they auctioned it off. When I called them they told me that I had to talk to to the collection agency when they send the information to them. I never heard from them. I live on disability and barely make it through each month. I cannot work and need every bit of that money to live. Can these people take my social security disability that I get each month? I would appreciate any advice you can give me. Thank you


Asked on 1/25/12, 9:03 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas Beauvais Thomas Beauvais, Attorney at Law

Without knowing more details, there are a few issues you should consider.

The first is the letter you received from the collection agency. Does it have a line saying that the letter is from a debt collector and is used to collect a debt? Also, does it indicate you have the right to validate the debt? If not, you may have a FDCPA claim against them. This largely depends on if they did send you another letter before the one you mention in your question. Nevertheless, if you haven't done so, you should send a validation letter.

The second issue is with the possible lawsuit. If your only income is social security disability, then those payments are exempt from collection. If you own your house, you should make sure you've claimed a homestead on it. If you own a car, you should find out what it's current value is. At this stage you may be "collection proof", which means you may get a judgment against you, but they won't be able to actually collect on that judgment.

You should really consider contacting an attorney who practices in consumer debt law to help you with these cases. Proof is always a big problem with many debt collection cases, and an attorney can give you the best chance of a favorable outcome. Good luck to you.

Read more
Answered on 1/25/12, 12:49 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Credit, Debt and Collections Law questions and answers in Massachusetts