Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Massachusetts
i think they lawyer i have is giving bad advice
i just got served and found out that sears sold my old deliquent acct which was closed in 1996 to a factoring company who now is taking me to court and wants triple the price?? i owed 1000 to sears and now the factoring company wants over 3000. Now i have not paid anything to sears since 1996 and just in 04/05 this factoring place bought my stuff. I just moved to mass and when i registered to vote they must have got new info on me and served me with papers taking me to court. I have a lawyer program called ''ARAG'' so i got a lawyer to answer the summons. which we did now the laywer is telling me they want $950 in 60 days. I am living paycheck to paycheck. i dont understand if this bill is from 1996 why i should settle. my lawyer keeps saying that i made the charges and i should settle which i would be willing to do if its reasonable. i not know if i should file bankruptcy or what i dont have alot of other money and then yesterday this same factoring compnay sent me paperwork on another claim the just brought from someone else. the issue is my social and name is mixed with with another woman and i dont know how to fix that. so this letter is for a 500 bill which is no where on my last credit report that i had done in feb 07. HELP..
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: i think they lawyer i have is giving bad advice
If you are not happy with your current lawyer, you should find another one.
I do not want to second guess your current attorney, but it *appears* that the company who bought your debt from Sears is out of luck as the statute of limitations has run.
The other one sounds bogus as well and should be fought.
Cooperate fully with your attorney. If you are not satisfied with his/her service, find another one *quickly*.
Re: i think they lawyer i have is giving bad advice
There is a 6 year limitation on an action to recover a debt pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws 260, Section 2. Thus, there is an issue of whether or not the factoring company can even collect on the debt. Further, pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, if a consumer debt is barred by the applicable statute of limitations, a debt collector, as defined under the statute, may be held liable for filing a lawsuit to collect on that debt ( see Kimber v. Federal Financial Corp., 668 F. Supp. 1480 (D. Ala. 1987). Thus, you may not only be able to avoid payment of the debt, but you may be entitled to damages and attorney fees based on the factoring company's lawsuit on the debt. Please feel free to call my office direct for a free consult based on the facts of your specific situation.
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