Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Missouri

Re: civil or criminal

I'll be frank: I'm not sure. And I want to find out for myself, so I'll do some research and get back to you, but meanwhile, I'll give you my off-hand opinion: a) there are no grounds for criminal charges here -- unless they genuinely have additional evidence you haven't told me that suggests you knew nephew was leaving town with the tv and perhaps that he did that at 50 places around town and you were an accomplice in some sort of systematic scheme to rip off merchants using your credit! Did your nephew PAY you for cosigning? (I exaggerate, but your INTENT at the time of your actions is really the key issue, and you seem innocent.) b) Making a threat of criminal action in order to gain an advantage in a civil matter is strictly forbidden in the law profession. It might also be forbidden for debt collectors. Did they do that in writing? Do you have the date and the name of the person who said that, and did you write down their exact words? They could probably get to be in deep doo just for doing that.

Again, though, I could be wrong.

I'm going to a class on FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) on July 23rd; contact me after that for another opinion or call a local attorney.