Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in North Carolina

During the years of 1998 through 2002, I acquired 8-10 credit cards and charge cards in college. By 2002, I owed approximately $9,000-$10,000 to these cards. I stopped using the cards in 2001/2002 and began to aggressively pay them off as much as I could. By 2006, all of my credit cards were completely paid off and I never opened another card until just this summer.

In May of 2008, I was served papers at my home to appear in court regarding an attempt to collect on a credit card debt. I knew that all of my credit cards were paid off. When I contacted the person on the papers, �Raul�, from The Schindler Law Firm, in Schaumburg, IL, I learned quickly that his information was not correct. He had my name and my social security number, but a completely different date of birth and incorrect previous addresses in cities and states that I had never lived in. He wanted me to send him a check for $2,238 to avoid going to court and acquiring court fees. He continued to harass me by phone demanding the payment up until the court date. I went to court on August 20, 2008 and the prosecution did not appear. The judge told me that it was most likely a fraudulent attempt to collect on a debt, and the case was thrown out. I still have the court papers that state this.

Now, 3 more years have passed, and on my last paycheck, I was garnished $77 from an unknown source. Through my payroll company, I found out that the garnishing company is Worldwide Asset Purchasing. I spoke to a woman named Lisa at this company who informed me that I owe $3,952 to them for yet another credit card that was opened in 2002. There is no record of this card on my credit report and I have never received any notification regarding this debt. I am currently trying to retrieve past bank statements from the years when I was paying the cards off, and my past banks say they need my old bank account numbers, which I no longer have. I do not know how to proceed with disproving this matter since I do not have bank records from 2002. All I know is that IF this was really my card, then I know I paid it off. How can I prove this? And how do I know that this isn�t just another scam?


Asked on 8/16/11, 4:47 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Rachel Hunter

If you live in NC, there is no wage garnishent here. so this makes no sense. And they can only garnish IF they get a judgment against you. Is it possible that you lived in another state when you created the debts and that your employer is located in the state where the judgment was entered?

You could not have been sued here in NC by a Schaumburg Illinois law firm unless an attorney at the firm was admitted in NC, however, you claim the case was dismissed, so you would not be garnished for that. Worldwide Asset Purchasing cannot garnish your pay unless they get a judgment against you.

Most of these debts should be off of your credit report by now or if they are still listed, the ones that are paid should reflect that. However, judgments can stay on there 7 years from the date of entry. So when would the judgment have been entered? The only way it could have been done without your knowledge is if the company sued you at an old address or in another state.

Why do you need bank records?

I would have to look at all of your documents. I think as a starting point, you need to send a letter to Worldwide Asset Purchasing and give your Social Security Number and date of birth. Ask them for verification that you owe money as there are no judgments on your credit report. If they insist that it is you, then ask them to provide a copy of the judgment or at least the date of entry and the state where it was entered. Once you get the information, you need to get a copy of the court file (assuming that it exists) showing how you were served and when the judgment was entered. If it is in another state, you need to speak to a lawyer in that state as it may be possible to challenge the judgment.

I can send a letter to Worldwide Asset for a reasonable fee. You only have one year to challenge a judgment in NC, but I don't know when any alleged judgment was entered or if you were properly served. However, I do not engage in litigation and if the judgment could be challenged, you would have to get an attorney to do that. I have a colleague in the Winston-Salem area to assist if that is necessary.

Please contact me at [email protected] if interested.

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Answered on 8/16/11, 6:10 pm


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