Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Texas
Bad Check Debt
In September of 2005 I got a fast cash loan from Ace Cash Express. Unfortunately, my boyfriend and I were having serious financial problems due to his not working because of an injury, so I could not repay the loan. About a month ago Ace called and I spoke with a young lady on the phone. I told her I could not pay the entire amount in full, but would like to make some payment arrangements. She told me no, that they would only accept the full payment. I said, I did not have the money to make the full payment, but would be willing to take care of the debt via payments. At which time she refused, and told me that they would take legal action. I received a call today from a company called Legal Mediation Practice. I told him I could not pay the full amount, and even told him of my conversation with the lady at Ace. He told me that I was out of options and if I did not make the payment today that they would make sure I was taken care of through my work. Again, I said I wanted to take care of the debt but could not do the full amount. He said, '' So we will file this and state that you refuse to pay.'' He then hung up on me. Can they refuse payment arrangements and say I was refusing to pay when I did not??
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Bad Check Debt
They can file suit against you and say anything they want to say, actually. They will allege that the loan came due and you refused to pay it. The fact that you are willing to make monthly payments is a moral fact in your favor, but creditors are not legally obligated to let you do that.
What really annoyed me about your post was this comment: the collector said "they would make sure I was taken care of through my work." This was a not very subtle way of threatening to garnish your wages. There is no wage garnishment for an unpaid debt in Texas. The collector is on the borderline of violating the Texas and Federal Debt Collection acts.
A good general reference is www.texaslawhelp.org - click on "Consumer", then on "Debt Collection." They have some good articles there which will explain what you need to do if you get sued, as well as explain what creditors can and cannot do to collect a debt.
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