Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Utah

Legal limitations of collection agencies.

I was taken to small claims for a debt I owed. I

called the agency directly to negotiate a solution

before the court date. They agreed and and I

made a double payment to show good faith.

Evidently they went to court on that date as if I had

not called them, and apparently told the judge I

was a no-show and entered a judgement against

me. They then sent me a form to sign stating that

I agreed to the conditions of the Judge's order,

which I refused to sign because I never was

present for that session, and according to their

own instruction, it was cancelled. What recourse

do I have, and should I contact the local bar and

submit a referal for investigation of the practices

of this attourney?


Asked on 6/20/01, 11:16 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Alvin Lundgren Alvin R. Lundgren, L.C.

Re: Legal limitations of collection agencies.

Your options are (1) file a notice of appeal from the court decision, (2) file a motion to reconsider the judgment (3) contact the attorney and see if he will agree to set the judgment aside.

Threats to file against an attorney with the bar association are not very worrisome to attorneys. He will state that he had a duty to his client and no duty to you - which is true. You should have appeared anyway.

If the attorney expressly said that there would be no court action, he may have violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692 et seq and may be liable for any actual damages you sustained, plus statutory damages up to $1000 plus the cost of your attorney fees.

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Answered on 7/02/01, 6:06 pm


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