Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Re: Mann Bracken

This is a very common question which I have seen many, many times, specifically:

The question of WHEN you can pay is a completely different question from being sued to get a decision from the court.

If Mann Bracken takes you to court and WINS in court in March, that DOES NOT mean you have to pay right away (if you can't).

The only thing that it means is that there is a court decision (a judgment) that you do in fact owe the money. After that, they have up to 20 years to collect on that court judgment.

From their perspective, if they wait too long, the statute of limitations can cause them to lose their rights.

They will try to collect right away, by garnishing your wages or your bank account. But the court does NOT say you have to "right now."

If your only income is social security, then they cannot collect from you against your social security. The greatest danger is if they garnish your bank account, but if you ONLY put social security money into that bank account, then it is exempt (but it can be a big fight to unblock your account, so you may want to make sure have rent money in cash, or change banks, so that you do not get evicted from your apartment while fighitng with them over any garnishment).

If you have other assets, like a car that does NOT have a loan on it, or other physical things OF VALUE (not just your socks), they could take those -- but almost nobody ever does, because it is a huge pain and a lot of work and it often does not result in much money. So unless you have a yacht or an original Monet painting in your basement, they are probably not going to go after anything else.

If you were on social security ONLY for all of 2008, you might consider sending them your 2008 tax return and a copy of documentation from SSA showing that (a) you are on SS and (b) ALL of your income comes from SS.

This might persuade them to go away and leave you alone, knowing you are a dry hole.

Often times phone calls DO NOT HELP, because it is very easy for people to say things over the phone. But if you show them hard documentation, then they might start to listen.

You might consider bankruptcy, but THINK before you do it. If you are elderly and do not have a house to protect, you might not care about having bad credit, after a certain age.

But there are pros and cons. Because you appear to be eseentially "judgment proof" now -- I THINK, FROM WHAT LITTLE YOU HAVE TOLD ME! -- then there might not be any benefit, and only additional work, costs, and hassle.