Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Wisconsin

Yes, a collector can tell you virtually anything in hopes that you will believe it and pay some money. Much of what they tell you, however, will likely be pure hogwash. You never have a legal obligation to act just because a private collector or other private company tells you that you must. Only after such a request is reduced to a legal judgment (following a lawsuit) does it have any legal effect whatsoever, otherwise it is nothing more than a �wish� with no legally binding effect. You also have many options to defend yourself if you are threatened with a lawsuit, the most common by far being the filing of a bankruptcy proceeding. You can even wipe out resulting legal judgments in bankruptcy after they become judgments, as well as stopping garnishments and other activities attempting to collect on the judgment. Unless you are extremely wealthy, odds are that you can totally wipe out most unsecured debts in bankruptcy at a total cost to your of just over $1000 for attorney fees and costs. My comments here are not intended as legal advice unless you subsequently retain me and revisit this issue with me at that time.