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Sorry this is a bit lengthy. I am not trying to avoid a debt,  I am much happy to pay it to the original debitor which is HSBC Best Buy. I have been working on my debts that I messed up while in college, working on one at a time. Can't do all at once. But this one is now threating to sue me. So I need some suggestions to what is the best next step to resolve this situation.

So I have been getting private number calling me with no caller ID twice,  those time they called I was unable to answer. my voice-mail was full,  They ended up calling my father,  left message with him that it was urgent to call them otherwise they will file lawsuit against me. They left a number 626-346-2851 and case number. No name or company name or anything.

I called them, at first I asked who they were before I gave them my name. His name is Jordan Cohen,  he was very polite and nice, said that  They are Michael Phillips and associates. He said they are law firm based in California. He asked for case number, I gave it to him.  He said that someone was suing someone and needed my statement. I thought to myself if I recalled anyone asking me for permission to get a statement and no one did. He then proceeded and asked if my name was correct which it was. He had me on hold to get paperwork for the statement.

Jordan came back, told me my birthdate, which was correct, then told me if my last 4 social security number was correct. I was like how do you have all this information if it's just a statement you need for someone suing someone. He said that he couldn't say anything until I verified the number they gave me was correct. I said it was correct. His attitude changed right there, from there and on he was very demanding and said that they are suing me for a $1,000 debt with HSBC Best Buy credit card.  I asked if they are debt collector, he said well yeah sorta but more of a law firm. Then he proceeded to tell me that the judge has awarded them and that they won and I must pay the amount of $1,445.00 today and asked me for my payment information. I began to get more suspicious.

I asked him why I didn't get a letter about this first? He said they already did,  I said I never got anything. He checked the paper and said it was 2 months ago. I told him I never did receive a letter stating that I must pay or a lawsuit will be made on me.  He said let me check with my supervisor. Not more than 30 second he says they will settle with $1,000 if paid today with one full payment. Otherwise if I wanted monthly payments it will be a balance of $1,445.00 instead of $1,000.00.

I told him I can't pay that today because I don't have any document in my hands as I'm on the road,  I'm a truck driver. He said it's all legal and that the account was handed to them by HSBC and that I should pay today to avoid lawsuit. I started to get confused there as he said he won the suit, now saying there will be a lawsuit if I don't pay today.

Finally I told him that I will not pay a penny until I get a proof that I owe that debt to you via mail. He started to get agitated and pushy trying to get me to pay today and more threats on lawsuit as we went back and forth about the importance of needing a document before paying anything. He was also like let's save us both the trouble by making payment in full today.

I told him give me the account information and I'll contact HSBC to verify this.  He was like if you let us make out a agreement that you'll make payment in full on Monday 12/14/15 then we'll allow you to discuss with HSBC but we guarantee you they will tell you that it's Michael phillips and associates that is working with them to collect this debt.

So I told him fine and gave him my email to send the copy to me.  Now I have until Monday the 14th to figure this out.  

I did alot of research on the "firm",  can't find much with searching Michael phillips and associates, it only comes up to a medical doctor, so I tried phillips and Cohen associates, found some information on that,  doesn't look good.  Also when he emailed me,  there was another email address for reply to: which is [email protected],  found information on that too.

http://statesboro.biz/News/562/UPDATED-Junk-Debt-Collector-Phillips-Cohen-866-504-9784-You-re-About-To-Be-Sued.aspx

http://complaintwire.org/complaint/uF7916VxXws/beringer-taylor-associates

I refuse to pay a penny until I get documentation that I owe to them, but he is not wanting to do that and keeps throwing the lawsuit on me. So how can I get proof without them proceeding with the suit?

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I don't think any suit can proceed until you've been served bro.

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I thought that phone number looked familiar. My friend works there and it is a collection agency. Don't lose any sleep over the issue, they're not taking anyone to court or sending out the sheriff. Tell them that you've exceeded the statue of limitations. The name and number of the agency changes almost monthly so don't bother trying to report them or look them up. If anything, just keep leading them on about paying but never do it. Wasting their time really pisses them off. Mention the FDCPA and pretty much laugh at them. Jordan Cohen is a collector name. Call him back and then ask to speak with Shaun Price. When he answers, ask him if you've reached Tom Ace. Tell him that you'll borrow the money from your rich uncle Dillard Winston III, lol.

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https://youtu.be/0IEbdqlO8pc

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You need to write a letter to both the collection agency and HSBC and request that they cease and decist under the FDCPA.  

Then you need to take $35 down to the courthouse and Sue HSBC in small claims and request they wipe the debt, remove negative information from your credit report and refund your small claims filing fee.  


Believe me they will call and settle out of court.

I am all for paying debt but when the agency starts making threats you have to push back.  They can make your life hell and if you don't call them on it they will get worse and worse.

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Sue you over $1,000

Yeah right

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Go to your county civil court's website and do a search for the case, either yourself as the defendant or the case number, better to do both.

If it's not on file with the court, they didn't sue you, and they would have to sue you in your local jurisdiction.

If they are suing you, you would get served notice by a process server, if the process server cannot reach you after a certain period of time (usually 30 days or something), the plaintiff can petition the court to have your service sent certified mail.

If are being sued and you ignore it, the court will likely issue a judgement in favor of the plaintiff, after which they can legally garnish your bank account or worse garnish your wages.

If you think you are being sued check with the clerk of the court (county) and find out.  If you are being sued you have a limited amount of time to file a response to the suit, (could be as short as 10 days), so don't ignore it if you think it's legit.


Also, and I'm not sure where you live, but it sounds like there are several FDCPA violations on the part of the debt collector, could be some as well if your state has something similar to the federal one.

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You need to pay your debts. Nothing worse than someone who won't honor thier comity nets. You also need to clear out your voice mails.

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My wife used to work for a collections agancy (secretary, not collector). They can and will harass you until you pay up. The agents work on commission and the guy you talked to has your file.

A lot of their cases are deadbeats that disappear without a valid forwarding address. So when they get a live one they sink their teeth in and don't let go.

If you refuse to pay they can get a judgment against you, even for "only" $1k.

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Sounds like buddy is just some douche in a debt collectors office man.

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He is a debt collector. He is lying to you. Know how I know? He was talking. Don't give them anything without written confirmation. They are scum.

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If they recorded him admitting the debt was valid........................

Most of these places LOVE if you ignore a court date, they pretty much win automatically and now can use the law to gain access to your bank accounts to garnish payment.

Yes they lie, cheat and steal. Of course people tend to forget they ALSO lied, cheated and stole when they failed to make payment on whatever shit they bought on credit. Of course in their case, they have a really good excuse.........................