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?

Sue you over $1,000

Yeah right

A Jewish guy called you to tell you to pay him $1440?

Lol

Tell them to FOAD.

How old is the debt? There is a statute of limitations on credit card debt. Plus he cannot tell anyone but you anything. If he told your father he was going to sue you, it's illegal.

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

Yeah... no.



I'd require more information as well, I've gotten enough scam calls to know better.



Maybe they are a legit debt collection company collecting a valid debt, but then again it's better to verify things.

I deposited a check for $102 last week from a class-action lawsuit against HSBC. I forget exactly what the suit was over. I think it was unfair collection practices. Not sure how this applies to your case but I just thought I'd mention that. CSB.

I know I had best buy card in the past,  I just can't remember how old it is, I will be home late morning to noon on Monday and will rush in my office to pull the file I have on all the debts I have paid and that are current from the information I pulled from my credit report.

So at this time I don't have much more information and I'm in the dark too.  I'm afraid to tell them to stop contacting me and then I'll be in the dark on what they do behind my back if they do actually proceed with a lawsuit and I'm not in the court room. If I'm not in the court based on my research, the judge will automatically award them the win.

Do you have a Best Buy credit card?
Do you owe $1K that you haven't been making payments on?
 If so, why not?

Call the bank.

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.

Contact the FTC, they don't play around with debt collectors who break the law and extremely strict guidelines they must adhere to.

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

He answered your questions in the post.

They could send the serving paperwork to the post office and the court would set a date even if he didn't know about it.  I deal with small claims all day long.  People purposely serve random addresses because the date is set and if nobody shows up, notified or not, boom... instant judgment.

Much fishyness.

If there was a suit you should have received a notice of a court date. You did not

If there was a judgement you should have received a notice of the court ruling of said judgment.  You did not.

If the debt is old they probably bought the debt for a fraction of the original debt.  You need to get everything in writing before you agree to anything.  They want your bank account info.  If you pay anything it resets the clock on the debt as well.

Add this to my list.

The first violation of the FDCPA is a $10k fine.

It sounds like either a scam, a company that buys old debt for cheap and tries to collect on them for a profit using very shady practices, or a very shady debt collector.  If you do get a letter, I'd run it by an attorney and/or your state's consumer protection agency (whatever its called in your state).  I'm guessing there will be some illegal or close to illegal wording in the letter.

Obviously, run a credit report and do so at regular intervals for your protection.  It could also shed some light on what debts you owed back in the day.

That's fucked up.

 

You definitely need to find out if your debt has been sold or they are just collecting on behalf of the bank.  It takes a while to be sold.  It's bundled with other debt and sold.

Reading's for faggots!

It's fucking stupid.  We usually end up getting the judgement before we get the damn paperwork.

Don't stress too much about it.  They are hoping that you develop fear and will pay up.  

PM incoming.

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.

Yeah they bought your account for probably $100. They're legally entitled to pursue it.

You can cut a deal for super cheap and it'll go away.  Getting a letter of satisfaction from them will be tough.

If you're unsure if they legally own it, the OC can probably confirm, or you can send a DV letter. Head over to creditboards.com and do a little reading.

Yes don't think that a grand isn't something they wouldn't sue for.  The limit for an account to go to collections is like $65.

It's would still show as a nice dent in his credit.

Co worker of mine was harassed and threatened over a medical bill he paid. He paid the bill and the hospital made an adjustment and didn't send out the bill. The bill was never paid, so they sent it to collections.


He was eventually being threatened for a lawsuit over not paying the $0.02 bill.




He ignored them and all is well


 

Debt collectors will tell you anything.  They will try to bully and scare you.  If they are collectors, they probably bought the debt for pennies on the dollar.  Offer them 800 bucks, tell them youre broke.

I had collectors calling me after my divorce, they are leaches that feed on ignorant scum.  One guy threatened me with all kinds of b.s., but was speechless when I politely told him good luck garnishing wages from a self employed person who gets no tax refund and currently has no bank accounts in his name. He then accepted 1/2 the amount owed.  I should have offered less.

Probably bought up old debt.

Had a similar thing happen to a buddy, except he didn't find out about anything until he started getting his wages garnished.


Don't pay anything without proof of debt, don't do anything without having things sent registered mail.  Hopefully people with more experience can help out.


Shit can go sideways with this faster than you expect.

Alright,  the only thing I can do until Monday is to call HSBC and try to get as much information as I can on who owns that debt.  Then Monday check my file, I swear the account is held by midland credit management.  

I will also contact FTC see if they know anything about those people. I'm just nervous about them going with the lawsuit and it will be in California for sure and I wouldn't make it there on time.

Right now I really need to get my sleep as I have used up 2 hours of my 10 hour rest period. So I will do my best to respond in the morning to more questions before I have to roll out for another day of driving. I didn't expect this many responses tonight!  I'm glad to get some feedback though, really appreciate it! thanks!  Good night!

There is a 0.00087% chance that they will sue you.

They bought the debt from HSBC, now they have to try to collect. Depending upon you state laws they may be able to try and get a judgement against you for the amount plus fees. They will have to take you to court first. Most likely if you start getting unsolicited letters from law firms in your area that represent debtors, soon after you will get a certified/registered letter notifying you that they have filed suit against you and notifying you of a court date.
90% of the debtors sued never show up in court or respond, and a summary judgement is entered against the debtor. Some hire attorneys and get it dismissed or fight the validity of the debt and get it tossed out. IF they get a judgement against You the court will notify you directly. Once the collections firm gets a judgement they still have to try and collect on it. Some states allow them to seize property or place liens --some states don't each and every state is different. For $1000 or $1500 it may not be worth their time to come after you very hard -- mostly they will try and convince you to pay up voluntarily they wont spend too much money chasing someone for $1000. BUT they can mess with your credit rating and harass you to a point. Some places you can simply tell them to not call you again others they can call you night and day ad infinitum. Depending upon how bad you want to fight with them you may want to see if you can do an el cheapo consult with an attorney to find out what your options are and decide if its worth it.


 


ETA:

Chase sold a debt of mine to Midland ($3700) and Midland DID sue me in magistrate court (along with several hundred other debtors the same day in that area) we were able to get it dismissed for two reasons.

1. it was a joint account and they only came after me -- here they couldnt sue joint account holders seprately or something to that effect.

2. Midland had nothing showing a debt between me and Midland --I DID have a credit card with Chase--but I had never entered into an agreement with Midland could not produce any paperwork to that effect.


Chase later told me the account was sold to Midland by "mistake" as it was in good standing as of the date it was sold. I was never late and had had that card for over 10 years. Paid off and closed that account ASAP.


Midland can and will come after in court IF they economiclly can and IF it is worth thier time to do so. Mostly they want to just get you to pay up as cheaply as they can.

I had a collection agency call me because I was late on a payment, the gal on the line actually asked me if I could borrow the total amount that was owed from someone I knew, I asked if she was serious that I should go into debt to someone else so I could pay them off, she said yes, so I asked her if she was high, she didn't answer that question.

I've been getting calls for the same person on my business number for 11 years. BTW, anybody know a Terry L. Vankirk ?

Those lawyers usually buy debt that is about to drop off your credit or passed/close to pass legal statue of limitations.  They cant have sued you already and then claim that they will sue you if you don't pay right then. Figure out last payment you made, since 30 days from that would be the date of default.  Check your state laws and see how long someone has to sue over civil debt ( 4 or 5 yrs most likely). If it has been past the limit then tell that debt collector that he cannot sue you since statue of limitations has passed.  Contact the original creditor if you want to pay them back.  If they don't want to deal with you directly then don't worry about it.

Best Buy wrote off the debt and sold it for literally pennies on the dollar to the clowns who are now trying to collect from you.

Don't answer the phone (block the number) - tell your parents to do the same. If you do happen to answer the phone, tell them "that person moved out a day ago, just left and you don't know where they went" and to stop calling your number.

You're working out your issues. Good for you. In the mean time, you don't need the B.S. from ass-wipe debt collectors threatening all kinds of hollow crap.

Biggest scam in the world.  Odds are they bought the debt and trying to squeeze any cent they can get out of you.  Never confirm anything over then phone with them nor give them any real info.

Head on over to: https://creditboards.com/forums/   The Arfcom of credit.

Must be, because you two are seeing things not explicitly stated in the OP.

http://thompsonhall.com/example-cease-desist-letter-template-collection-agency/



 

1. Stop talking on the phone with them.  All communication from them should be in writing, period.  
2. Did they send a dunning letter?  This is the "you owe us money" letter.  If not, they can go fuck themselves.
3. If they send you a letter, send them back a letter demanding validation of the debt.  This means they have to prove they own the debt.  There are many, many, many debt collectors who do not own the debt but try to collect anyway.
4. The SOL is 6 years in MN.  When did this debt first become delinquent?  If it's out of SOL, you're clear.
5. HSBC sold this debt for pennies on the dollar.  You do not owe HSBC anything anymore.  If you call HSBC and tell them you wish to pay them the $1000 right now, they will say no thanks.  This is more of an FYI thing in case you don't understand that.
6. Debt collectors are the scum of the earth, right up there with car salesmen and communists.  I personally wouldn't pay one a damn red cent, but that's up to you.  If they can provide proper validation in writing that they own the debt and it is within SOL, then you could offer to pay them.  Remember that they paid pennies on the dollar for this.  Offer $100.  They'll balk, but only because they're seeing how much they can get from you.  
7. The chances of being sued for $1000 are very small.  You could always settle with them if they actually sue you.
8. See #1.  Stop talking to them on the phone.

Sounds like a similar technique that was recently used on me, my wife and my dad as well.  They called me, wanted me to verify a whole bunch of info, naturally I didn't give it to them, let them say it, then said it was notification of a civil suit being brought against me and that I had to pay a certain amount, I said that isn't the way this works, you use a legal method of notification i.e. certified mail, then just hung up on them, after that they called my wife and later my dad.

Zach

This. They bought the debt for pennies on the dollar and are using the strong-arming 'were going to sue you' tactic which surprisingly, does work.

They're not going to sue you as it would cost them too much for your small debt.

They don't have a judgement against you unless you received a summons, were served and then had a court date you didn't go to.

They're feeding you the total bullshit on 'settling' with you by giving you some inflated bullshit figure and coming down to make it seem like you're getting a deal.

How long ago was the debt first reported? If you mentioned it I missed it, but if its more than a few years, check the statue of limitations on the debt in your state. Secondly, if you ever do talk to them about it, request as many times as you have to that they validate the debt and that they have all of the proper paperwork to even 'own' the debt; chances are they'll get mad and threaten you some more. At that point send them a cease and desist in contacting you via phone and send them a written request to validate the debt via certified mail to which they have X amount of days to respond.

The link above will have all the details and what you need to do.

Don't pay them anything, don't agree to anything over the phone.

Yes.  It was a huge mistake to acknowledge anything to the debt collector, and it has made OP a target.  

They're mostly bark, though.  The sad part is that the bark works because people are scared.  Don't be intimidated, and STOP TALKING TO THEM OVER THE PHONE.

We got a letter the other day about an old credit card debt. On the letter it said that because of the age of the debt they could not sue or reported to the credit score people.  Sounds like in our case they are pissing in the wind.


OP, how can you have a judgment against you if you're never served to appear in court in the first place?

There is a scam where someone gets a hold of your credit report (think data breach).  They use the information on the credit report to sound legit.  By you simply confirming your birth date validates the stolen data they have.  Paying them wouldn't do anything to settle your debt because you paid a scammer instead.

If they say you are being sued then get the following information:

Address of Court case is filed
Case number for above court.

All that information is public record, so if they say they can't give it to you because its confidential they are BSing you.  You can even go to the courts website and find your case by searching for your name.  

I've never heard of anyone being sued by a credit card company for $1000.  So it's either an empty threat or a scammer.

Pull your credit report.  Get it free directly from the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion).  You are allowed a free credit report by each for free once a year.. don't get suckered into buying some monthly program (unless you want it).

If HSBC sold your debt to a collector, you will see it in your credit report.  You can then contact the collector directly with the information you got from the credit report and work out a payment plan with them.  

If I were you, I would stop all phone contact with these guys.  Save their number to your address book so every time you see it come up don't answer.  Tell your Dad and anyone else they start calling that its a scammer and to ignore them.  It's important to not even confirm anything.  

Googled the phone number, and one hit comes up as a TracFone number. Not the most confidence-building thing to find. It isn't just fishy, it's dead carp on the bank for two weeks in summertime heat-fishy.

I call shenanigans.

Yes, I got a letter from someone claiming I originally owed Sears some money, and now they want me to pay them.  I haven't had a Sears card in 15 years, and the SOL in Texas is 4 years.  Even if I did default on a Sears card, that debt has been sold and resold so many times without proof, and multiple companies think they own it.  It's common for debt collectors to not actually own the debt that want you to pay them for.

Yes, they are pissing in the wind.  Sometimes people are scared and pay them, so it's is profitable to send debt collection letters for time-barred debts.