Shannpn -- thanks for your nice and encouraging comment! I have had to slack off the videos for quite a while but will be doing my best to produce more content and answer more questions. Thanks again for your comment and let me know what questions/topics you would like us to cover next. John Watts

Karen, You are very welcome -- glad you found it helpful! Have a great day! John Watts

You are welcome -- glad it was helpful! John

Thanks!

Welcome!

Thanks my friend!! I'm sure its not exactly the same in Georgia but definitely file an answer and also get with a lawyer there. Thanks again for your comment! John Watts

Very welcome. Do research Illinois law and your judge so you know the best way to handle your case. I would also suggest chatting with a consumer lawyer in your state to get some guidance on the law and your particular judge. Hope you win! Best wishes!! John

How didnit go ?

Sean, Glad to hear the videos have been helpful -- thank you for taking the time to comment. I have always objected to telephonic testimony also -- I have argued I have a right to see the witness in person. Lots of communication is non verbal. I also don't know who is coaching the witness on the other end of the phone. Even a video feed doesn't tell you the whole story. You might also check with John Skiba in Arizona -- he deals with these debt buyers a lot. Hope you are very successful and if you are, make sure and check your credit reports. Many of these debt buyers will break the law on credit reporting after they lose. We can help you understand the dispute process etc -- reach out to us after you win and pull your reports. Best wishes! John Watts

Thank you so much for your reply. The law firm representing the junk debt buyer violated my rights by putting 3 hard inquiries on my credit report without my knowledge or authorization. I am counter suing this firm for $3000. $1000 per violation as is written in the FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT. They did not have permissible purpose. These firms prey on the uneducated who do not understand their rights and think they can get away with everything. I submitted a copy of my credit report from experian clearly showing the violations. Waiting on a response from the court and the firm I am counter suing. BTW, I have watched many videos from John Skiba as well. I have been to his office in the past. Thank you!

Good deal. That's odd they would do 3 hard inquiries. They will argue they have the right to do inquiries under the "collection" provision. Not sure why they needed 3. Best wishes and hope all goes well for you!

The inquiries date back to 2015. I don't see how they have any right to inquire into my credit report as I do not nor ever have had any contract with this firm. These hard inquiries were done long before they filed suit against me. According to the act, my rights were definitely violated and they broke the law. Hopefully a judge will clearly see that and make them pay. I appreciate all of your feedback btw, thank you!

Sir what happened to your case? did they sue you ? who win?

It goes in waves -- sometimes the banks will sue in their own name and then they will sell everything. Right now we are seeing the original creditors filing more suits in Alabama -- especially Synchrony Bank whereas before they normally (allegedly) sold the debt pretty quickly. John

thanks!

Thanks! Let me know if you have requests for other videos and I'll try and do those. Have a great day! John Watts

me too!, just listening to your calm well stated advice has been very helpful I spoke to an atty over the phone who sounded exactly like a car salesman It was a bit jarring

if the credit card company suing is a random bank and they hire a law firm and all they sent was credit card statements that show outstanding and past due ~ If you respond you disagree to owing the debt how would they prove that you owe credit card debt? especially if the card was opened more than 10 years ago ~would they have to provide proof all of the interactions for each charge up to current ?

Thanks!

You have that right! That's the plan they have against us. So when you educate yourself on your court -- your judge -- your rules in your case -- and take action, good things can happen. No guarantee you will win but if you don't fight (or settle) then they definitely will win. Best wishes and let us know how it goes. John

Joe, It does depend on your state. In Alabama if you did not file an answer, I would do that even if beyond the 14 days. Make sure you know what the court hearing is -- trial or something else? If they will use an affidavit, really study that affidavit carefully. Can you trace the debt from original creditor to debt buyer? Does the person offering the affidavit work for the company suing? Do they have the ability to have knowledge about the original creditor's practices in keeping records, etc. If you are in Alabama and want to chat, call Carolyn at 205-879-2447 and tell her I asked you to call and set up a short phone consult and we can discuss some strategies before your trial. Thanks for your comment! John Watts

You are welcome -- sorry I don't know anyone quite there but you could check with National Association of Consumer Advocates to see who is your area. Best wishes! John Watts

Message me

It can be but you do have to keep in mind certain courts allow affidavits. In Small Claims court in Alabama the judge can allow an affidavit. It may still be inadmissible due to hearsay. In District Court you have to object to an affidavit coming in. Circuit Court -- same thing. Best to know the rules and be prepared so you are not surprised. I've seen collection lawyers blatantly trying to get in hearsay etc and the judge is wanting the consumer to object but often there is no objection. Thanks for your comment. John Watts

At least in Alabama (I suspect in Georgia also) that would be more difficult to win. We have beaten them here but usually the best course of action is to settle if the original credit card company is suing.

Thank you.

I'm sorry I just don't know what the laws are in the UK. That does seem odd they won't tell you their name -- could be a UK rule. Wish I could help you..... Best wishes and getting this handled..... John Watts

Yes exactly! Here a few videos talking about this: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qa9-bKej3KuvlGg.html and kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jbBhfpOFl9vVknU.html

Sandy, each state can differ but in Alabama you would only get that AFTER a judgment. So for the judgment to be valid, you must have been served. Its when we are served and don't answer that we get a default judgment. So if you were not properly served, fight that to undo the judgment. If properly served, then each state has its own way of answering the wage deduction or garnishment notice. You'll need to get with a lawyer in your state. In Alabama you can challenge the amount as we have what are called "exemptions" or arguments about our income is too low, etc. Best wishes John Watts

Sandy Dimmick That's called "sewage service."

Ree this makes a ton of sense but it is not the law. If they could only recover the amount they paid for, there is no profit so they would never buy debts. Whether buying debts is good or bad, the law allows it. So when they truly buy a debt (which is a HUGE problem for the supposed buyers to prove), they own the debt and are entitled to the full amount of the debt. The reason they pay "pennies on the dollars" is many of the debts will be uncollectible so when they find someone that has a job, or might have a job, or has any property, they go after that person hard to make the purchase of the debt profitable. Thanks for your comment John

Thank you!

Alabama Consumer Protection Lawyers I been like a sponge on you videos So I messaged John Skiba as well and thought the two of you should put together a mock trial because it’s so hard these days to watch cases or even to find examples of cases. He thought it was a good idea. I am going at this lawsuit head on from unifund and if not for these videos I would be lost. I still haven’t been served but online I saw that I have a pretrial court date and that was scheduled on 7/21. I’m shocked that I still haven’t been served. Don’t see a motion for summary judgement so at least I’m not contending with that yet. Should people in general reach out for the service or should they typically sit back and wait to be served and if not then show up at pretrial asking for dismissal.

Chris, Great question. Under Alabama law if you beat the collector, it should have to come off of credit report as you do not owe the collector. Since the original creditor did not sue you, the same does not apply. BUT. If the collector is on credit report, the original creditor cannot show a balance. (Can't owe two companies at the same time). So if you remove the collector, then only the creditor is there saying "charged off" or "sold/transferred". And we are seeing more and more original creditors coming off reports when they send to a debt buyer. So you could challenge them, but won't be able to force them off. Key is to look for any inaccuracy or incompleteness that would give you a basis for disputing and then suing if the original creditor does not come off. I'll be doing more videos on credit reporting soon and I'll add this concept of inaccuracy/incompleteness to my list. Thanks and have a great weekend! John

Sorry can't help you there. Ocwen is a company that we sue a good bit and that needs to be sued everywhere in my opinion. Find you a good NC lawyer and go after them! John Watts

Thank u so much its a train wreck service they do want they want legal are not thanks for your opinion

Hony -- I don't specifically -- here is a site you can plug in your state and hopefully find someone close by. www.consumeradvocates.org/find-an-attorney Best wishes!! John Watts

I don't know anything about Utah cases -- I would hope it is a level playing field there. If it is not and if it is tilted towards the collectors, that's unfortunate. Thanks for your comment John

It depends on what the consultation is for. Normally if sued by a debt collector there is no fee -- we do those by phone. Occasionally someone doesn't want a phone appointment and wants an immediate in office visit and sometimes we charge for that if someone is insisting on meeting at their convenience if I'm having to juggle other commitments. I have court all over the State and my schedule is a bit crazy but I do understand sometimes people want to meet at their convenience. If it is foreclosure related, then normally we do charge a consultation. On almost every situation where we do charge a consultation fee (which is not common) then we have an alternative. For example, on foreclosures we have about 3 hours of videos and a 27 page workbook we send to folks for free to go through. If they go through that, we meet for free. That was because I was spending literally hours going over the same information so I put it on DVD (and online) so people could learn the basics and then we either have a shorter call or a long meeting. So bottom line it depends. I don't know about your situation -- email me directly at john@wattsherring.com and tell me what your situation is and I'll help you any way I can. If there was any confusion on our end I apologize for that. Thanks for reaching out to me. John Watts

Yes. Depending on where you are, there may be similarities but this is specifically based on my experience defending more Alabama debt collection suits than I can remember. :) If you are outside Alabama, I would take these concepts and then talk to a consumer protection lawyer in your state and see what works. Use this as a starting point to develop your list of questions. Best wishes! John Watts

Alabama Consumer Protection Lawyers Thanks so much I'm in ATL.

Very welcome -- try Steve Koval in Atlanta and he should be able to help you. Have a great day! John Watts