Consumer Law and Credit Card Lawsuit Defense are two areas of law at which our firm has a great deal of experience. With the rise of delinquent debt and the outsourcing of that debt to shady collection agencies, having an attorney to protect your interests has become vital. If you have been sued in Pennsylvania, our firm can help you defend this claim, usually at a fixed rate (or staged rate) cost, with a great chance at success. Contact our office here or visit our Pennsylvania Credit Card Legal Center.
Most credit card lawsuits filed in Pennsylvania are defective. Part of the reason for that is because so many people who are faced with this issue do not respond to the lawsuits, and the collectors know this, so they put together “bare-bones” lawsuits. This enables them to file more lawsuits per day and to save on costs. Another reason, and frankly a more important reason that the lawsuits are defective is that the collector just doesn’t have the proper evidence or documentation in most cases.
This is especially true if the lawsuit is filed by a junk debt buyer such as Portfolio Recovery, Midland Credit Management, Cavalry, Unifund, LVNV or others. Because these lawsuits are defective, we encourage our clients to defend these cases, hopefully with our law firm, but if not, then with another reputable consumer firm. The chances of successfully defending a junk debt buyer lawsuit in Pennsylvania are quite high when you have the right attorney. If your claim has any value at all, say over $1000, then you DO NOT want to handle it yourself. There is too much at risk and you will end up losing a case that you should have won. You also should NOT respond to the lawsuit yourself. The initial written response to a lawsuit is crucial. We offer free initial consultations on all credit card lawsuit cases so please take us up on the offer before you do anything else.
Another reason that you should defend these cases is because we have seen a number of unsavory collection agencies use unethical and sometimes illegal means to attempt to collect debt. We have heard stories of repeated phone calls at home and at work, threats of legal action, threats of jail time, threats of wage garnishment and worse. Calls to employers, parents, friends, neighbors and relatives. Tricks are played to convince you to make a payment on the alleged debt. “We need a payment by 5 p.m. today or the sheriff will be knocking on your door by 6 p.m.” (By the way, that is probably the dumbest threat ever, but apparently it works. A debt collector does not have the power to tell the sheriff when to serve something, especially at a specific hour).
All of those activities are illegal and contrary to the rights afforded you under federal and state laws, including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. (We handle FDCPA claims on a “no up-front fee basis”…and frankly, there is no back end fee either… the debt collector pays us to sue them). In almost every case, these agencies purchase delinquent debt for pennies on the dollar and then use any means possible to collect from the debtor (you!). You’re here reading this webpage so hopefully you haven’t fallen into their trap.
Artim Law offers a Free Consultation
Call us before you call anyone else. Let us explain your rights and interests and see if we can help. Cost effective representation.
Another scenario that we see is where the first collection agency sells the debt again to another agency, and so on, making it difficult to ascertain whether you actually owe any debt to that company or to any company. We could never recommend paying on a claim where the account has been sold multiple times unless there is a very unusual circumstance.
We are well versed in the rights of creditors and debtors, and in many areas of consumer law, based in part in our knowledge of the law and our experience in dealing with thousands of these types of cases. If you have a collection agency or a junk debt buyer attempting to collect a debt from you, if you are facing a credit card lawsuit, please contact our office at 412-348-8600 or send an email to Attorney Greg Artim