can this still be settled?

[Evelides]

What is the name of your state? AZ but moving to KY in 2 days

My ex opened a credit card in my name six years ago, and I signed under a verbal agreement he did not uphold. He charged a total of $13K and now it's in my name only. He paid minnimum payments 'till we broke up, then stopped paying without telling me this card was still active (I thought, per our agreement, that he paid it off an closed it long ago). He stopped paying in April of 2004, and the account went in collections, and this is how I found out it was still open.

For the past few months I've been trying to get all my records, as well at to get my ex to take responsibility and pay this. He took a long time, but finally refinanced his house. The total debt is now up to nearly $15K, and my ex is stating he will put $5K total towards this. I was able to negotiate the balance down to $7K with a previous collections agency, but was unable to take this settlement as my ex didn't have the money yet.

Now he finally has the $5K to give, but when I called the agency, I was told the account went to "Balogh Becker", a law firm, though when I called, their recording stated the are an agency that makes effort to collect a debt. I tried to negotiate the balance with them, but they are telling me that they cannot offer a settlemenent, and they are pursuing legal action and will want a judgment.

So, my question is, can I still settle with them or with the credit card agency? I definitely don't have $15K, but I can do $7K max ($5K from my ex, and $2K I'll put out of my student loans). Also, I'm afraid they will ask me to appear in court in AZ but I'm starting grad school in Kentucky in a week. The credit card company refuses to speak with me: they state the account is with this law agency and they cannot offer anything.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

 

[cmorris]

Why didn't you file a police report? This is fraud on your ex's behalf. He should be in jail. If you didn't run the card up, why haven't you made your ex responsible? What he did is illegal.

At the very least, send a debt validation letter to this attorney, certified mail return receipt. When you get the green card back, send a dispute letter to the credit bureaus, again certified mail return receipt.

 

[Evelides]

because it's my signature

Because I signed for the application. He had told me that his credit card had too high an interest rate, and if I would open one in my name and let him transfer his balance, this way 1) he would have a lower interest rate on his debt and 2) I'd get nice credit because he'd pay it off quickly. So, I agreed to this (I was stupid, 20 years old and naive). I signed the application and he transferred $6K to my account. Instead of paying it off in full quickly as he claimed, he charged an additional $7K on it two years later using one of those cash advance checks. Since he was doing all the finances in the house, I signed the check, thinking it was for something else (he might have not put the entire $7000 when he showed it to me, he could have presented it with $700 and said it was for rent, etc.). So he continued to pay minnimum payments, but last year he stopped and didn't tell me.

Problem is, since I signed, I'm legally responsible. I had my chance to dispute it, but I'd have to pay myself for a forensic investigator to check into the signature, and I know it's mine, so... Basically I want to settle and get it over with, but I'm being told I can't have a settlement anymore as they are pursuing legal action.

 

[Debt Guy]

What you ex did is not illegal. It is immoral and unethical and he clearly deceived you. You can sue your ex for breach of an oral contract but collecting could be a problem.

This is the danger of ever signing or guaranteeing a loan for anyone else. Sometimes it comes back to bite you.

How you deal with this depends a lot on your total situation. You will need to convince the collector that $7,000 in the hand is worth more than a judgment and chasing you across the country. If you are in grad school, I am guessing you don't have much income so what are they going to do to you?

This is just my opinion, but I think the collector is bluffing you and playing hardball to scare you into doing whatever you have to do to pay the entire balance. Keep in mind, the collector gets a percentage of what the collect -- so they will go for the most possible. They will bend and break the law if necessary to make you afraid.

I'll let someone else answer the question about venue if you are sued.

 

[Evelides]

but are they really a collector?

It's been with two collections agencies already. This one claims to be a legal firm initiation a judgment. They say "the lawfirm cannot settle", and are telling me that at this point nobody can settle. They also say the account is "cease and desist" (although the letter I mailed out was to the previous collections agency, not these guys), so they can't really call anyway to try and collect. I'm afraid they mean it - they won't settle at this point. I mean, when I talked to them, they weren't even interested to hear how much I had to offer, they just said they don't settle, period. I explained I'll be a starving student living off student loans for probably the next 6 years, but they didn't care about that. The company is Balogh Becker, anybody know anything about them?

 

[klhofbauer]

It's been with two collections agencies already. This one claims to be a legal firm initiation a judgment. They say "the lawfirm cannot settle", and are telling me that at this point nobody can settle. They also say the account is "cease and desist" (although the letter I mailed out was to the previous collections agency, not these guys), so they can't really call anyway to try and collect. I'm afraid they mean it - they won't settle at this point. I mean, when I talked to them, they weren't even interested to hear how much I had to offer, they just said they don't settle, period. I explained I'll be a starving student living off student loans for probably the next 6 years, but they didn't care about that. The company is Balogh Becker, anybody know anything about them?

Hello,

I am dealing with Balogh Becker here in AZ also for a judgement against me via Citibank.

Couple of things:

1. If you sent a C&D to a previous CA, Balogh Becker honours it. They WILL sue you - especially for this amount. And YES, they are lawyers/law firm here in AZ. (Collection Attornies). Basically what happened is the original creditor received the C&D from the previous collection agency you had sent it to, and then the OC turned around and hired Balogh Becker. Your C&D will be part of the paperwork that Balogh Becker received.

**NOTE: What I don't understand though is why they will not speak with you. Balogh Becker should either (1) have you served with the suit; or (2) call you one time to let you know. As soon as I was served, I called Balogh Becker and made payment arrangements. Now, we are actually paying more than the agreement, and it will be paid off early.


2. I am dealing with Diana Theos at Balogh Becker, and quite honestly, she is excellent. Any time I have questions concerning my account, she answers them. I've also asked her about some other things - and believe it or not, she is kind enough to explain it. If she wasn't a collection attorney, I would retain her for a personal attorney! The debt of mine is perfectly legal, meaning, I never denied owing it, even budgeted to begin paying my debt once DH & I recovered from our simultaneous layoffs and almost lost our home in foreclosure.

Agreed - they will not "settle" for a portion of the original debt, they will sue you for the entire amount. Interest is at 10%, plus court costs. However, they SHOULD work out payment arrangements with you. And, in spite of you being a "starving student" for the next 6 years, you will need to pay. They WILL garnish wages too.

The best advice I can offer you is to end up suing your ex in court for the balance that is his. You would have to pay the judgement and get the funds from him.

Now... if the debt is out of the Statute of Limitations (3 years for open contracts such as credit cards in Arizona), then you would have a defense should they (Balogh Becker) serve you. Even if you are moving, you may want to think about trying to take care of this. Personally I would be concerned about a different Collection Attorney - one who may not be as decent.

(PS: Please no bashing about a collection attorney being decent.. LOL.. there really are some out there in the debt collection industry.. *g*)

You can PM me if you have any questions about Balogh Becker.

KH

 

[cmorris]

Oops! I misunderstood your question! Sorry!

 

[Evelides]

not practical to sue him

I went to 2 attorneys trying to find out if I can sue him.

I was told:

1) might cost more to sue than the debt is worth ($15K) especially if he fights it, and he will

2) even if I get a judgment, there is no guarantee he will pay, and he wont: the IRS is after him for $32K and he's maxed on all his cards

Other problems regarding suing him:

1) I'm moving out of state tomorrow, going to grad school full time. Will I be able to sue him from so far away, not being here?

2) Will the law agency that wants to collect on my debt wait until I sue him and get the jugment? Probably not, so I'll be suing him while being sued myself plus trying to focus full time on school in another state.

3) Even if the judge passes a judgment against my ex, will the creditors and such honor it and go after him, or will it be up to *me* to collect the judgment and then pay the debt? I doubt the debt will go in his name; I have a feeling I will still be the one responsible, so if he doesn't honor the judgment, it's still me they go after.

After all this I don't know how practical it would be for me to sue him .

 

[Debt Guy]

I agree that it is impractical to sue your ex.

Will he give you the $5k now? If so, grab the money and sock it away in a savings account. That may be the best you ever get from him. Don't let him weasle around on this.

Your next step will be to try to make the best of a lousy situation. Try to settle the account for the $5k from ex. You can't make them settle and if they won't settle then they won't settle. In that case they will sue you for a judgment.

I would just write a letter to the law firm, explain that you are a student and have no income and no prospects of an income for several years. Say that you have $5k available that you are offered as a settlment in full. They can either take it or you will spend the money on school and then file bankruptcy.

If they sue you, they sue you.

I would just go ahead and tell them you made moved your permanent residence to Kentucky. They should close their file and return it to the credit card company. The credit card company will probably assign it to an attorney in Kentucky and you will have another chance to settle it for the $5k you have socked away.

If you are sued in Arizona, you should file a motion with the court to dismiss the action for improper venue.

Your goal here is to try to make the best out of a really lousy situation.

One final option is to consider bankruptcy. The new bankruptcy rules do not become effective until October. If you file before then, you should be able to easily discharge the debt (you can't discharge student loans). If bankruptcy is an option, do it before the end of September.

There may be others who will disagree with this advice and you should weight those opinions and make up your own mind. Good luck to you.