What You Need To Know Is Not Always So Obvious

I get a lot of email and posts about Fredericks, Goldstein & Zoe. The fact is that these low lives are really not the kind of debt collectors you should worry about, that is if you are educated and know your rights. Unfortunately, I have found a lot of people do not know what their rights are when it comes to dealing with debt collectors and this what gets them into major trouble. The debt collectors you need to be wary of are those who use the judicial system to their advantage because they know in many cases or the majority cases that most of you out there don't have a clue about what to do. Their approach is to just flat out sue you.

In this process they are betting that you won't even file an appearance or answer the summons and complaint. A perusal of state judicial websites is replete with numerous legal corpses of consumers who received default judgments because they did not lift a finger to defend themselves. I am in the process of compiling an in depth listing for all of the 50 states and sharing with my readers what resources are available in each state in the event you need to answer a complaint and wish to do so without an attorney.

Even if you use an attorney it is wise to educate yourself on the civil procedures in your respective state. As Jack Ryan said to Captain Ramius in "The Hunt For Red October", "It is wise to know the ways of one's adversary..." Don't you agree? So the question I want to pose is what is the quickest way to figure out the possibility of whether you may or may not be sued?

Certain debt collectors operate without any license so they don't sue anyone. These are shake down artists. The Fredericks firm mentioned above is one such example. But others are quite legal and have registered to conduct business as debt collectors. They may skirt the law but unfortunately they get away with it more often than not.

If a debt collector is threatening to sue you (if they make such statements are just blowing air it is a violation of the FDCPA) there is a quick and easy way to find out if they are suing anyone else or if they have ever sued anyone. I will use New York State's judicial site as the example for purposes of illustration.

Here is a sample for just Bronx County, New York for cases open with Unifund as Plaintiff for just 2009:

As you can see if Unifund says that are going to sue you you had better believe it. The good news is that they cannot validate debts in court. They come up with phoney affidavits, fake statements etc. which is no way satisfy what the courts have defined as validation. See my other blogs. Also please go to the upper right hand corner of this blog opt to download my free validation letter and my audio instructions on how to use it.

So hopefully I have shed some light on some subject matter which I find is troublesome to many. Don't forget to grab my free validation letter and audio and watch for a free checklist which will be available to all of you who sign up (opt in). Until next time.