[Ann58]

I live in SD and became disabled. It took 2 years to get and then 10 months from then to get it straightened out. My husband went on disability (both of us permanently disabled)We had no income for 2+ years relying only on assistance and still receive assistance. We have received many unpaid bills, both credit cards and medical. Many have exchanged different hands for collections and some are filed in court. Sheriff knows we have no assets. Capital One has now turned case over to law firm that is a debt collector in our state stating they will advise their client to proceed with a suit. Do I respond to them and with how much information. Do I give them a copy of disability, how much I receive and do I give my husbands' too? As we live check to check, on assistance, cannot afford debt consolidation, plus medical continue to come in nor can afford bankruptcy. Fact is, we don't even know who we owe anymore as there were so many medical, drs., hospitals, etc. and some have been put into dead file. Having received so many notices in the past, ignoring, (sent letters originally to everyone that I could account for), just had bad vibes with this one. Thanks for any input.

[Mr. Knowitall]

How much debt do you have? You may be best served by consulting a bankruptcy lawyer.

[Ann58]

From Ann 58 - Set up an appointment with attorney to discuss bankruptcy. I'll know more after the 22. Now, just have to try to figure who is owed. Thanks for the reply.

[QM07]

Dispute the debt by sending them a letter requiring them to validate the alleged debt by sending you proof their firm is licensed to collect the debt in your state, proof the company has either been assigned or owns this debt, along with account statements from the original creditor substantiating how they calculated what you owe. Furthermore, require them to provide you with any signed documents which substantiate this debt.

They have 30 days to send you this information, and if they do not they can not legally collect the debt nor can they make any negative reports on your credit. If they have already made negative credit reports and fail to validate this debt as outlined above, you can then require them to remove the negative collections report. If they fail to do so take them to small claims court.

Credit card companies usually write off the amount of your delinquent account for tax purposes and don't end up usually paying any money on those delinquent accounts and therefore actually profit by selling their debt to collection agencies. You will also be able to determine if that is the case (say they respond saying they own the debt) or if they were merely assigned this debt and only earn a percentage of the return. Large companies rarely do anything but sell off their debt.

Also, chances are if they purchased the debt they will never reply to your letter because its difficult if not impossible for them to come up with these required documents. Sometimes they will attempt to test you by sending unsigned documents, as well as generic computer generated printouts. These documents do not suffice under the law either and you should let them know you are aware of that should they do this.