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Howard Lee Schiff P.C. sued me for credit card debt

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Asked on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 10:21
Anonymous

I am being sued by Howard Lee Schiff P.C…. who claims to be a debt collector but is a law firm.

Is there anything I can do? I plan to send validation request to have them validate the debt but since the debt is valid I am afraid to fight it.

What should I do. I already received the summons.

7 Answers
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Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/08/2013 - 21:09

Make sure that you go to court as well if you have reveived a summons because you don't want to go t jail and you don't need to validate the balance if you already have agreed it is yours!  Why else wpuld they have called you in the 1st place.
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Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/08/2013 - 21:04

I used to work for a large Credit Card company and what I would do is read over the information and make sue you understand what is going on consult a lawyer and try to work out a plan with the law office.  You need to make sure that you are trying to make some kind of arrangements prior to going to court.  You want to show that you are trying to do something.  Most of the time I would be able to work with the law firms and they would work settlements of the 10-90% depending on the situation.  You need to make sure that you are honest with the company and make sure that they completely understand your whole situation,  They were always good about coming up with a resonable settlement amount that would work for bothy sides.  It actually isn't that bad,
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Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 04/03/2012 - 02:03

Depending on your state, a summons may or may not be indication of filing of a suit.  Check that on google.
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Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 10:10

Well, here is a simple and instant solution for you. Just ignore the summons, but that means you will lose the lawsuit. So, try to work out the situation with your creditors or go to the court and ask the judge for help. Always remember, if you do not have the money to pay your debt, it will not hurt you much to visit the courthouse.The choice is all yours. All the best!
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Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 06:59

 

Here are the options for you.
 
Option 1: Since you already know that the debt is valid, there is no point in validating the debt. You can call the law office to discuss on your financial hardship and request them to settle the account. However, it depends on them whether they will settle the account or not. In case they refuse to settle, you can request for a payment plan as well. The law office may ask you to send your monthly income and expenditure details, so get that ready before you contact them. 
 
Option 2: If they agree to do a settlement (which is called outside court settlement and it usually settles between 70% - 90% of the outstanding debt that is mentioned in the summons) or a payment plan, make sure to get a stipulation signed by the creditor to dismiss the case. Without stipulation and a written agreement, never make any payments to the law firm.
 
Option 3: You can just wait and see what the creditor is finally going to do and continue the negotiation for a settlement or a payment plan. Sometimes this strategy works, but there is no guarantee that the creditor will finally agree.
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Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 16:16

Under the FDCPA, you can always challenge the validity of a debt that a collection agency states you owe to them. Although you already know that your debt is valid, you should pull a copy of your credit report. This will tell you how much you owe and to who you owe. Howard Lee Schiff P. C is a consumer legal collections agency, and if you are sued, you need to face it. The fact is, you are highly and legally responsible for the money. You have to deal with the consequences of not paying your debt on time.

Your first step should be to read your summon carefully. Immediately, you should file an answer. You need to hire an attorney who can at least advise you on how to proceed. You can even file an answer on your own. The docket number should be on your answer. You can also make an out of court settlement, by negotiating a payment plan, which may save both your money and time.

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Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 15:45

My suggestion for you would be to just wait and watch. Most of the times legal threats aren't real ones. The collection agencies love to pretend that they are suing you, to scare you into paying. So, you can just send them a cease and desist letter.

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