Letter from Lawyer in mail???!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Letter from Lawyer in mail???!!
16
Mon, 02-02-2009 - 10:11am

I received a letter in the mail recently about a debt I owe and haven't paid on in over a year. I owe $16,001.45 on a line of credit, and was unable to keep up the payments when DH got laid off. This law office calls me several times each week - I usually don't even answer the phone.

Once, I actually answered the phone and spoke with someone there and offered to pay $75/month on the debt. The man LAUGHED at me. So, I ended up not paying anything.

Now that I received a written notice in the mail, I am a little nervous. Should I respond to it in any way? We can't even afford $75/month now, so I have NOTHING to offer them. My husband is in fear of getting laid off again any day now, so there is no money to spare.

What are your recommendations regarding this debt? Thanks!


 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-17-2003
Mon, 02-02-2009 - 11:54am
"Should I respond to it in any way?"
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2005
Mon, 02-02-2009 - 1:13pm

Unless you are prepared to declare bankruptcy, you need to deal with this. You'll need to find something to pay them. Do you work? Can you or your DH get a part-time job? If you are home, can you babysit for someone? How tight is your budget - can you cut it and find something to pay them?

You said this is a line of credit. Is it a home equity LOC? I wouldnt ignore them anyway, but definitely dont ignore collectors on a loan that is secured by your home. If this is an equity loan, they can take your house if it isnt paid.

What did the letter say? Is it a default notice? If it is an equity loan, that is the first step towards foreclosure. Dont ignore it! Call them and deal with it. I know it's stressful, but you need to find out what your options are.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 02-02-2009 - 1:40pm
I agree with others.

All my best,
Danni

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-17-2003
Mon, 02-02-2009 - 2:05pm
Hi Danni.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-05-2006
Mon, 02-02-2009 - 2:11pm
I got a letter like this and I did ignore it and I was sued and they won. Then I had no choice but to pay them or go to court and be made to pay them. They could have garnished my wages, made me sell my house etc. I had to pay them 1400 dollars a month until it was done and it killed me. This is why I owe my parents 20,000 dollars. If I would have done this the proper way and been informed and knowledgeable about what they could do and how I should respond, my life would have been much easier. They offered to settle with me for 700 dollars a month. I ignored that offer but was then forced to pay twice that. I really really regret ignoring them! I agree that you shouldn't ignore the letter and you should figure out how to deal with the situation. If that answer is bankruptcy, at least you can start fresh. If not for my parents, I would have had to declare BK and I would have lost my home.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Wed, 02-04-2009 - 11:18am

I don't plan to ignore the letter, but honestly have no clue what to respond back to them.

It is just a line of credit, not secured in anyway.

What do I say in my response? Again, I spoke to them once and offered to pay $75/month. They would not accept that. I don't know that I could even scrape up that much money right now, so what should I do??

My husband and I both work full time and are pinching pennies as best we can. We are not adding to our debts, and paying on the ones we can afford to. This one, we just owed SO MUCH that the minimums were impossible to meet each month and we got behind. I also take 16 credit hours in college and am 4 months pregnant. There is NOTHING more I can do right now. DH can't do much more because he works during the day and takes care of our son at night. He spends any "free time" he has scouting the job market for when he gets laid off (which is likely going to be next month).

DH filed bankruptcy several years back, before we were married. If I have my information correct, we are eligible to file again this summer (June or July, I think it was). I hate to do that, but may be forced to for this debt. Can I hold them off that long?

The letter said: Please contact us to make arrangements for payment.

We do not own a home.

Thank you for your help. Again, I wasn't trying to dismiss the debt, but the amount I offered just got LAUGHTER, so I didn't know what else to do. I just don't have $600/$700 each month to throw at this. We are barely scraping by right now, and DH will likely be unemployed in a month, meaning we will have to pay MORE money out to get COBRA insurance (since I am pregnant - we can't afford NOT to have insurance).


 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-29-2008
Wed, 02-04-2009 - 11:32am

Hi Aravis,


First, are you SURE the letter is from a lawyer?

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Wed, 02-04-2009 - 11:42am

Thank you for the suggestion! I researched them online and didn't find much good said about them (if anything!).

Would it be better if I contacted the original company I owe the money to about making payment arrangements and ignoring this "Law office" (Law Office of Joe Pezzuto, LLC)?

Thanks again!


 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-29-2008
Wed, 02-04-2009 - 12:04pm

Well, I think it is highly likely that you are not dealing with a real attorney.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Wed, 02-04-2009 - 12:27pm

Thank you again.

It has been over a year since we made our last payment on this debt. I was thinking of filing bankruptcy on it this summer, but want to do a little more research before we go that route.

I would LOVE to settle and pay it "off", but we could only afford maybe $1,000 (and I think my husband would shoot me if I offered someone what little money we have in the bank right now!). From what I read online, they "settled" with some other people in the past, but never lived up to THEIR end of the negotiations. That makes me nervous to even attempt to settle with them.


 

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