Calvary Portfolio Services Purchased my debt never notified me, attempting to "Revive a Judgment" and get me for the original amount plus 10 years back interest Hawthorne New York

I would STRONGLY advise against the majority of Steve's advice above. I know it sounds like a good idea to shift funds and assets around to avoid garnishments and seizures. I know it sounds like a good idea to find an "under the table" job to conceal your income.

But these actions are considered fraudulent in the eyes of the law and could only compound your problems.

Like the comments above have mentioned, you're dealing with a judgment debt. If the original debt was illegitimate (but you state that it wasn't), you would have had likely up to a year to get the default judgment set aside. So, unless you were in the hospital for a year and had NOBODY checking your mail, your "accidental default judgment" is really of no avail.

You can get a lawyer and try to dispute the amount of the debt and to help you negotiate a lower payoff or a favorable payment schedule. This is a great idea, except you'll be left with increased costs in the end.

Chapter 7 could be a good option for you if your total unsecurd debts (debts that are not backed by collateral) is excessive given your income, if you have little or no equity in any real estate, and if you don't mind loused up credit for a few years (although, honestly, with this outstanding judgment on your record, a Chapter 7 probably wouldn't do that much damage).

Chapter 13 could be a good idea if you want to a little less damage to your credit report and would like to pay off your debts, or a portion of them, over a period of time. Under Chapter 13, you have to commit ALL of your disposable income to paying creditors for a period of 3 years if your income is below your state's average, or 5 years if your income is above your state's average, or for as long as it takes to pay off all your debts. At any rate, you have to make these payments for as long as it takes to catch up on any arrearages on secured debts (mortgages and car loans).

Chapter 7 is generally much cheaper. A reputable attorney should be charging somewhere around $1500 or less for a simple Chapter 7. Chapter 13s can cost quite a bit of money, but most attorneys take most of their payments from your monthly payments.

By law, bankruptcy attorneys are required to give an initial consultation for free. And by the ethical code that binds us, we are not permitted to advise someone to file bankruptcy if it is not in their best interest.

So you might as well set up a consultation with a Bk attorney. Just make SURE that the consultation is actually free. Alot of Bk attorneys are giving a free "initial consultation" where they explain bankruptcy to you, and then charge $200 to tell you whether or not you should file. Stay away from these outfits.

Best of luck!

A couple things to clarify with this ROR.

This is a VALID DEBT-it was adjudicated in court. This is NOT a case of a debt collector purchasing some old, defunct credit card account. There is a money judgment in place.

The rights to collect on the judgment can be bought and sold, just as any annuity. If they purchased the rights to the judgment IAW the law, they have every right to collect the amount of the judgment and any interest (if the judgment stipulates accrued interest.)

IMO, I think they are going to court to establish a PAYMENT SCHEDULE. The OP claims to have paid $50 per month on a $9461 debt (for a short period of time)-at this payment rate it would take about 15 years and 10 months to pay off the judgment. I suspect that they are going to ask the court to establish a court ordered payment schedule that will payoff the loan much quicker, say 3 to 4 years. This is NOT uncommon when a judgment is not satisfied within a "reasonable" period of time.

It is NOT necessary to wait for a judgment to expire to request a modification (court ordered payment schedule) or request other enforcement actions such as levy against bank accounts, wage garnishment, levy against state tax return, etc. IN FACT, such modifications must be made before the SOL of the judgment expires (in NY-it is probably the same in IL.)

Also, in most states the SOL for a money judgment is much longer than for a "simple" debt. In NY the SOL for a money judgment is 20 years and can be "renewed" for another 20 years. I don't know what the SOL for a money judgment is in IL but you or your attorney can find out with a telephone call to the IL judicial department or State Attorney General Office.

IMO, you need to retain an attorney to represent you in this matter.

Good luck.

Here is Florida, a judgment can be renewed after 10 years, for an additional 10 years, if you did not pay it within the first 10 years. They have to take you back to court and interest accrues from the date of the first judgment.

I'm not sure if they have to renew it before the original 10 years are over.

Ouch....this is a bad situation. Get the best legal representation you can afford. You'll need it. If you qualify, contact your local Red Cross for a referral for free legal aide in your area.

Here's a good forum for legal advise:

Note to RipOffReport...there's no need to censor this link

http://groups.google.com/group/misc.legal.moderated/topics?lnk=srg

Also check out budhibbs.com

If this issue cannot be resolved and if it appears that they are going to win a judgement against you for this extortion-level amount, you can and should use the threat of filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy as a real weapon....Don't hesitate to really use this weapon if you need to...It may be the only option in fighting back against these bastards.

Good Luck!

Get a lawyer for this.

The amount is beyond the limits for small claims, so it's going to be heard by a higher court. Any mistake in any proceedure or paperwork is going to cause you to lose-get professional help, I don't recommend going at it pro se.

It all depends on the original court settlement. If the court settlement allows interest to accrue then you most likely will be stuck with the original debt plus whatever interest the judgment mentions.

The law does not require the debtor to be notified when a debt (judgment) is sold to another. For what it's worth, the Senate finance committe has discussed the possibility of making a notification of such a debt sale a federal requirement.

Jessica,

Unless your lawyer can prove that the judgement is past SOL in NY, you really don't have many choices.

However, I would let them spend as much time and money as they possibly can, and renew the judgement, and then you go down a file BANKRUPTCY!! Now they get nothing, and are out maximum money! You get the last laugh!

Also, you will have to close any bank accounts you currently have and open new ones at different banks. Do this BEFORE they get the judgement renewed, as they will clean you out if you don't.

Or, if you can afford to quit the job you currently have and go work for cash, that works too.

These are bloodsuckers and are not really entitled to anything, as they have lost nothing. They most likely paid less than a penny on the dollar for that debt.

Good luck!