Cavalry Portfolio Services Cavalry Portfolio Services Fraudulent, deceptive abusive debt collection practices Hawthorne, New York

fightinem has it 99.99% correct in his post and advice.

The only item not correct is that the debt collector can not delet the collection from your credit report.  I have helped people settle with creditors and collectors and as part of the settlement is no admition of delinquent debt and that the debtor will remove the collection from the credit reports.

Some may say it violates their agreement with the CB's and this is actually technically correct but violated daily by all creditors.  if you push and refuse to settle without not admiting you were delinquent and that they remove the collection from your credit reports.  The bottom line is they want the money and will compromise on this issue since it costs them $0

Hoping to have the first one bounced as spam. I answered after skimming through his original complaint. Afterward, I had time to read in more detail and saw he had provided his name. After looking up the case online at the Gwinnett County Court, I see that he tried to fight this himself by filing a response, WITHOUT REQUESTING A TRIAL.

In his later case in v Midland Financial, in Small Claims Court, it is clearly recorded "unscheduled document - see memo - request for hearing - defendant pro se", which is noticeably missing from the record of the case v Cavalry Portfolio. It appears that he didn't request a trial until it was too late and he was already losing. The courts don't have to allow a "do over", after you blew your first opportunity to request a trial, then nobody screwed up but you. And since he represented himself (pro se), he can't claim inadequate counsel either.

This is unfortunate, because the scumbags are probably laughing all the way to the bank now, just as Discover did, when I screwed up and didn't even put up a fight. But now they screwed up and we might even be able to void the judgment they already had, before they sued me again for the same debt = abuse of process, and the courts don't like that.

It would have been well worth the $500 for starters, to get advice from an attorney. If he later decided he couldn't afford to continue with legal representation, at least the attorney might have pointed him in the right direction for the first few steps - #1 REQUEST A TRIAL BY JURY, if possible, but REQUEST A TRIAL of some sort, before trying to fight the case with correspondence.

My attorney won't take the case without $900 up front, but his rate is only $100 per hour, so I won't owe him any more unless/until he spends more than 9 hours on an open and shut case - Discover sued me twice for the same debt, after receiving judgment 2 years ago, when I also made the mistake of not engaging my lawyer on my first debt collection case ever. Now, their "abuse of process" may have jeopardized the judgment they already had, and they haven't collected anything, because PA is not a garnishment state, even if I weren't unemployed and out of UC benefits.

My only vulnerable asset is the home owned jointly with my wife, which they can't touch. They COULD place a lien, but they wouldn't collect until we sell or I die, and I don't intend to sell. For some reason they haven't even bothered to request a lien, almost 2 years later. Maybe they don't realize my name is on the deed, only because they don't see a mortgage on my credit report. When we refinanced, after I had been out of work for 4 years, my wife was better off leaving me off the loan. Her credit scores are all above 830, while mine is about 200 points lower, ever since I was laid off from a job that usually requires a college degree in 2002.

I had been hired in the early 90's before electronic resumes became so common, when I met the manager at a job fair. I make a good impression in person, but now my resume without a college degree is never seen by a human. To cut down on the thousands of resumes they have to see, they screen out the non-degree candidates first by computer. Now, at the age of 62, that makes it reallyy tough to get a job in IT, or just about any other white collar job.

So, I'm self-employed and electing to extend credit to my clients until all of my CC debt is resolved. As long as I have no income, they'll have to settle for far less than they would otherwise. Fortunately, as an outstanding nurse at a teaching hospital, my wife's job is secure, and we can get by on her salary alone, even while she puts away the maximum allowed in her 401K, which is actually a 403b.

Unfortunately, I haven't been making any contributions to my IRA or my 401K, and contributions to my pension stopped 10 years ago. At least I haven't had to tap any of that yet, so I didn't have to sell any investments while the market was in the tank, and I'm hoping it will more than rebound before I need to.

Discover, Midland, Calvary Portfolio and the others hate that all of my liquid assets are in protected retirement funds or the house. Oh well, what can they do? They'll have to come to terms I can accept sooner or later.

If you have NOT received an official court document, mailed directly to you from the court, do not believe they have a judgment. They lie all the time. If you responded to a court summons in time and indicated that you wished to mount a defense, no court would deny that.

The date on that summons will only apply if you do NOT respond. There probably wasn't even any time of day shown for you to make an appearance, because no hearings are held on that day.

If you didn't respond prior to that date, as instructed on the summons, then a default judgment would have been entered in the scumbags' favor, without a hearing, simply because you defaulted by failing to respond. This is what the scumbags are hoping. They get thousands of judgments every month, just because most debtors don't know the scumbag would probably lose and the debt would be WIPED CLEAN, if the debtor got a knowledgeable attorney and fought.

Most of the time, the attorney would prove that the scumbags have NOT done their homework legally and properly, and the debt is discharged with prejudice, meaning the debtor wins and the scumbag can't even try suing you again. If they do, then you have them by the balls, for abuse of process, and you can sue them to collect for damages.

If you responded in time, declaring that you would defend yourself, the clerk would tell you to expect a notice in the mail, setting a new date AND TIME. You and/or your attorney must appear on that date, unless your attorney obtains a continuance, which is confirmed in writing by the court.

If you got a summons from the court and called to say you would defend yourself, you don't send any documents to anyone. You and/or your attorney simply show up for the hearing, and you let your attorney take it from there. The court never tries a case by corresponding via the mail.

So, if none of the above has happened, and the scumbags claim they have a judgment and claim your wages will be garnished, don't let them scare you into paying anything. Ask them for the case number. Even if they refuse to give it to you, it may be a phony number. Go to the courthouse and ask to see if a case was ever brought under that number or any other and whether there is any judgment awarded against you.

If there is a judgment, ask to see the receipt you would have had to sign when you were served the summons. If you were not home, the receipt might have been signed by any adult at your place of residence, when the sheriff or writ server delivered the summons. That doesn't get you off the hook, unless they delivered it to someone at the wrong address.

Whether or not that person handed you the summons, you would still be legally obligated to respond. If you have done all of the above and never had your day in court, then they couldn't have a judgment, and cannot garnish your wages.

Don't let them use scare tactics to get any payment out of you, if they lie and tell you they have a judgment, which the court denies. If you ever DO reach a settlement:

DO NOT pay them in cash or via Western Union, even if they say they will send you a release of the debt, and it's the only way they will verbally agree to a reduced settlement. If it's not already written on paper in your hand, AND SIGNED BY THEM, it's not called a settlement; it's called a lie. Do not make any payment without consulting your attorney, and be sure to have their signature on any legal agreement signed and notarized, by a notary public, selected by you. Don't trust their notary, they lie and falsify documents every day for the scumbags who pay their salary. They can use a phony notary seal, then deny there ever was an agreement for a reduced settlement.

DO NOT give them your bank account number for a check by phone payment, even if they claim it's the only way they'll agree to a reduced amount. They lie, and that's extortion, but you won't be able to prove it. They will clean out your account, and if you're foolish enough to keep the account open and make future deposits, they'll grab that too. If you try to get the money back, without any written, signed and legitimately notarized agreement, you will lose. Check with your attorney before making any payment, and insist on having the scumbag's signature notarized by an independent notary, chosen by you. Don't trust their notary; they lie and falsify documents for the scumbags who pay their salary every day of the week. They can use a phony notary seal, then deny there ever was an agreement for less than FULL PAYMENT, plus ongoing interest, until paid in FULL.

DO NOT give them a credit card number, even if they claim it's the only way they'll agree to a reduced amount. They lie, and that's extortion, but you won't be able to prove it. They will max out your line of credit, and if you're foolish enough to keep the account open and pay down the balance, they'll do it again. If you try to get the money back, without any written, signed and legitimately notarized agreement, you will lose. Check with your attorney before making any payment, and insist on having the scumbag's signature notarized by an independent notary pulic, chosen by you. Don't trust their notary; they lie too, every day of the week, for the scumbag who pays their salary. They can use a phony notary seal, then deny there ever was an agreement for less than FULL PAYMENT, plus ongoing interest, until paid in FULL.

ALWAYS insist on a properly executed, legally signed and notarized agreement (and/or release of the debt, if settling on a final payment) on paper from the scumbag, before handing over any payment. Have your lawyer examine the documents first.

ALWAYS insist that your lawyer confirm the scumbags are legally entitled to receive payment, agree to terms, and/or release the debt, before making any partial or FULL payment.

DON'T BELIEVE ANY PROMISE that they will remove the account from your credit record. No one can do that, until it is seven years old. However, if they have re-aged the debt, by claiming the account was active later than the last payment, they must make that correction before you agree to any payment. Reducing the age of the account, by filing false activity reports is fraudulent and they MUST correct it, even if they claim it was an "honest" mistake. They wouldn't know anything about honesty, even if it bit off their balls.

I am not an attorney. I should have become one, but I receive excellent counsel from an outstanding attorney. I expect John J O'Brien Jr., and perhaps his son, both from near Philadelphia, to be the ONLY attorneys or among the VERY few I will find in Heaven.