Frederick J. Hanna & Associates, P.C. Summoned... What can I do? Marietta Georgia

The Georgia Supreme Court says Hanna is a "law firm," so you have to submit a bar complaint vs. them (and not a consumer complaint with the state OCA or federal FCC -- but fine if you do that too anyway).  You may submit a bar complaint vs. Fred Hanna (the owner of the "firm") and any atty. that may have contacted you that also violated bar rules for atty.s:

(Call and ask for a bar complaint, and if they have them online):

State Bar of Georgia
www.gabar.org
104 Marietta St. NW, Suite 100
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
(404) 527-8700
(800) 334-6865
FAX: (404) 527-8717

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See below for info. on where to look for sample do-not-call letters vs. Hanna, and how to fight Hanna lawsuits and WIN (feel free to post on here too for more info.):

Info. for fighting Hanna lawsuits:

http://www.beatdebtcollectors.com/

Hanna consumer complaints and blogs:

http://nextlevelunlimited.net/blog/fredrick-j-hanna-collection-debt-or-hanna-barbera-crook-or-cartoon/

http://www.ripoffreport.com/Search/Frederick-J_-Hanna.aspx

Submit a Georgia bar complaint vs. Fred Hanna and other Hanna attorneys:

http://gabar.org/contact_the_bar/

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Sample do-not-call/ validation letter vs. Hanna:

Date:  January 30, 2011

Frederick J. Hanna & Associates, P.C.
1427 Roswell Rd.
Marietta, GA  30062

Account number(s):  (See Enclosed)       
                       
RE:  Request for Validation of Debt, 15 U.S.C. § 1692g

Dear Sir or Madam:

This is my formal notice that I am disputing this debt, and requesting immediate validation under Section 809 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692g, of the debt from your office.  I am requesting that your office immediately send me a copy of the following documents: (a) the name, address, and phone number of an employee of the original creditor that can validate the debt, (b) proof of who is the current legal owner of the debt, and that you represent the original creditor or debt buyer, and (c) the original signed note, contract, credit agreement, or instrument creating the debt.

I am disputing this debt for the following reasons:  this debt has not been validated.  I do not know whether your debt collection company is the legal owner of this debt or not, or if the amounts charged are valid.

This is also my formal notice under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c, to you to cease all further communications with me, my family members, and my associates and all third parties, unless I give you express permission to do so.  You have my express permission to mail me the requested validation documents to the address listed below, but I do not give you permission to contact me over the phone, or in any other way except as specifically addressed in this letter.
                    
This letter is not meant in any way to be an acknowledgment that I owe this money.


Sincerely,


John Doe
P.O. Box 0000
Atlanta, GA  30300

You're welcome. I think JDB are really scum. Hanna is one of the worst, but, if you know what to look for, you can beat them.


Now, If I may, a piece of advice.

Your posts are extremely hard to read. Paragraphs and spaces are your friend!

ya'll have a good day..

What Robert in Buffalo is failing to realize is that as I stated, I am here to help consumers who are unaware of their options to have a punchers chance. As I also said to Robert in Buffalo, pro se defendants have to fill out the same legal forms as a consumer defense attorney in cases like this. In my opinion, Robert seems to have a knack for stirring the pot with myself instead of keeping his content on contributing to Bill from Georgia's cause. First of all, my screen name is meant to keep my anonymity as is afforded under the First Amendment. I'm aware I haven't made any friends in the world of Collection Outfits trying to bully unsuspecting consumers. If you have a personal hard on with me, maybe we will someday meet in court since you are from the plaintiff/creditors side of the coin. I will leave it at that since I respect your anonymity as well. To turn my helpful advice on this topic into ENCOURAGING a "FDCPAviolationswinner" is open season now for a civil claim for "giving alleged legal advice" is petty at best and being a (add a P to Rick) at a deeper level. I'm here to help consumers, not engage in a pissing contest with you.
As for Robert in Rochester, thank you for putting the focus of this topic back on helping Bill from Georgia.

We agree that our intentions here on these various reports are to give advice to help naive consumers stand atleast a punchers chance of success when they are behind the financial and litigation eight ball. I am on key with this post since I've unfortunately had to deal with issues such as this as a defendant. Pro se defendants have to fill out the same legal forms as actual defense attorneys when going pro se so I'd like to believe I can give advice that can educate naive consumers who only have 20-30 days to figure out what to do from the day they are served. We both agree that any defense on the consumers part pro se or with an attorney (always recommended before pro se) gives a better than 0% chance of success which ignoring a summons will give a consumer if they don't answer or show up for trial.
To keep personal anonymity intact, you strike me as someone who has never had any problems forcing you to be a defendant in a creditor civil claim. That's great and hope you never have to deal with this process.
As for myself, I've explained on a recent report that when I had very respectable credit (high 700's FICO) I paid a 4 year old utility bill that wasn't on my CBR but because I was a "naive consumer" in the 90's, I promptly paid the law firm only to months later see it appear as "paid collections" on my CBR and my score DROPPED close to 40 points. My advice may appear as "evasion tactics", but my motives stem from the 3 major credit bureaus HURTING consumers who pay charged off and other unsecured collections accounts. I feel a paid collections account should IMPROVE one's FICO 25-30 points. It doesn't. The account gets REAGED and is stuck with you for an extra 7 years on your CBR (I thought it was 6 and you recently corrected me on that).Hence, lowering your score by making an old account look current. I agree it is "morally" wrong to avoid paying something you owe. HOWEVER, the 3 credit bureaus don't judge consumers on "morality." They again get screwed from a FICO score standpoint by "being moral." When you spend as many years as myself to build great credit only to see it ruined by a month or two of not paying a creditor (over 30 days pastdue on ANY account is credit reported and lowers your score sometimes over 100 points, I know personally), one may feel a sense of being screwed. At that point, one feels a sense of "great dilligence wasted by one tough stretch." Some choose to sulk and get run over by creditors and collectors. I chose to fight! When your credit is already trashed, I take the stance of "nothing to lose" in fighting back. So far so good.

The other Robert (the one from Buffalo) says.

You seem to think that because you're not a lawyer that your advice does not consitute 'legal advice.'

You are mistaken. Whether something is considered 'legal advice' or not is not determined in any way by the fact that the advice giver is a lawyer or not.

When you give advice that is specific to court proceedures, you are arguably dispensing legal advice. Your disclaimer is meaningless in this regard. You can be held liable for the detrimental effects of your legal advice. I mention this to you so that you consider more carefully the advice you dispense-for your own protection.

Don't take my word for it. Check it yourself with any comptentent attorney or with the NYS and Erie County Bar Associations.


Ok, Robert.. back it up with case law. As far as the bar associations and other attorneys, OF COURSE they are going to tell you its practicing without a license. You are taking away from their livelihood.

Giving my opinion, based on fact is not practicing law, it is giving an opinion. I think you are stretching..

Jeeze... all the OP wanted was some advice..


Ok, my advice. Go to debt-consolidation-credit-repair-service dot com. Go to the Credit and Debt Problems Forums > Legal Issues > Is There a Lawyer in the House.

Budd Hibbs is great at what he does, but I got much more information from this site. This is a forum filled with everyday people who have successfully beaten collection agencies, lawyers and JDB. There are multiple discussions about DV letters, case law, pro se lawsuits. It takes a lot of research time, but well worth it.

If you don't feel you can handle it, you need to see a lawyer.

Good luck!

You seem to think that because you're not a lawyer that your advice does not consitute "legal advice."

You are mistaken. Whether something is considered "legal advice" or not is not determined in any way by the fact that the advice giver is a lawyer or not.

Think about this: How do you think folks get prosecuted and fined for practicing law without a license?

Answer: They dispense legal advice without being a lawyer.

When you give advice that is specific to court proceedures, you are arguably dispensing legal advice. Your disclaimer is meaningless in this regard. You can be held liable for the detrimental effects of your legal advice. I mention this to you so that you consider more carefully the advice you dispense-for your own protection.

Don't take my word for it. Check it yourself with any comptentent attorney or with the NYS and Erie County Bar Associations.

Anyone who dispenses legal advice (including me) does so at his/her peril: lawyer and layperson alike. Laypersons can and have been held liable for their advice.

I personally don't care if you chose to expose yourself to possible liability. I am conscerned only because you seem to have a misconception as to what constitutes legal advice. I would not like to learn that you find yourself on the business end of a civil suit or prosecution because mistakenly thought your "disclaimer" protected you.

If you're going to contineu to expose yourself to risk, that's fine, but I hope you do some more thorough research so that you make a correctly INFORMED decision to do so.

My disclaimer in my two previous posts is self explanatory.NO LEGAL ADVICE AS I'M NOT AN ATTORNEY. Bill, I hope you can afford a competent consumer defense attorney because going pro se does add challenges and personal time. I hope you fight this and win but you have to also prepare for worst case scenario meaning Hanna wins a default judgment against you. What you can do RIGHT NOW.
1) If you are employed, CANCEL direct deposit with your employer ASAP. If a Default Judgment is won, the creditor can easily execute the judgment by dragging you back to court a second time and garnishing your paycheck (legal in state of Georgia). Do damage control now win or lose and CANCEL direct deposit with your employer. Two alternatives are cashing your paycheck at the same bank your employer banks through (for a very small fee and a drivers license as ID, you can cash your paycheck). Secondly, it's usually 3% of the net value of your paycheck as a fee, go through an underground check cashing store. Both alternatives are WAY better than losing a judgment and getting your bank account levied.Use cash or money orders to pay necessities. Direct deposit WILL get levied if you fail to cancel it prior to a judgment being executed. Again, if you lose to default judgment, the plaintiff/creditor still needs to execute it by taking you back to court for a second time. Information Subpoenas are a dicey scenario too. You need to answer those under oath or face contempt of court which in some cases can result in jail time. So make sure you do damage control now while you have the ability to maneauver funds in your bank account. Preferably close your checking since you have no obligation to bend over and let the creditor levy your bank account since a default judgment and execution has yet to be determined.
2) If your present job is run of the mill, you can always find a new job if you lose and a default judgment is executed. No one says you have to stay at the same job after a default judgment is executed. Information Subpoenas depending on jurisdiction can only be done every so often so you can buy some time by switching jobs. A creditor can only garnish a check they can find.
3) Stop applying for credit! Inquiries include place of employment amongst other things. If you have no inquiries, a judgment creditor cannot easily find your new employer.For that matter, stop using credit. Generally most cash advances or credit purchases inside of 6 months of filing bankruptcy can be challenged as "intent to defraud creditors" when "The meeting of the creditors" takes place with the trustee after filing bankruptcy.
4) File bankruptcy. A judgment stays on your CBR as long as a bankruptcy in many cases so in my opinion, it makes no difference from an immediate credit rating standpoint.You have a much better chance of credit recovery if your only debt is unsecured credit cards with filing bankruptcy.They are wiped away and you have a fresh start. Exceptions that aren't bankruptcy dischargeable are student loans,child support, state and federal income taxes and government loans.Plus it stays all judgments and garnishments from being executed. Before filing, speak to and get a certificate of completion form from a Georgia state approved CCCS company (Consumer Credit Counseling Services). This must be done WITHIN six months of filing. If you are filing chapter 7, make sure you have your most recent tax return,listing of all creditors you owe and make sure your income is below Georgia's "Means Test" for Chapter 7 qualification. For Chapter 13, I believe you need your four most recent tax returns and it's far more complicated than Chapter 7 (no asset case) bankruptcy. If you own tangible assets like real or auto, find out what the equity exemptions are for state of Georgia and you can always reaffirm to protect them as well.

I CLEARLY said I am not an attorney NOR DO I guarantee my methods generate 100% success on an individual case basis. I SPECIFICALLY said if Bill could afford a consumer defense attorney, he should hire one ASAP. I will also add here that my post is NOT TO BE USED AS LEGAL ADVICE NOR SHALL I BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY USAGE OF MY ADVICE.Not all consumers can afford legal counsel. I NEVER DISCOURAGED Bill from hiring a consumer defense attorney if he has the funds to.For that matter, if anyone can afford a consumer defense attorney, than do so BEFORE considering going pro se.

To Robert: I have acknowledged any personal mistakes made on my part and have given you kudos for corrections on past topics here. HOWEVER, you COMPLETELY misread my description of GENERAL DENIAL. I said NOTHING about general denial forcing the plaintiff to produce a live witness. I mentioned in section #3 of my post, SWORN DENIAL eliminates the Plaintiffs sworn affidavit and forces a live witness. Sworn Denial is NOT GENERAL DENIAL. Again reread section #3 in my last post.

I suggest you quite practicing law without a license.

Your disclaimer not withstanding, you appear to be practicing law without a license.

As experienced as I am in dealing with consumer credit issues I make NO ATTEMPT to give advice on actual court proceedures and I suggest to you that you stop. I always recommend folks consult with a competent attorney when going to court-you should too, and leave it at that.

You should be aware that even with your disclaimer, you can be held LIABLE for the undesired result that befalls someone who follows your legal advice. Don't take my word for it-check with an attorney yourself.

Also, just so you know, your general denial DOES NOT force a live witness to go to court for the creditor/debt collector and does not cost them "thousands of dollars." I have testified at enough small claims and district court cases to know this is not true.

How about people just pay their debts? Why would someone wish another person luck in trying to escape paying what they owe? I don't know about anyone else, but I was raised to pay for my debts and to be honest. Since when is it okay to take the attitude of "good for you, you got one over on that business."? Is nobody raised with scruples anymore?

I know Mr Hibbs and he will always call you back
His number is on the website
Also check with you State laws regarding third party debt collectors
In the State of Texas a debt collector must file a Surety Bond with the Secretary of State - if they do not them any collection agency is not allowed to collect third party debts
If they do they are fined $100.00 per call or letter
Good luck and fight back!
Let us know what happens

I am not an attorney nor will I ever say that this is going to guarantee your suit will be dismissed or withdrawn. This is what you can do pro se if getting an attorney is out of the question. If you can afford an attorney, find a consumer defense attorney ASAP. This is my personal experience in successfully forcing the creditor/plaintiff to withdraw or have the judge dismiss a suit against me as a pro se defendant.Again ,it's far from 100% guaranteed success for each individual case but it's worked for me and is far better than having a 0% chance by ignoring the summons and taking a default judgment.Just show up for trial date and do the following before expiration date to answer summons (usually 20-30 days from date you are served). Ways to force Hanna to spend thousands in fees below as well.
1) DENY EVERYTHING in your answers. The burden of Proof is on the plaintiff/creditor, not you. This is called GENERAL DENIAL.
2) The statute of limitations for credit card debt is 6 years in Georgia. Because your date of last activity was 3 years ago, you CANNOT use this as an affirmative defense. You need to put Hanna on a papertrail that will cost Hanna thousands in fees (authentic paperwork and flying in live witnesses. Below is how you do it.)
3) Type a SWORN DENIAL LETTER. It needs to be typed and then notorized and filed with the clerk at the courthouse. Don't sign your name until you are in front of the clerk. Send an additional copy along with other paperwork including general denial answer to summons and discovery demands to Hanna certified mail return receipt requested. A sworn denial letter ELIMINATES the sworn affidavit Hanna has and forces them to bring in a live witness which they may of may not be able to do in a timely manner. You need to type "I deny this is my debt and if it is my debt, I deny that it is a valid debt and if it is a valid debt, I deny the amount of the claim is correct." This again ELIMINATES Hanna's sworn affidavit and forces a live witness.
4) Demand Discovery with Production of Documents and Requests for Admissions. Check out your courts Rules of Civil Procedure when doing this.Sometimes the clerk will give you the proper forms themselves. You have the right to demand the plaintiff provides authentic paperwork from not only the original creditor but every creditor who owned the alleged debt from beginning to present. Demanding live witnesses from every creditor can attack their "chain of custody". Meaning authentic and properly itemized statements can get lost from junk debt buyers (creditors) over time and if they have broken this chain of custody, they have no case and their claim is hearsay. Demand the live witnesses from the creditors give detailed job descriptions, length of time on the job,if they had direct knowledge of your alleged account at the time they owned it, if you had a signed contract with each creditor,etc. Also demand how much they purchased the debt for from each previous creditor (usually 2-30 cents on the dollar). Meaning you can attack Hanna's claim for a hypothetical $1000 from original creditor by saying they actually purchased it for a minute fraction of original creditor claim (between $20 and $300 on a $1000 claim). Make sure you again read over your jurisdictions Rules of Civil Procedure when formatting these Discovery Motions (production of documents and requests for admissions). I am giving you general ways to attack their credibility and chain of custody from beginning to end. Proper and legal ways to request demands in discovery per your jurisdiction needs to be properly formatted so research it ASAP. Good luck Bill!

Contacting Bud Hibbs is a great start...use him as a resource.

Are you sure this is a real summons? A letter from a debt collector implying legal action is not a real summons. How was this alleged "summons" delivered? Did a sheriff or process server hand deliver it? A real summons will almost always have a confirmed court date and court case docket number. Have you called the local courthouse to confirm that this is a real summons?

If this IS a real summons with a confirmed court date, then you MUST officially respond to the summons AND show up in court. Not showing up on the court date is the worst possible mistake you can make. If you fail to show up the other side will win by default and get everything they want.

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Send this debt collector a letter via Certified Mail with Return Receipt (NOT regular mail) stating:

Notice of Intent to Defend

I cannot officially respond to your claim until validation is made for the alleged debt. Per the terms of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), I am officially requesting validation of your claim, to include:

- a copy of the original application with my signature for this alleged debt
- a fully itemized statement for the amount you are asking which clearly details how this amount was calculated, including the interest rate being charged
- what is the Date of Last Activity being used to calculate the Statute of Limitations for the alleged debt?

If this issue goes to court, I will specifically be requesting the above items as validation of your claim.

This letter has been mailed via Certified Mail with Return Receipt. Receipt of this letter is being officially documented.
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* DO NOT sign your signature on any document that you mail to a debt collector. It could end up on a forged document that can be used against you. Simply type your full name.

Even if the debt is still within the statute of limitations, very often these junk debt collectors cannot validate the debt. Make a point of demanding a copy of the original application with your signature to validate the claim. Good luck!