Complaint Review: Merchant Credit Guide

My first comment is addressed to Steve's comment regarding disposable income.

Steve's comment ... let them sue you if you are living paycheck to paycheck they can only garnish your disposable income ...so let them get 5 - 10 bucks (or something along those lines) is misleading. Disposable income is not the money you have left over after you pay your bills. Disposable income/earnings is the money left over after subtracting lawful deductions from gross earnings.

Lawful deductions include: Federal income tax;
Social security; State income tax; and State disability.

Deductions that are not counted in figuring disposable earnings are: 401(k) contributions; Health deductions; Court-ordered assignments for support; and/or other voluntary deductions.

In other words if you are living paycheck to paycheck now just think what will happen if your check is garnished.

Tina - did you return the car in 2002? And if so, what date? Also do you have any paperwork showing when the car was returned? The statute of limitations for collecting on a written contract in California is 4 years. If it has been 4 years since the sale of the vehicle, try sending a statute of limitations letter to Merchant via certified mail (return receipt requested) and U.S. Regular mail also.

If less than 4 years has passed since the car was returned to the company, you will probably need to attempt settlement negotiations with the company. They have the right to collect the defeciency between the balance you owed and what they actually auctioned the car off for.

I hope this helps.

Lisa

Carla:

The biggest question is when EXACTLY did you stop making payments on this car loan?

If you have lived in California all this time, you have the protection of a 4-year statute of limitations on your defaulted loan (meaning they can't sue you after 4 years has run).

The creditor has a legal right to file suit clear up to that point however, so you need to be careful about sending a straight-out C&D letter (the agency could just possibly respond by having a lawsuit filed against you.).

So, before you do anything (if you haven't done it already), nail down that date, then if you're still within the 4-year timeframe make an appointment with a consumer law attorney to discuss your best course of action.

If you're outside the 4-year limit, then feel free to tell them to kindly drop off the face of the earth - the debt is legally uncollectable at this point.

Either way, stay off the phone with them from now on...anything you say can and will be used against you.

Before you start defending Triad, you need to do a search here on Triad and see the pages and pages of horror stories about how Triad treats their customers. If you really are a Triad customer, it's only a matter of time before they start on you. There are several peopleon this forum that are CSRs for Triad who pose as "satified" customers that post rebuttals to defend Triad. Some others come here and post bogus generic "please call customer service" notes. Triad is an evil company run by thugs, and a class action lawsuit is in the works. Triad will pay for their horrendous treatment of their customers.

You are not dealing with Triad anymore. You are dealing with a debt buyer who bought the deficiency judgement for pennies or less on the dollar.

Carla..A CEASE COMMUNICATIONS request as per your rights under the FDCPA will stop the calls. Go to BudHibbs.com to get a free sample, and be sure to send it certified mail, return reciept requested.

Let them sue! They won't actually get paid. If you have nothing, they can get nothing. If you are living paycheck to paycheck, there is nothing to garnish, as garnishments are done on a percentage of your DISPOSABLE income. Let them get $5-$10 a week! They still lose as the costs involved will exceed this!

File a Bar Association complaint on the illegal/unethical activities of this collector calling himself a lawyer. And file the FTC complaints at FTC.gov.

I am a widow who was forced to file Bankruptucy after my husband died. When I needed a car Triad financied me during a very hard time in my life. Before I had to file for BK my late husband and I had GREAT credit. This is due to educating myself on my finacial obligations. I know Triad is a sub-prime lender so I am assuming you know little or nothing on how it works. You signed a contract to make payments on or before the due date on the vehicle of YOUR choice. You defaulted on your contractual obligation to your lender and indeed do owe the money.

Suggestion. Try to get a settlement before they sue. After all they do legaly have that right. Also if you are going to buy a used car. Do not finance it. Just simply get what you can afford with the money you have on hand. Your credit is a precious thing and Triad is helping me to re-establish this and I appriciate them very much for this. I have never had any problems with phone calls from them( Because I make my payments on or before the due date) And if my payment was not received on time would welcome a phone call so I can research it. We are the only ones in control of our credit scores. You the consumer and you alone.

I am a widow who was forced to file Bankruptucy after my husband died. When I needed a car Triad financied me during a very hard time in my life. Before I had to file for BK my late husband and I had GREAT credit. This is due to educating myself on my finacial obligations. I know Triad is a sub-prime lender so I am assuming you know little or nothing on how it works. You signed a contract to make payments on or before the due date on the vehicle of YOUR choice. You defaulted on your contractual obligation to your lender and indeed do owe the money.

Suggestion. Try to get a settlement before they sue. After all they do legaly have that right. Also if you are going to buy a used car. Do not finance it. Just simply get what you can afford with the money you have on hand. Your credit is a precious thing and Triad is helping me to re-establish this and I appriciate them very much for this. I have never had any problems with phone calls from them( Because I make my payments on or before the due date) And if my payment was not received on time would welcome a phone call so I can research it. We are the only ones in control of our credit scores. You the consumer and you alone.

I am a widow who was forced to file Bankruptucy after my husband died. When I needed a car Triad financied me during a very hard time in my life. Before I had to file for BK my late husband and I had GREAT credit. This is due to educating myself on my finacial obligations. I know Triad is a sub-prime lender so I am assuming you know little or nothing on how it works. You signed a contract to make payments on or before the due date on the vehicle of YOUR choice. You defaulted on your contractual obligation to your lender and indeed do owe the money.

Suggestion. Try to get a settlement before they sue. After all they do legaly have that right. Also if you are going to buy a used car. Do not finance it. Just simply get what you can afford with the money you have on hand. Your credit is a precious thing and Triad is helping me to re-establish this and I appriciate them very much for this. I have never had any problems with phone calls from them( Because I make my payments on or before the due date) And if my payment was not received on time would welcome a phone call so I can research it. We are the only ones in control of our credit scores. You the consumer and you alone.

I am a widow who was forced to file Bankruptucy after my husband died. When I needed a car Triad financied me during a very hard time in my life. Before I had to file for BK my late husband and I had GREAT credit. This is due to educating myself on my finacial obligations. I know Triad is a sub-prime lender so I am assuming you know little or nothing on how it works. You signed a contract to make payments on or before the due date on the vehicle of YOUR choice. You defaulted on your contractual obligation to your lender and indeed do owe the money.

Suggestion. Try to get a settlement before they sue. After all they do legaly have that right. Also if you are going to buy a used car. Do not finance it. Just simply get what you can afford with the money you have on hand. Your credit is a precious thing and Triad is helping me to re-establish this and I appriciate them very much for this. I have never had any problems with phone calls from them( Because I make my payments on or before the due date) And if my payment was not received on time would welcome a phone call so I can research it. We are the only ones in control of our credit scores. You the consumer and you alone.

Carla , do you still have the car ? If so , be very careful. They may say they've written it off but they will still come take your car. Check out your credit report , its very easy to do just go to annualcreditreport.com , its easy and free. Make sure because Triad will go to any lengths to get their money or their car. I'm speaking from experience! For all victims of Triad , I URGE you ...file your complaint with the attorney general's office in your state and in California. Just go to their website and you can do it very easily online. And also the FTC , which can be done online as well. Triad's day is soon. Good luck Carla!

Dear Tina,

The same thing is happening to me! We bought a car in 2002 and it was financed through Triad. My husband and I went through a rough time financially and we had to make sacrifices. We decided that we had to let the car go. We begged Triad to please take it back. About a month ago, a collection agency, They call themselves Fizgerald Law firm started calling my house, my job and sending me mail telling me that they were going to sue me for the amount I still owed on the car ($8,925 - which is rediculous). They say they are a law firm and they are not trying to collect a debt but the mail I get says that this is an attempt to collect a debt. I have asked this guy, Theodore Bass to quit calling my job but he refuses to oblige me and continues to harrass me. And why am I just now hearing something about this. It has been almost 3 yrs.

My husband called Triad but they told him that they had wrote the account off and that we no longer owe them anything. Pretty weird, huh? So now I'm fed up and I am asking for help too. I don't know who is telling the truth. The guy wants me to pay $500 dollars a month!! When I told him that I couldn't afford it, that we were living from paycheck to paycheck anyway he basically called me a liar. There is a lady on rip-off who is starting a class action against Triad, I want to see if I can join in. Someone's stories are not adding up.