Portfolio Recovery Hyat, Hayt, & Landau They are stealing from us Miami Florida
In 1996, a car was reposessed by Ford Motor Credit. My husband became disabled and I was working for Wal-Mart for 5.15 an hour. We lost everything. We have 2 daughters. I am a severe diabetic since the age of 6, and my husband has had several heart attachs. We had a choice of living in the car or having a roof over our heads the roof won. Portfolio bought the dept in 2005. It was no longer on my credit and I got another job in 1998. I manage a low income housing complex. Hayt, Hayt, and Landau took me to court in 2007 and placed a judgment against me. Now they are garnishing my wages. My husband and I are not able to buy our medicines and we are in the process of losing another vehicle. In 2001, my husband made a verbal agreement with a credit collection agency to pay $100 a month for 6 months because they were calling all day and he was getting very agrevated. I had no knowledge of these payments until Portfolio told me. The car was not in my husbands name and he had no right to make payments on my behalf. According to the judge, it doesn't matter. I guess anyone can make payments to collection agencies in any ones name, and it will count against you. The judge told me at the hearing that it was just a judgment, but it isn't. According to the statutes of limitations a verbal agreement is only valid for 4 years. There was never a written contract. We asked them for proof of a written contract, and they sent a copy of the original contract from ford Motor Credit. If anyone knows where we can get help please let us know
Linda
Lake Panasoffkee, Florida
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Eek
OCOEE,Florida,
U.S.A.
RESPONSE
#5Consumer Suggestion
Wed, January 23, 2008
Linda,
It may be a little late but hopefully you can use this information. If you are the head of the houshold, i.e. providing greater than 50% of the income they cannot garnish your wages. Additionally, there is a Statute of Limitations, for a written contract I believe it is 5 years (oral 4yrs). If they didn't file suit against you in time, you should just told them to beat it, the money is no longer owed. The problem is your husband appears to have re-affirmed the debt when he began repaying $100 or he could be acting as a surety. Do they have a written contract with him? The oral contract will likely not be enforceable because of the doctrine of Statute of Frauds. Another tip, if you want the collectors to stop calling and writing...send them a letter sent via certified mail within 10 days saying do not call or write me, I dispute the debt, etc. Clark Howard's website has some good tips on the exact language you should use.
Terri
Fifty Lakes,Minnesota,
U.S.A.
My Experience
#5Consumer Comment
Wed, October 31, 2007
Plan on spending quite a bit of money to try and get the judgment vacated. Portfolio Recovery didn't give us a chance to attend a "hearing" We followed up when the summons came. They did nothing I asked. Then all of a sudden the judgment popped up including a Financial Disclosure Form. They want to know what we have which is pretty much nothing. If it wasn't filled out and sent back by a due date then my husband will be held in contempt and could face jail.
We contacted an attorney and he wants $2000.00 to retain him and he will file the Motion to Vacate Judgment. Then another $400.00 for?? Like we really have the money to do that when we have one income. And yet my husband makes "too" much for legal aid. Now we just don't know what to do. We are just sick over this whole thing. Hope you have better luck than we did.
Terri
Robert
Buffalo,New York,
U.S.A.
An Auto loan
#5Consumer Comment
Sat, October 27, 2007
is considered a written contract and the SOL in PA is 6 years. If a payment was made in 2001 that would reset the SOL clock, so I can see where the court granted the judgement and the garnishment of wages.
You might consult with an attorney to see if there is anything that would be grounds to seek to have the judgement vacated because it was your debt and you were not aware of any payments being made by your husband. If your husband was a cosigner for the autoloan then it would appear that you're stuck.
If things are unbearable you should consult with an attorney who specializes in bankruptcy to see if either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection is a viable option for you.
Good luck.
Nikki
Coconut Creek,Florida,
U.S.A.
Did you bring up statute of limitations?
#5Consumer Comment
Sat, October 27, 2007
Did you bring up the statute of limitations in your defense? I am curious. I was told that a lot of judges will not rule that a lawsuit is out of the statute of limitations unless you bring it up as part of your defense.