Complaint Review: MCM - Internet

Someguy sure sounds like a Debt Collector.  So here are things you should probably understand.

- When you signed up for T-Mobile you gave them the right to transfer your "debt" to another company.  So in this part he was correct.  Where if you were delinquent with T-Mobile it is possible that T-Mobile gave up and you do owe the debt to MCM.

- 3rd Party Collection Agencies MUST follow the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act(FDCPA) as well as the Fair Credit Reporting Act(FCRA).  So I would suggest you look those up to understand your rights.  If they violate these regulations you can actually go after them by suing them.

- As for being sued..Someguy seemed to give you the standard "scare tactic response".  Now can you be sued...YES.  But it is not as much of a slam-dunk as Someguy is trying to portray.

First off there is the Statute of Limitations.  This is the period of time a creditor has to sue you.  This varies by state and by type of debt, but as an average it is in the 3-5 year range.  After the SOL has expired there is nothing a creditor can do legally to get you to pay.  If you are sued after the SOL expires you can use the SOL as a defense in court and have the case dismissed.

He talked about Wage Garnishment, that is not allowed in every State.  However it does seem to be allowed in VA.   But an attorney can not garnish your wages.  That can only be done after they file suit and you have a judgment entered against you.

As for the suit.  Some less than honest Attorneys use what is known as "Sewer Service".  That is when they do sue you they send the summons to a place they know you are not at.  Since you don't get it you obviously don't show up to court and they get a default judgment against you.  Generally the first time a person knows about this months later when they get notice that they are being garnished.   If this happens you need to deal with the courts to get the judgment vacated(basically thrown out).  There is a lot more detail but this is just some general notes to keep in mind if it gets to this.

Now, if the debt is still in the SOL and you do not dispute the amount, you can try to talk to T-Mobile if they will take the debt back.  If not you will need to pay MCM.  But before you send them a single dime, make sure you have an agreement in writing from them that you agree with.  This should include things such as how much you owe and how many payments at what amount you are going to make to take care of the debt. 

This company is a junk debt buyer!! Go to www.budhibbs.com a read all about them. Don't talk to them until you know your rights.  Good luck to you.

Hi,

I know exactly how you feel, but if T-Mobile sold the debt to MCM, then yes, you do legally owe MCM the money.

Creditors buy and sell debt and the legal ownership is, well, legally transferred.  MCM paid T-Mobile for your debt, in exchange for the legal right to recover the assets (money) from you.  So, even though you originally opened your account with T-Mobile, because you didn't pay it, T-Mobile took what money they could get from MCM and MCM is going to get what they can from you.

If it's a high enough debt ($500+) they will usually make cursory attempts to get the money from you, all the while tacking on interest (which is legal for everything but medical bills).  When the statute of limitations is getting near, they will turn it over to an Attorney who can legally garnish your wages for the full amount.  The full amount = original debt + interest accrued. PLUS they will recover process server fees and attorney fees from you.

All in all, you can either pay the settlement amount, which is usually substantially less than the original amount, or you could end being forced to pay 3 - 4 times the amount through a court ordered garnishment.

Do a quick search on Google and you'll see that, yes you do legally owe MCM the money.