Percent Sued Doesn't Jive With Forum Experience

[ForumReader]

Debt settlement companies will say alot of things to get you to pay them to do something you can do yourself.

That is very correct. The DSC that I enrolled with had me believing being sued was very minimal. Told me not to worry, etc. That was before I learned of this site when I met with the attorney. It would be nice to see these DSCs fizzle out into thin air!

[ryan]

I've heard that there is a "bankruptcy score" that some OC's and CA's use to measure their risk of not getting a dime out of a judgment.

I have heard this also. Sort of like a decision matrix. Of course it would be very useful to know what it valued and did not value in terms of "suit worthy" cases.

Treehugger, I'm curious how long did CITIbank go before filing? I have a 13K balance with them that is 3 months behind and they just this week turned it over to United Collection Bureau in Toledo OH.... Discover, Chase and BofA (with similar balances) have not done anything yet, by comparison.

I'm starting to wonder if Citi may end up being the first to sue?

[flyinbroke]

BoA's very polite collections manager told me they like to keep collections inhouse for as long as possible but informed me at the 90 day mark it will be given to outside CAs. I said I understood but cannot pay them as I don't have the money. I would venture to say that you will be hearing from an outsider about BoA soon IF the mgr was telling the truth (but collections people lie.)

[treehugger1]

Citi went to UCB and another CA or so. I don't think they generally sell their debt. I stopped paying about 2 1/2 years ago. I tried a few months of the hardship program, but finally stopped all payments a year or so ago. I DV's the out-of-state attorney and didn't hear anything for several months. I would guess it was 12 - 14 months before they authorized the attorney to file the claim.

All my BoA accounts were sold to JDB's (CACH, LVNV, etc.) None of these JDB's have ever contacted me directly, but they report to my credit reporting agencies. Both of the accounts were passed to out-of-state attorney firms. I sent cease and desist letters and have not heard a word for months.

You do need to understand that where I live, I am a far, far away from any of their contracted attorney firms. I don't know if that makes a difference, but I do know that there are no local attorneys in these JDB's attorney networks.

[GoingDown]

The fact that they don't have any of their own attorneys in your area would make a difference. It would cost them more and take more time and effort on their part to hire an attorney in your area.

[frogger]

The percentages are going to keep changing this year. There is some new software that is starting to be used by OC and CA that will change the percentages. Technology is rapidly evolving and this is going to be a huge change for the collection industry.

I don't know yet, but it looks like the percentages are going to be going up. As soon as I have better info on the software and how it works, I'll bring it back for everyone to tell me that I'm wrong.

[GoingDown]

I actually think the percentages will go down this year because more people are out of work and simply can not afford to pay their debts period. So filing a lawsuit against a debtor who has nothing is a waste of money, time, and effort.

Arizona bankruptcies are at an all time high, and I think that trend will continue for quite a while.

[MADinNJ]

I feel fairly certain if that 1% was true at one time it will not be true for much longer. Lawsuits are becoming much more common and the reason is that it is easy money for the JDB. Once upon a time when these accounts were passed from buyer to buyer important documents/facts were lost in the transactions leading to noncollectable debts. But that is no longer the case. These types of cases are quickly going from the OC to a JDB and into lawsuit. Their main goal is to get a summary judgment which costs them almost nothing. Part of it is the proliferation of JDB's masquerading as law firms making it easier to have local representation in your district. I have no hard data just the feeling I get from reading up on bad credit card debt and my own experience.

If you cannot afford to settle your debts and pay the taxes then why are you waiting to file for bankruptcy? Waiting for the lawsuits to start coming in is not in your best interest financially or for your psychological or emotional sound state of mind.

JMHO. Peace.

[frogger]

Lawsuits are becoming much more common and the reason is that it is easy money for the JDB.

The reason is software. Computer software that enables 1 lawyer in a firm to handle 3000+ cases per month. I should have more info on this in a few weeks.

This is going to get interesting.