Credit card debt now lien on house!

[scottaction]

In 1998, we had a Discover credit card with @ $7000 of debt we could not pay. A judgment was filed in 2000 for $9741 which we did not know about. A few years later, we received a letter from a debt collector who met us outside of court before they were going to have the court start to attach assets to pay the debt. We agreed to pay $250/mo. and did so faithfully. We paid $3550 to them, and then they sold the debt to Mann Bracken. We continued to pay them, totaling another $4950. In May of this year, I found out Mann Bracken went BK in Jan. - Apparently they kept taking my checks. I stopped making payment, thinking it was over. Later, CIR in San Diego said they picked up the debt. I had received their letter I thought was a credit collector trying to pull something on us. The debt they said was now over $13,000! but they would settle for $6000. The next month(Sept.) I got the same settlement letter- the amount was now $21,000! Then we get a copy of a lien they filed against us for that amount. I called them and talked to one of their lawyers. She would not give me any specifics of the debt, or fees, interest, etc and said the burden of proof was on me, not her and said she would give me no information! I asked why the debt grew from 13k to 21k in 1 month and she said there were fees in extending the judgment, but again would not give me any info at all. $7000 in fees??? I believe there HAS to be some violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices act! I NEED HELP!!

 

[army judge]

You were never under any threat to pay the debt. Discover wrote the debt off. They received a huge tax dispensation in regard to their tax liabilities.

You've been victimized over the years by paying the con-man you met outside the courthouse. The whole thing is a ruse, designed to extract money out of you.

The woman with whom you spoke, probably wasn't even a lawyer. You might want to speak with a real lawyer. You've been had!!!

 

[mightymoose]

It sounds like the debt was old enough that you never had to make a single payment on it.

I suggest you stop paying. If whoever owns the debt now should ever bring you into court then you will be able to show what you have paid against what is owed. They won't be able to justify 21k.

 

[scottaction]

More info

We originally met with a lawyer from Eskanos & Adler who filed the original judgment.
Mann Bracken bought the debt. Went bankrupt Dec,2009. CIR (a law firm) picked up the debt and has put the lien on our property.

Please re-read my original question...we are desparately seeking an end to this. But you gave no specifics, no law, no help. Please, I know you don't have to do a thing, and could just plain not reply, but you have an opportunity to do some good here. I am begging you...please help us.

You were never under any threat to pay the debt. Discover wrote the debt off. They received a huge tax dispensation in regard to their tax liabilities.

You've been victimized over the years by paying the con-man you met outside the courthouse. The whole thing is a ruse, designed to extract money out of you.

The woman with whom you spoke, probably wasn't even a lawyer. You might want to speak with a real lawyer. You've been had!!!

 

[mightymoose]

You are being scammed. Either hire an attorney to assist you through this or cease contact in any form until you are ordered to appear in court. They can make demands all they want, but their demands mean zilch. A judge's order is all you have to worry about.
If you can show documentation for what you say above then you probably don't have too much to worry about.
You should check with your county office and see if there is really a lien on your property. They should not have been able to obtain this without you first appearing in court.