Cavalry Portfolio Services is Preventing Me From Buying a Home
Hello Michael. I am in urgent need of some advice please. I am in the state of Texas. I have a judgment on my credit for $6,400 from December of 2008, and I am trying to buy a house. I was not aware of the judgment until I pulled my credit in August of 2012. I had a Bank of America credit card with a balance of $1800. I lost my job, and rather than set up something with them, I ignored their calls. I now know that this was a dumb thing to do. After I found a job, I called them to set up a payment plan, but they had already sold the debt to a company named HILCO Receivables. I contacted HILCO using the number given to me by Bank of America, and I was told the representative assigned would call me back. I never received a call back. About a year later, I received a call from from a company named Cavalry Portfolio Services saying I owed $5,000 for the same credit card. I explained to them that I was willing to take care of what I owed, but not $5,000, but they would not budge.
That was the last I heard of that, till I pulled my credit this year. I filed a motion with the court to vacate the judgement, but they denied it yesterday based on the fact that It has been almost 4 years. Below is what I submitted to the court.
" Michael J. Scott, P.C. (the Firm) is a debt collection law firm serving the needs of national, state and local financial institutions. Its clients include some of the nation's largest banks and credit grantors, as well as successors-in-interest to these accounts. Michael J. Scott, P.C. is not a debt purchaser and does not collect on its own account. Instead, the Firm acts as the attorney for its many clients"
MOTION AND DECLARATION TO VACATE JUDGMENT
The defendant moves the court for an order vacating the judgment entered in this action and staying enforcement of the writ of restitution until the motion can be heard.
This motion is based on the following grounds:
• I WAS NEVER SERVED WITH THE COMPLAINT, AND I WAS NOT AWARE OF IT TILL I PULLED MY CREDIT REPORT ON 8/30/2012
DECLARATION
I, XXXXXXXXX, declare as follows
That I am the defendant in this unlawful detainer action.
That I request that the judgment entered in this action be vacated for the following reasons:
1. I WAS NEVER SERVED WITH ANY SUMMONS TO APPEAR IN COURT
2. I WAS NOT AWARE OF THE JUDGEMENT, till I pulled my credit report on 8/30/2012. Otherwise I would have challenged it sooner. I immediately contacted the court shown on the credit report, to get more information regarding the judgment, as I did not recognize the Plaintiff’s name. I mailed a letter asking for copies of the file, and was told to send in a check or money order. I sent in a money order, and picked up the copies of the file on 11/13/2012.
3. ACCORNING TO COURT RECORDS- SUMMONS CONTAINING PERSONAL INFORMATION WERE LEFT ON THE DOOR OF A FORECLOSED/VACANT HOUSE. My house was foreclosed September, 2008. I signed a lease on a rental house beginning 10/4/2008, The house was vacant October 3, 2008 till March of 2013 when it was purchased. The foreclosure and the new lease which is still in my possession, prove that I was no longer at that residence. Court documents show that the Summons was left on the door of the vacant house on October 31, 2008. Almost a month after the house was vacated. .
4. THE JUDGEMENT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN ROBO SIGNED – WITHOUT ALL FACTS BEING TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION. I contacted Bank of America- with whom I had a credit card with a balance of just under $2,000 to try to take care of the balance in installments. They told me the debt had been sold, to a company named HILCO RECEIVABLES, (Not CAVALRY PORTFOLIO SERVICES – Plaintiff). I called the corporate offices for this company in Illinois several times, and was told the person handling my account would call me back, but no one ever did.
5. UP TO THIS DAY I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE PLAINTIFF LETTING ME KNOW THAT THEY WON A JUDGEMENT AGAINST ME. MY CURRENT ADDRESS IS AVAILABLE WITH THE DMV AND PUBLIC RECORDS. The judgment papers show that the judgment amount has been incurring annual interest since 2008. I do not think it is right that I am expected to pay interest on judgment that was never made known to me.
HELP PLEASE!!! Is there anything else I can do besides paying the judgement amount (which I don’t have)? The court clerk said she was not allowed to tell me what next steps were open for me to take, and I would need to investigate on my own.
—Chimarrah
Hilco Receivables (now Equable Ascent Financial – EAF) and Cavalry Portfolio Services are debt buyers.
Hilco buys up debt for far less than the face value of what was originally owed to Bank of America. It is hard to know exactly what Hilco paid Bank of America for your old debt, but I can assume it was no more than 15 cents on the dollar, as that was the top end price paid by debt buyers for fresh charge off debt (around 2005). The amount paid to BOA for your bad credit card debt could have been half that.
Hilco buys up debt with the goal of collecting, or even repackaging and reselling to another debt buyer.
Hilco then sold it to Cavalry Portfolio Services. What Cavalry paid Hilco for your Bank of America debt could have been a great deal less than what Hilco paid to BofA if they bought it a year after Hilco picked it up. Let’s assume Cavalry paid 7 cents on the dollar.
Cavalry Portfolio Services Files a Collection Lawsuit
Michael J Scott law firm would have hired a process server to serve you the lawsuit. The process server they hired probably used the only address they knew of at the time, went to the address, and left the summons on the door step.
Because you were not at that address they attempted to serve you using their “wipe your feet here” delivery tactic, you were not aware of the lawsuit and were never given an opportunity to resolve this prior to it reaching judgment. You were essentially denied due process.
You have bounced back financially. After losing your job, like so many people in the recession, you found your home in foreclosure and no ability to pay your credit card bills. You are in a better place now and are ready to buy a home and contribute to your local economy.
You pull your credit report and find that there is a judgment in the public records section from Calvary Portfolio Services. Your thinking – “This can’t be right. I did not even know about this.” You research your options and learn that a judgment can be vacated for improper service. You go about filing the necessary paperwork with the court. I am sure you did that with a realistic belief that justice would prove out. That the process server leaving the summons at the door of a vacant home, where you can prove no one lived there, would win the day.
You are shocked to learn that there is some limitation on the Texas court to do the right thing.
Laying out the facts as you did in the background you provided above, and for which I added some additional color, suggests that common sense would prevail. It did not.
I do know there is some form of a rule about vacating a judgment in Texas after 4 years. I do not know the ins and outs of it. If you were approaching the 4 years, but not over that line, you could possibly appeal this. That would cost money to hire an attorney unless you could get a public interest attorney to pick this up.
If you were not over the four year line, why would a court allow the Calvary Portfolio judgment to stand?
You as much as admitted the debt in what you filed with the court. Perhaps the judge saw the rest of the chronology as semantics.
With the only controversy being that of proper service I can see where a court would reach the decision it did. I am not saying I agree with it, because I don’t. But I can see a court dealing with collection lawsuits day after day, and perhaps seeing representatives from the Michael J Scott law firm week after week, coming to the decision.
Creating additional controversy about the debt is something I often see in debt collection cases. One controversy is denying the debt, or the debt amount. This would be easy to do when, in a case like yours, you started with an 1800.00 balance and it ballooned to 5000.00 in a short period of time. I am not pointing this out to you to suggest any error. You did what you knew to be right, and then did not get the right outcome – a vacated judgment. I am pointing the additional controversy out for anyone who may read this later.
Calvary Portfolio Services Impairs the Texas and National Economy
There are many implications with what has transpired in your situation. Perhaps due to the recession and the fact that what has happened to you will continue to happen across the country, some needed awareness and discussion can take place.
Here are some of the reasons it sucks to be you, sucks to be Texas, and it sucks for the economy.
- A debt buyer like Cavalry Portfolio Services can buy a debt for a few cents on the dollar and inflate that debt beyond anything reasonable.
- Cavalry can use a network of debt collection attorneys across the US to file lawsuits to collect on these inflated balances that were owed by people who lost their jobs, are still unemployed, or under employed.
- Judgments and court enforced collection on these massively inflated balances leave those who are bouncing back from a recession (we may still be in one), from spending on goods and services that create or keep jobs.
- A housing market barely in recovery in some areas of the nation, and not yet at a bottom in others, will not recover until there are buyers. There will be a smaller number of home buyers for some time as a result of the housing implosion. That is to be expected. But that number will remain smaller for longer still, due to the many billions of outstanding collection debts resulting from record high credit card defaults whose balances have been inflated.
Your finances are on the mend. You are ready to become a homeowner again. You are held back by what has been recognized and publicized as a huge problem with debt collection lawsuits nationwide – “sewer service”.
Were you (and others in similar circumstance) to buy a home, it is highly likely that you would add to the local and national economy by buying items over a period of time to make your home comfortable. You would pay local businesses for upkeep and repairs. Perhaps buy furniture and other items. All of this activity would create jobs, and help people to keep jobs.
Were you taken out of the home buyer market for whatever period of time in order to pay a hugely inflated 6400.00 debt that Cavalry Portfolio Services may have only paid 90.00 for… that sucks. It doesn’t just suck for you, it sucks for jobs and economic activity the nation needs.
Does Texas need Cavalry Portfolio Services to get a 7000% return on its investment after sewer service on a lawsuit, or does Texas need jobs and more robust economic activity?
Rant off and Unfortunate Reality
I encourage you to speak with a Texas consumer advocate attorney and learn what, if any, affordable and reasonable options remain for you. If you determine you are not going to fight this any further, here are some realistic options:
- Negotiate an agreement to pay the judgment for less than what is owed. Any agreement should include their filing a satisfaction of the judgment with the court.
- If you are unable to resolve the judgment with a settlement, you may need to consider putting off the home purchase until the 7 year time frame for it to fall off your credit report expires. Be aware that the judgment may be off your credit report, but it is still out there. You could still have your bank account levied.
Post any questions or comments you have below. I encourage all readers to participate in the conversation.
Update – after exchanging emails with the person who started this post, I thought to add some some suggestions for anyone who is concerned about compounding setbacks from debt collection accounts:
Monitor Your Credit Report for New Inquiries and Entries by Debt Collectors
You can often see what is going on with older debts by what pops up on your credit report. Collection companies make credit report inquiries. You can use your credit report to see who most likely has an old credit card debt you now may want to resolve in order to achieve current or future financial goals. You will also be able to see if a debt collection company or debt buyer like Hilco, Equable Ascent or Cavalry Portfolio is misreporting something (happens far too often).
You may not be all that motivated to see what is going on with your credit report when you know it is going to look like crap due to late pays, charge offs and collection entries. Do not be deterred by this. Credit damage from accounts that go into collection is temporary. The damage begins to take on a staleness over time, so your credit may not be as bad as you think. You can actually take proactive steps to help your credit even when there are negative items still reporting. You can also be certain that you have the opportunity to respond quickly to something like what happened to the above reader.
You can monitor your credit report for free with Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. At a minimum I suggest accessing one credit report every 4 months using the free web site annualcreditreport.com. You are entitled to a free report once every 12 months from the 3 major credit reporting agencies. Pulling just one every four months allows you to monitor your credit periodically.
When you are in a position to tackle old debt problems and have some financial goals you are aiming for, like buying a home, use some of the free credit scoring tools available on line. I like the credit report card tool credit.com offers. It allows you to check your score once a month. The tool makes suggestions to improve your credit profile based on what it finds in your credit report and score. If you need to add credit products to your credit profile in order to improve your credit score, the site can make matching product suggestions that you are most likely to be approved for based on the data it sees. This takes some of the guess work out of what you would be approved for when your credit is already damaged. Check out the free credit report card.
Tackle Old Bills with Debt Collectors and Debt Buyers Like Cavalry
When you are in a position to repair and recover from your debts of the past, and want to start planning for your financial future – you need a plan. Your debts may have grown older, but they are still out there and growing in size.
Depending on your financial goals and how far out in the future they are, tackling old debt collection accounts may be necessary.
When you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can shed unsecured credit card debts with banks, debt collectors and debt buyers like Hilco, EAF and Cavalry Portfolio Services. Yes, the fact that you filed for bankruptcy does appear on your credit report, but it is not going to limit your ability to accomplish financial goals like owning a home for as long as many believe. In fact, given the example in this post, the reader may have been able to file for chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2008 and been able to access the home loan market with little problem as early as 2010, and with no debt monkey to contend with.
If you cannot, or will not, discharge your debts through bankruptcy, consider negotiating debts with the collection agencies and debt buyers for less than the inflated balances now owed. Settling a debt with Cavalry Portfolio and other debt buyers is not a complicated process. There are some tips and suggestions available to settle credit card debts you will find throughout this site. Use the search box at the top right of this page to find where I have already covered dealing with a specific debt collector, collection attorney, or debt buyer. If you do not find anything specific to your situation, or the company you are dealing with, start a new post like Chimarrah did above by clicking Ask Michael. I will give you my feedback and provide helpful resources wherever possible.
If you are dealing with Cavalry Portfolio Services, Equable Ascent Financial (Hilco Receivables). or the Michael J Scott collection law firm, you are welcome to post comments and questions below for feedback.
About Michael BoveeMichael started CRN in 2004 with a mission to provide people in need with detailed debt and credit help and education. Michael has participated as an expert panelist in federal consumer protection rule making, collaborated on state law changes governing debt consolidation, has worked as an expert witness in court matters related to the debt relief industry. He is available to speak with you about your financial struggle and helps people resolve their debt problems daily.
I received a summon and my court date is set. Unfortunately I did not respond to the summon, am i able to contact Calvary Portfolio to make payment arrangements to avoid going to court?
You typically have to contact the collection law firm that is suing to set up payments
You can often settle for less in this situation too.
If you need help dealing with Cavalry, or the collection agencies and attorneys they use, click the get debt help tab at the top, fill out your profile, and schedule a call so I can talk through that with you.
I received a judgement from Calvary Portfolio. I have no idea what the alleged debt is from. I also was never served, my house burned down in the Woolsey Fire in November. I was homeless for over a month. So I was obviously not served a summons and knew nothing about this. I don’t even know what the debt is for or who it is from. They couldn’t have served a summons to a burned down house. How can they get a judgement against me for something I knew nothing about and was never served a summons? I don’t know who the original creditor is or if this debt is even mine or valid. What do I do?
How much is the judgment for?
I would look to get this vacated for lack of proper service.
I’m interested in purchasing a home in the future and pulled my credit reports to see where I might stand with lenders. In doing so I was reminded about a judgment that was entered against me back in 2011 for an old credit card that I got as a teenager.
I know that in dealing with lenders, any unpaid accounts will negatively affect my ability to borrow. Trying to be proactive, I contacted the creditor that sued me, Equitable Ascent Financial.
Upon calling, I found out that they sold the debt back in 2013 to Calvary. That name a rang bell because in the last couple of days, I’d received a letter from a collection agency letting me know that I had 30 days from the date of the letter to request validation of the debt. So I went back and low and behold, the letter is from Calvary. How about that for timing?
My question then becomes, why would Calvary reach out to me almost 4 years after buying the debt from EAF? They haven’t reported anything on my credit (Thank God) and before this week, I didn’t even know they existed, let alone purchased a debt that I owe almost 4 years ago.
The public record will fall off my report sometime next year, which is around the time I’d be looking to purchase anyway, but I also know that a judgement can be renewed here in California before the 10 year expiration date. Is Calvary able to renew the judgment as a debt buyer and not the original creditor?
Could that be why they’re contacting me after all this time?
The judgment is for $2121 back in 2011. Calvary now wants $3800. I’d be interested in settling with them for a fraction of that, but only if they have the ability to renew the judgment and have this item on my report, re-reported. Also, in having the judgment satisfied before the 7 1/2 reporting period, I can eliminate the worry of having the judgment on my report after 2018, but will Calvary then report the collection as “satisfied” because like I said, to date they haven’t reported anything to the credit bureaus.
What are my best options given my SOL timeframes and my goals?. I’m in no hurry to purchase a home (3 to 4 years would even be ok) and my priority is to have my credit free of any blemishes. This is the only negative item on my account.
Yes, Cavalry can and likely will renew the judgment. And an unpaid judgment will stop you from getting a home loan just as if it were still showing on yoru credit reports. Mortgage underwriting is more thorough than just checking the credit bureaus.
Settling judgment debts means the public court record will be updated to show the judgment is paid/satisfied. That will update to your credit reports for now, but the court record is what matters more. This item cannot re-report in the way that you are thinking, regardless of whether you pay or not.
You will need to resolve the judgment with Cavalry if you are going to buy a home, even if it is 3 to 4 years from now.
My employer is currently holding a garnishment order that they have to reply to within a couple of days. Is there anything that can be done after a judgement is entered and a garnishment pending. The origional paperwork is stamped Dec 17th 2010. I dont remember ever getting served for this as I would have responded because it was not valied ( the amt ) I did dispute it with Cavalary Portfolio but to no avail and they sent me no verification of debt etc. Is there anything i can do at this point. My paperwork does have a box checked that I had made a payment as well but I did not make any payments to them. I live in Washington State just wondering if I am to late for any other outcome since they got a judgement.
Check out this page about debt collection defense in Washington. The attorney in that piece, Kirk Miller, is a great resource for you to run your situation by. He works with people on the west side of Snoqualmie too.
Thanks so much for the quick reply! I will check it out!
Hi Michael and thanks in advance:
In virgina… my elderly mother has a “warrant in debt” from Cavalry and their law firm re a 2014 Citi card debt of $2,500 with district court date in 3 weeks (just opened the mail).
2 questions:
1. How can family deal on her behalf and guarantee final solution? We are preparing to contact law firm Schrier Tolin. Are we crazy to go it alone without a lawyer… and what do you suggest as key steps?
2. Would our pymt settlement or pymt in full possibly trigger other old credit card pymt reporting and different debt collectors? She has others that are very old. (Just curious about ripple effect, ie, as we are NOT avoiding this Citi and Cavalry threat regardless)
Thank you for your thoughtful work and public interest!
Chip
You are not crazy to go it alone when settling a Cavalry lawsuit. Being sued is a process with some formality, and the debt collection attorney often feels and act like they have the upper hand.
The first step would be to file a general denial or answer to the complaint. Here is where an attorney would come in handy for you.
Once an account is updated to show settled on her credit report, it can tend to bring other collectors out that had gone quiet.
How old are those debts? How long has it been since she stopped making her required minimum payments on the account Cavalry is now collecting on?
Thanks very much.
Just seeing this reply of yours (after also sending email to you directly this morning after trouble with your comments confirm email enroll tool).
1. Citi card was last paid in a monthly plan 2.5 yrs ago.
2. Her reputation in town as an upstanding elderly lady is my primary concern.
3. What is minimum secure time required to easily sever a hearing by the three steps of reaching out to cavalry or law firm for agreement/letter from them/bank pymt to them?
4. Is it crazy to accept their figure? They do not appear to demand more than her 2014 balance.
5. What is reasonable attorney charge to handle?
Thanks again!
You can often negotiate a deal over the phone and get documentation in a matter of a few days. It is easiest if you are there with your mom so she can offer verbal authorization and hand the phone back to you, or use 3-way calling. And getting the agreement in writing via fax is quickest, so you would need a fax number for them to send to.
It is never crazy to pay a debt in order to accomplish a goal. Just silly to commit to something that is not affordable or able to follow through with. If she has family help, and it is realistic for you to help….
Attorney fees can vary a good deal with debt defense cases. You may not find anyone that will handle it for less than the amount owed, or close to it. There are others who will charge an affordable flat rate. I emailed you some contacts that do this kind of work in Virginia.
Do I have a right to ask for a letter showing that above collection company bought my debt from the citibank? Do they have a copy of my credit card agreement?
You can ask Cavalry for debt validation and they will send you back the minimum legal requirement they have to meet, which is very little. You are better off calling Citibank and asking who they sold your account to.
What is your goal with the account?
Hi- I have just learned of a filing against my wife for old CC debt that has been given to Calvary and they have retained Dan G Young in Lubbock. No service as of yet, but wondering if best course of action is to retain one of the locals (Weston, Tom Thomas) to take care of this. Wife was making payments regularly (last payment 3 years ago) until college loans, tuition etc. were priority. The amount was originally under 6k, but ballooned upwards to 18k with continual interest charges/fees.
Or do you think it is better to contact the attorney and offer the original amount without interest and fees (which we can now pay) if he is OK with that? Our credit is really not too bad and this charge off is the only negative on it. Just trying to figure out the best course of action. Use an attorney after being served, or use a pre-emptive strike?
DG
My feedback will vary based on several other details. Fill in the talk to Michael form in the right side of this page. When I get that I will email you to set up a time to go over the details on the phone.
Hi Michael,
I have a few questions about a letter I received on Friday from a local attorney office that I have attached to this email. A little bit of story about myself is I had some personal issues arise back in 2012 and 2013 to where I could not make payments on my debts owed and thus there are a LOT of bad debts on my credit report. Not enough for me to file bankruptcy, I spoke to a local attorney a few years back and his best answer was to fight off the companies that sued me since bankruptcy wasn’t an option. I have since fought off 6 lawsuits through the past couple of years and recently was just informed about this letter. This letter is from Pittenger Law Group in Overland Park, KS(Representing Cavalry) for a debt from Citibank(original creditor) in the amount of $10,899.74. The last payment I made on this account was around the middle of 2012 timeframe. Would you recommend I call them and try to settle or let them serve me first? Do you have any experience in working with this Law Group or have heard of them? On average, what would be a good settlement range to look for in something like this case? I currently reside in Missouri and I believe the statute of limitation is 5 years to my knowledge, is that correct? I am currently self employed as well and I believe this is the only debt cavalry owns at this point on my credit report. Curious what input you would have on this type of letter?
Thank you for your time and help,
Justin
I reviewed the letter you emailed. There is not much to say, other than it is a standard attorney dunning letter. That law firm has offices in your state, and should be seen as a credible threat to sue you in the near future.
I did not see anything in my database with this particular collection law firm. But you are generally looking at realistically settling collections that reach the court at 50%. There are a few reasons you can get deals lower, and many reasons why they will hold out for more.
If you have already successfully beaten back collection lawsuits with dismissals, why not take that path now? Is there a specific reason you want to settle?
My experience suggests that settlements with Cavalry tend to turn out better when you defend the suit. That goes for trying to negotiate the deal before being served too.
The statute of limitations in Missouri does appear to be 5 years.
I have always settled with the creditor right before I had to go to court. Would it be wise to call and negotiate before they spend the time to serve me? Would I have a better chance at negotiating? Or just let the process play out and call them after I’ve been served? If I go to court I will have to pay an attorney but from your experience would that be worth it in this case?
If you can work with an experienced debt collection defense attorney with a good track record of getting Cavalry lawsuits dismissed, it would likely be more cost effective.
If your goal is to settle only, I would still wait to be served, file a general denial, and then call to negotiate the settlement if it were me in your shoes.
First off, Bank of America, Cavalry Portfolio, Cavalry SPV I, and Dynamic Recovery Solutions are ruthless, and don’t always comply with the law.
BoA will send multiple mailings per week, and hires several different robo-calling agencies, they compete to get a living breathing answerer. Bank of America also will adjust dates of last payment.
Cavalry, in its two forms (one owns the debt, and the other services the account) sets itself up to minimize “risk” from lawsuit judgements. They have no problem resetting the age of the debt as they juggle between its two operations.
Back in 2012, I sent a return receipt debt validation request to Cavalry Portfolio. No response ever! They failed to remove the “enhanced” debt from my credit reports and re-aged the debt twice. In 2012, the SOL in my state had been reached, but that did not stop them.
Now the debt is past 7 years and Dynamic Recovery Solutions is calling my mobile. They leave a callback number and say it is an urgent matter. They fail to identify themselves as a debt collector and my mobile phone gets multiple calls from multiple local numbers.
I will overcome. These companies have no problem not complying with Federal and State regulations. They will have their agents lie through their front teeth, or tell agents everyone is a low life scum of the earth and use whatever tactic to collect.
I did note in small blue letters at the bottom of Dynamic Recovery’s offer today, it reads “the law limits how long you can be sued on a debt. Because of the age of your debt, Cavalry will not sue you for it and Cavalry will not report it to any credit reporting agency.” However Cavalry will not help you remove it from your credit report.
It doesn’t get better than this!
Can you confirm the date you last made a payment on the original account? If you are certain that the 7.5 years has elapsed I would file a credit reporting complaint with the CFPB. Read that article if your not familiar with what they are here to help with, and why I am suggesting you do it.
Let me know what comes of that.
Hi Michael
Like most I fell on hard times back in 2010. I had a Capital One Credit Card that I stopped paying in November of 2010. (last payment made). My balance was $6,500 which over time has ballooned to $7,828. I basically forgot about it over the years and just received a letter from Cavalry last year. Cavalry sent me an offer to pay off the debt for approximately $2,880 which I didn’t have. I know the SOL will be up in November 2017 but I want to buy a home and do not want to wait until then for this to essentially fall off my credit. I have managed to save up about $1,250, do you think I would be wasting my time offering them the $1,250 to pay off my debt? To my knowledge no legal proceeding have ever been filed and I have not received any letters stating any indication that they plan to. I live in Nevada. After reading all the horror stories about Cavalry I want to make sure I am making the best decision. They are not harassing now but I am afraid once I contact them and can’t come to an agreement if they refuse the $1,250 they will begin to harass me. Your advice and opinion is much appreciated.
It appears you are passed the SOL for Cavalry to sue in Nevada. That would limit any collection harassment to phone calls and letters, which you could put a stop to if you decided to wait out the credit reporting.
I am not all that optimistic that you will settle with Calvary for the less than 20% you have available, but done correctly you can get this done for a reasonable rate. If you run into trouble post an update.
Do not try to get this all done in one call. It can take several.
I called Cavalry who then stated they sent my file to Dynamic Recovery Solutions. I called them to offer a settlement. Of course they immediately refused the $1200 amount I offered. They said they would submit the $1200 settlement offer to Cavalry for review but only if I answered many questions referring to how much I make, were I work, what are my monthly expenses etc… I refused to answer as I believe those questions are not relevant if I am offering a settlement. I know the tactic they want to try and squeeze every dime out of me that they can. They stated they wanted to justify why I was settling for less than 20% which I understand but as a former collection person I know the ultimate use of this tactic. I am going to follow up in a week or so to make another offer and will update at that time. Thanks again for the advice in this matter.
yes my son is being sued by Calvary spv attorneys Sherwin Robin and Associates..this is for a Bank of America card that he only borrowed $300 but now they are claiming he needs to pay 1057.this account was taken out in 2008 and I don’t believe he ever made payments on it we don’t remember ever making any payments but I got a sheet and it shows payments in 2012 but it’ll show like payment negative and then payment so it has confused me so I don’t know for sure about the statute of limitations..my question is if we could come up with the money to pay it with a just totally dismiss this..or will there be any chance of us may be getting a settlement of 50 – 60%
What state are you in (your son really)?
Is the charge off still showing on his credit reports by Bank of America?
Is Calvary showing?
Michael- I do not recall getting any written notification from Cavalry Portfolio regarding the debt they are attempting to collect. Are they required to send written notice? If so, are they required to provide proof that it was actually sent? After all, things can get lost in the mail. So, if they say they sent something, how can I hold them accountable?
Thank you!
There are only limited circumstances where Cavalry would be required to send you a written collection notice. Some examples:
Cavalry as a debt buyer does not have to write to you to tell you they now own your debt and want to collect from you.
Cavalry calls you on the phone to collect for the first time. They should then follow that up with a written collection notice to you within 5 days, and the same would go for any third party debt collector they may use.
Can you be more specific with the set of circumstances you have?
A charged off credit card debt of around $5000, was placed with Cavalry in March, 2016. The first time I was aware of this was via telephone, by a collector, in June, 2016. I am trying to catch any errors they might be making in the collection process. That is why I inquired about written notification.
When the collector called me at work, I froze. I was so shocked and scared I could not even have a conversation. I said nothing and hung up the phone. I know that was wrong, but I was taken by surprise and very fearful.
I sent them a certified letter asking them to verify the debt and instructing them not to contact me at work. But, I am really just stalling.
I went through a divorce and had financial hardships causing default to a credit card. Three years after the charge off, Cavalry pops up trying to collect the debt.
Sounds like my next step is to try and negotiate a settlement. I have a job now, and Cavalry knows where I work. I am very scared of a garnishment should they try to obtain a judgment successfully. If we get to that point, I will hire an attorney. I am just trying to learn as much as I can about their company and the process so that I can make good decisions about this.
I truly appreciate your insights, thank you!
The simplest way to resolve this from here would be to negotiate a settlement. If you want help you can request that by clicking the on the request at the very top of the site, then complete and submit that form. I will reach back to you.
You can monitor the collection process and look to exploit different things if they occur. That does not prevent you from being sued these days though.