Negotiating or Settling with Liberty Acquisitions LLC a Junk Debt Buyer
I had a credit card with Wells Fargo that was charged off and sold around 3 years ago. Wells Fargo reported the charge off on my credit and reported a zero balance. I called Wells Fargo to settle the debt recently and they said they sold the debt to Absolute Resolutions. I called them and they sold the debt to Liberty Acquisitions.
So far I've never received a letter from Liberty Acquisitions, and when I called them to see if they owned the debt, they said they did but said they sent a letter to an address on my credit report, which happens to be an incorrect address. I decided to see if they would be willing to settle on my original $6k debt, now at $7k with interest.
Liberty agreed to accept a little over $2k to settle and sent a settlement letter by mail and email. Now I'm worried about paying them because they did say that they are a non-reporting agency and have no control over what Wells Fargo reports. I've got the cashiers check, copies of everything and just not sure I want to send the check. Now I'm thinking I should have made them validate the debt, if I do that, the date will pass when the funds are to be received.
Should I make them validate the debt being they are a junk debt buyer even though I've got the settlement letter?
—Paul
Following the chain of communication you completed, settling the old Wells Fargo debt with Liberty Acquisitions LLC makes sense. The savings on the deal you negotiated with them is significant and inline with what I would target.
Requesting debt validation from Liberty Acquisitions.
Sending a request to Liberty for them to validate the debt is certainly your right. And it is a good option for someone who:
- Is not sure about the debt being their own.
- The accuracy of the balance being collected.
- In some cases as part of negotiating and settling
- You know the debt is yours, and the balance due is correct, but cannot do anything to resolve it because of limited resources.
You have already verified with Wells Fargo that they sold it to Absolute Resolutions Corporation. That was followed by Absolute Resolution confirming they sold it to Liberty Acquisitions LLC. The balance reduction on the table through settlement is pretty good, and about a third of the original balance owed to Wells Fargo. If your goal is to settle the account and move on, you are in a great position to do that.
How Wells Fargo shows on your credit report.
I could read your concern about following through with the settlement a couple different ways. The one I assume is the correct interpretation is that you were expecting to get the Wells Fargo account updated on your credit report. But that is not on the table.
Your Wells Fargo account should be showing the credit card account as charged off and zero balance owed. Is that what you see? If not, that can be fixed. Once Wells Fargo sold the debt to Absolute Resolution, no money was owed to Wells any longer, and should have been updated to reflect that.
If Absolute Resolutions Corp is showing on your credit report, it is also owed no money, as they sold the rights and ownership of your debt to Liberty Acquisitions.
Liberty cannot have any affect on how the account is being reported other than what they send the bureaus themselves. Is Liberty Acquisitions LLC showing on your credit report at all?
If you can answer the above questions in a comment reply below I can offer more feedback. Anyone with questions about resolving debt with Liberty, or even Absolute Resolution Corporation, is welcome to post questions and concerns in the comments.
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.
Im trying to fix my credit and liberty acq never answerd their phone snd i want to get a jmt settled and reported as paid
Do you know the name of the collection law firm Liberty Acquisitions used to sue you? You can look that up in the court record. You may want to start there. Let me know if everyone is non responsive after a week or three and lets go from there.
I paid my debt with liberty over eight years ago. My credit is still in the negative. What the heck.
A paid collection from 8 years ago should not be on your credit reports at all. Is Liberty Acquisition still showing up on your reports?
A year ago I got unconscious and fainted when I was in work so someone around me admitted me in the hospital. After I got cured I applied for charity for the hospital bills.
Six months before I opened a bank account to maintain my credit level and get a bank loan for my higher studies.
I maintained my credit level very carefully.
Now I have got some unpaid bills from the hospital. When I call them they say that they don’t come under charity so you have to pay them.
I don’t own that much money to pay.
Now my credit score says that its too poor.
I’m confused whether it affects my loan for my higher studies?
How can I remove those bills from my bank account?
Unpaid debts can impact your ability to get student loans approved.
What are the balances owed?
Is Liberty Acquisitions involved in any of the collection?
Hello,
I received a notice of garnishee from Liberty Acquisitions. They are going to take from my paychek $633.62, for this month and the rest of the money next month until a complete balance of $1,095.00. I called my HR department because I didn’t understand this, I didn’t receive any previous notification, or court citation; and the most important part the Social Security Number they have is not my SSN. The person in the HR says that she doesn’t know waht to do since this is a court order even she realized that SSN is not my. I called Liberty Acquisitions, they are not anymore under that name now they are Jefferson Capital Systems. I tried to explain the lady my situation she was very rude! She requested a copy of my personal information, I denied to provide my documents and I honestly become very upset for this because is not my debt and she was rude and confirm that they are going to take my money and there is nothing that I can do!
The debt is to Ladies Fitness from 2007.
Please any advice!
I would want to look at my options to get any court action – I had no clue about – voided. And if the debt is not mine, dig into what my consumer rights are. I can refer you to a consumer law attorney for a no cost consult if you like. What is the name of a large city near you?
Hi,
My brother recently received a summons from absolute resolutions which is a debt buyer agency.
They are suing for 3345.26 on an HSBC account that was closed in 2013 with a charge off.
His credit report does not show a charge off in that amount nor does it show any debt to resolute acqusitions. The only HSBC entry on his credit report shows $0 with a note that says charge off.
When we called HSBC they said they do not have any information and they would forward an inquiry to the recovery department to try and find out more information.
We have filed a consumer credit transaction written answer in response to the filed complaint denying the allegations as this is the first he has been contacted about the problem
How valid are these complaints brought forth by companies that purchase debt?
How often do they go all the way to a court appearance?
Best,
Rachel
The charge off and now zero balance reporting by HSBC is what you should see with a sold debt.
Debt buyer lawsuits are validly filed in the thousands every day. They are not all able to back up their claims meeting the rules of best evidence, or meet other legal defense challenges, but the claims are not made from thin air.
Debt collection lawsuits will regularly go all the way to a court appearance when you defend them. The reason so few reach that stage is that most people do not respond to the lawsuit, or when they do, the response is not sufficient to survive summary judgment.
What is your brothers goal with this account?
Please provide a short list of attorneys experienced in negotiations with collection companies. Thank you.
Denise, Can you provide more details for what you have going on, and the city and state you live in?
You can call me if that works better. I can be reached at 800-939-8357, choose option 2. Leave a message if you get my voice mail so I know to return your call.
My wife and I are working on getting financed for a home loan. When our credit report was pulled it was noted that she had a Judgment against her from Liberty Acquisitions. There is no report of any credit cards being send to collections on either one of our credit reports. They only item in collection was a medical bill. When we contacted LA (now Jefferson Capital?) they stated it was from a Chase credit card that was opened in 2006. Again, there is no record of either one of us opening or having a Chase card in the credit history. When we called the court house with the docket number they gave us the phone number to Jefferson Capital. If we look on the country public records website however there is no record of judgment against my wife. The original judgement was for around $1900. When my wife contacted Jefferson Capital they said that do to interest the new charge is over $5,000 and if we wanted to settle they would accept $4200.
We are in the final stages of purchasing a house and need to try to resolve this quickly. I do not want to fork over that kind of cash for something that we do not have any knowledge of. Is it possible to have a judgement from credit card debt and not have it show up on your credit report? Any other advice is welcome.
Thanks!
It is possible to have a judgment and it not appear on your credit reports due to age. And it is not impossible to have a mondo screw up where you are sued for a debt that is not even yours.
It is not clear from what you shared, so first things first, did you have a Chase credit card ever, and did you stop paying it?
The answer to that question will guide the rest of my feedback that will be actionable no matter what your answer is.
Hello,
I had a judgment entered against me by LA, the thing is that I never received a summons for this judgment, and I’m currently living in Colorado (where the judgment was entered). I recently received documentation from Liberty informing me that I had a judgment entered against me, and that they wanted their money.
I called them to dispute the case because at the time of the judgment the debt was more than 7 years old. They rebuffed me by telling me that the ‘debt clock’ was reset when they received their judgment. I told them that I had no money to pay them with (which I honestly do not), and now they are suing me to drag me into court in order to levy my bank accounts (I am self-employed).
My monthly income is right around $900.00, I have no assets to speak of (not even a car)…and if they levy my bank account I am certain that it will turn me on to the street. I do not have money for a lawyer, and I could afford to pay them $100.00 a month, but from what I read here that is a moot point.
Should I be getting my affairs in order and preparing to go into a homeless shelter? Or do you think they’d be willing to take the $100.00 a month and not go after my accounts?
Operate from a pure cash basis until you get this resolved.
Colorado offers zero exemption from bank levy.
Is the judgment against you personally? Do you have a bank account in your business name?
I had the same problem and called this attorney (see below), Dan Vedra, in Denver who has a lot of experience tangling with Liberty.He deals with Consumer Protection. His fees are super low and I paid only about 30% of what LA was hounding me for with all their additional fees tacked on. The important thing is to have a response to their summons or they can levy $ from your account if you are a no show or have response.. He knows all their tricks and works hard for the consumer. I highly recommend him. Good luck!
https://www.vwfirm.com/contact-us/
I have also received two summons from Liberty Acquisition Servicing LLC out of Golden, CO. I have hired an attorney in Denver suggested in an above post. It was also for supposed Wells Fargo accounts and Wells Fargo has zero balances on these accounts as well. I have also had calls to their ‘attorney’ and they push settling right away. Gee, wonder why?
Will let you know of the outcome. My court date was set as June 18th but attorney is filing a response soon. It only takes a Google search to see how Liberty Acquisition operates. (See Ripoff Reports)
They hope that they will get a default judgement against you since most people are terrified when they receive a summons and may no be able to afford a lawyer or know how to respond to these guys. My attorney basically said, “Don’t encourage their strong arm scare tactics by settling.” It seems they are in violation of some pretty basic consumer protection laws.
Good luck everyone!!
I received a summons from LA, they sent the other letter to an old address. It’s a debt of 1000 from Wells Fargo DDR checking account. But the thing is we still bank with Wells Fargo and neither I nor my wife can recall anything like this being charged off? The lawyer said they buy a pool of debt and that most likely an answer to the summons will be suffice. Reading here I see its easy to settle with LA but what if the debt is not familiar. I called Wells Fargo, nothing. I called who they sell their debts to, nothing. I call LA and they say they are the 3rd buyer. I’ve also read that in court, they need original documentation to get the judgement, which Wells Fargo communicated to me they do not have. They have name, address, social, and account number, how can this be enough to prove this debt belongs to my wife and I in the courts? It’s 3 months shy of the 6years SOL as well. We are answering tomorrow with deny of each and every allegation on the summons in our “Answer” to the court. The lawyer said most likely it will be dismissed, I was not as confident as him. I did call LA, and they specifically told me not to file an answer, to just set up a payment plan. That lends me to believe making them prove this debt is something they do not really want to do and don’t have to because of the amount of block suing they are doing? Also Mr. Thomas Potter does not reside here, and the lawyer checked him on the bar website as its against the Law to file in Oregon courts if not licensed here, which he is but has his CO PO BOX address – so it’s a phone in court job most likely. After what I have stated, what outcomes or steps should I prepare for. How can they prove this debt is ours when I can’t recall it or trace it whatsoever? And Wells Fargo stated LA does not have the original paperwork or copies I would have signed if the account was legit? It’s seems like they are counting on defaults and playing with the odds of a consumer being informed of their rights and not? Oh, and LA said I can’t ask for more info because I missed that first letter, as I asked them for verification of the debt and the phone jockey got all personally involved and started getting defensive. Their behavior suggests they try to avoid court to me. The lawyer said it will be dismissed or they will give it their best shot in court and that’s the risk that if a judge believes them, you will pay their new costs too?
Once sued, requesting validation from Liberty Acquisitions is not going to be affective. You can get far better mileage from the discovery process and forcing the issues you are already aware of – how can they prove a debt they have from Wells Fargo, when Wells Fargo cannot prove the debt to Liberty Acquisitions?
Are you in a position to be able to hire the attorney you have been talking with? Is the attorney experienced with debt defense in Oregon courts?
yes the attorney had handled cases before. He said they rarely have the documentation to prove the debt. These were his exact words, I don’t know this to be true from my own research. The question is La is saying they have a debt that I cannot locate or am unaware of, which was what got me calling Wells Fargo and their debt buyers. yes I cannot get verification as its a lawsuit now, I understand this. I want to know how many of these cases are won by LA?
They seem to want to settle and my only course to find out is to go to court and ask them to prove the debt is ours – since I missed the verify opportunity after not getting their letter. it’s seems most on your site are aware of their debts and are seeking advice about settling. Besides my name, ss, address, and account number, will they have actual documentation of this account and our signatures showing this debt to be valid in court? Our lawyer said doubtful with a bulk debt buyer like LA.
Kristian – Debt buyer lawsuits are routinely beaten back by experienced consumer law attorneys whose practices focus in this area. When it comes to settling with Liberty Acquisitions, as opposed to defending this, it can boil down to costs. Assume you can settle for 40% of the balance they say is owed. Will the attorney fees be less than that?
For my part, if I were being sued for a debt I do not fully recognize, I would defend it all the way.
Reading all these stories scare me a bit.
I received a letter to pay an old bill with Liberty trying to settle at 40% lower than what was originally owed. Although I don’t want to pay this bill as the original debt “Wells Fargo” shouldn’t have charged me in the first place; however, when you review the contract language they have the right (I guess). Anyway, I want to settle this but I am nervous after reading these posts. If I pay it and the letter states paying the “discounted” amount will settle it, they cannot legal come back for more correct?
I am a Oregon resident
Your help is appreciated.
I would have to see the letter Liberty sent you to give the type of feedback you are asking about. Read this post about what to look for in a settlement letter, and compare the details I highlight with your letter.
From the little you shared, the letter already contains a couple of key elements.
If you settle per an agreement and meet your side of the bargain (keep a copy of the letter and proof that you paid), no, they cannot come back for more, and nor can anyone else. If something like that happened it would be from an error, and can be dealt with quickly. You can post an update if anything strange happens and get some quick insights on dealing with it.
We recieved a letter from Liberty Acquisitions about a month ago, stating my husband owed a debt to US cellular. Over the course of the month I forgot about the letter and didn’t call them. This morning we get a knock on the door and my husband is served supposedly a court summons, regarding this debt. We have only ever received one notification of this get through liberty and not even a month after receiving the letter they supposedly are sending my husband court. The document doesn’t seem legit it doesn’t have a case number or docket number there’s no County stamp On it. What I be correct in thinking that this is just a way for them to scare us into contacting them ?
You may live in a state where the local rules are a bit different than most other county’s. Where are you?
What is your goal with this debt?
I recently received letters from the Multnomah Circuit Court regarding a recent case with Liberty Acquisitions. Liberty Acquisitions filed a Motion and General Judgement to Dismiss Complaint and a General Judgement of Dismissal. Overall, the case was dismissed. The odd part is, I have no idea what the complaint is. I have not received any information about what the judgement is. The Dismissal was also not mailed to me but at the address of an ex.
In your opinion, do I have anything to worry about? Any further actions that Liberty Acquisitions will take that perhaps required them to file this dismissal?
I appreciate any information you have to offer.
Thank you for your time.
Nicole – Do you have unpaid bills outstanding? Have you been contacted for collections of any kind?
Negotiating a settlement is an alternative. Basically I want to do the thing that costs me the least money. Also, I would appreciate any referrals that you have!
I don’t even know how much it costs to file an answer at the courthouse. It would really give me personal satisfaction to fight this and win, but in the end, I want to make the wisest financial decision. I am being sued for a little less than $1k, which includes the principle and 9% interest.
Also, is there the possibility that this could create a new ding on my credit reports?
Ray – I will send you an email with contact details to a couple of experienced debt defense attorneys in Oregon.
Unless you get an attorney to take up your cause based on collections violations they see, which could mean taking your case on to pursue protection of your collection rights, you are likely looking at negotiating the best settlement as the least costly outcome. Attorneys with the right practice focus do take on collection defense cases, but the dollars involved are going to exceed the full amount owed in most cases like this.
Yes, if a judgment is entered against you in the court record, it will nearly always find its way to your credit report.
Thanks for your help Michael! I ended up settling for 50 cents on the dollar, with the help of an attorney friend.
One thing people can apparently do is ask for the “assignment”. I’m not sure what this is, but I think it will help people who are wondering about the statute of limitations.
Great job Ray. You got where you wanted to go, and with a decent settlement.
Understanding the assignment, and pushing the issues around the assignment, is a strategy more related to court actions, or when a debt collector like Liberty Acquisitions sues, as they have you. It is not a necessary part of negotiating and settling with Liberty before collections reaches that point. Just wanted to point that out for later readers.
Hi Michael,
Lets say you are being sued by one of these debt companies for an old bank account from 6 years ago. 90% of the principal balance you’re being sued for is the result of overdraft fees and penalties which are illegal today. You bought a sandwich, a stick of gum, etc. in one day and they hit you with a bunch of overdraft fees because they processed the charges from high to low at the end of the day. So going over by $35 ends up being $500 in fees.
Could this be a factor in your defense? Would this be usable in court? This is the situation I find myself in.
Ray – Who is the bank originally, and the debt collector now?
The bank was US Bank and the collector is Liberty Acquisitions.
You have many better arguments to raise when a debt buyer is suing you. What state are you in?
I’m in Oregon…
Ray – Anytime you are being sued it is a good idea to talk with an attorney that specializes in a relevant area of law, like debt defense. There a few I can refer you to in Oregon that offer no cost initial consults. You may find it worth hiring the attorney you talk too, or may pick up on some other details you can use.
Are you strictly interested in defending this collection suit by Liberty Acquisitions, or are there alternatives, like negotiating a settlement you can pay, up for consideration?
I was also served a summons from Liberty for an old US bank account that had been overdrafted. My question is when does the statute of limitations start in Oregon? The account was charged off in Dec. of 2008. but the actual overdrafts were earlier in the year. I was served 5/14 and the case was filed 4/09 by Liberty.
Sorry-I meant 4/9/14
What state do you live in?
Oregon
SOL typically begins with the first missed payment. Would that have occurred prior to being served, when counting 6 years forward?
I spoke to the bank today and it looks like it occurred within the six years. The ending balance on the bank statement and the balance stated in the summons are different by $30 though. (They are asking for $30 more.) Would incorrect information be grounds for dismissal? Also, the summons has the phrase “the defendant opened the account on or about.” Does that indicate that they do not have my original signed contract? One other thing I noticed in researching this is that Liberty is actually the 2nd buyer on this debt. It was first acquired back in 2009 by another company and then purchased in 2013 by Liberty. They insinuate in the summons that they purchased it directly from US Bank. Does any of this help me? Thank You
There is much that can assist you if you choose to defend against the Liberty lawsuit. I highly recommend working with an attorney to explore all of that. What is the amount they are suing for? If 50% of the amount they are trying to collect is more than what an experienced debt defense attorney would charge to take your file, it is often a better option than settling (hiring the attorney to defend).
Just under $1000.
It would likely cost more to hire an attorney to get this dismissed than it would to pay the whole debt.
Jason- a garnishment in CO from a creditor is good for 180 days, then the creditor has to refile the garnishment. Not sure why they cancelled the first garnishment as it would have expired. Garnishment so from the government have no expiration date.
After reading through all these post I find my case similar . I’ve been in collections with Liberty Aqusitions since 2009. They have a judgement against me in summit county, CO. And i live in the Denver area now. In October 2013 my employer received a writ of garnishment from LA. They have received $1200 since then ( roughly 100-150/week) I owe LA a little over 4K on an $800 original debt with US Bank from 2004. Two weeks ago the garnishment stopped and I contacted my employer to find out if I paid them off or if they settled.
My employer said they received a release of the writ and that’s why it stopped. Now here’s my delima……a week after my employer received the release they got another writ from LA for the same debt. What legal stand point do I have being they released the writ then engaged another one immediately?
Jason – You want to run this by an experience consumer law attorney in Colorado to determine what legal rights you have at this point. My opinion is not much. Liberty Acquisitions has the legal right to seek garnishment on the judgment in your state. It may have been an error that it got released in the first place. But just in case it was do to some defect in their process, and there is something you can leverage, consult with an attorney.
Have you looked into whether you meet partial or full garnishment exemptions in your state?
You can contact Vedra and Waller P.C. in Denver. Talk to Dan Vedra. He’s handling our case against Liberty.
I got pulled over and to my surprise was informed I had warrant. My info on the cop CPU was wrong….weight hair,eye color.when I called court house to check warrant said failure to appear ,sued by liberty acquisition.,for bank of America cc in 2006 . Never received any info on account nor a summons.he said I owe 3500.00 .if I settle will that make the warrant go away…it was strange when i called. LA they had different addresses and employment….sorry long. Any help appreciated
david – Settling with Liberty Acquisition is an option to get the warrant and all of this behind you. But looking at the court record, do you recognize this debt as your own?
I never seen a letter from liberty or court documents I asked them what address they sent to, since my credit report has an address that is wrong, he didn’t tell me. I did just call bank o America and confirm debt . It was charged off at 1660.00 . I just think it wrong all that interest add up while they send stuff to wrong address ..oh well..when I settle what the lowest u think they would go . Thanks
Settling with Liberty at 50% of today’s balance is realistic, providing you do not look too collectable to them. If you are having some sincere hardships, and are on a limited or fixed income, you could aim lower in your negotiations.
If you look highly collectable to them, they may not budge, or budge much.
Great I hope so and I def not that collectable got laid off early this month .nothing for them to take..is there something I should get from them to prove debt paid off and warrant will cease to exist
Any deal you negotiate should be documented before you make a payment. You are looking for the basic elements covered in this post.
I’m getting ready to call Liberty Acquisitions to try and settle a $2,326 old US Bank debt.
Any suggestions before I make the call???
Blessings,
Trish
Tricia – First, I recommend having a realistic target you can settle for, and that amount of money on hand, or close to it, before you call to negotiate with Liberty Acquisitions. What amount of money are you targeting in your negotiations?
So liberty acquisition just served a summons to my parents house but for me I have never received anything from them previously either mail or phone. This claims I owe wells Fargo a sum of money that I paid off back in 2008. But because of a major flood at my residence I do not have any receipt or documents to prove it’s paid. Where do I start? I have to file a response still but do not know how to do this or even what I need to say in the response. How do I get them to prove I owe this debt? Thanks for any help you can pass a long.
tim – I suggest connecting with an experienced debt defense attorney about filing answer to the summons, and how to use the court process to require Liberty Acquisitions to show proof of their claim. Most of the attorneys with the experience you want offer a no cost initial consult, so it just makes sense to talk with one first. Post the name of a nearby city and I can email you contacts in the area that do credit card collection lawsuit defense.
Hi I’m in a similar situation as to some of the above. I had an account with Wells in 2007. The account was sold to Liberty. I was recently garnished at 25% and reside in Colorado. I’m trying to figure out what options I have and if it’s possible to negotiate either a lower garnishment amount or something? Total debt is roughly 4k, I offered 2k and they did not accept the offer. I’ve asked them for documentation and they have advised me that only the court has that documentation….I’ve also asked for them to indicate what was sent to me and what they have on file for my account in regards to my address and they have directed me to contact the court which is in a county that I do not live in.
Any suggestions / recommendations on possible steps?
Mel – Once sued, the process for getting a debt collector or debt buyer to prove up a debt, or document ownership etc., becomes much for formal, and does go through the court. Are you saying you did not know about Liberty Acquisitions suing? When did you learn of all this?
There is a process to attack the lawsuit if you did not know about it, and also for being sued in the wrong county. You may be able to get this unwound, but the cost of the help you would want from an experienced attorney will have to be part of what you consider. You may also want to consider using any issues with the way/where you were sued to get them to accept your settlement offer.
They want. 2.171.35. And. I don’t. Have. Dat. At all whaat. Should i do I need help please please please.
Hi Everybody Listen I got dis. LAS paper on September. 21, 2011 I don’t. Remember. Dis. All. I. Remember. Is. Dat. My. Us bank. Wants. Money. I. Guess. I. Had. Not. Enuf. Money. In my account. But. That. Was. B4 I got. Dis. Paper.
And i have. Looked. Up. Dat. Las. And. Some. People. Say. It. A scam. Just. Want. Money. Whaat. Should I do I on Disability to.
Matthew – Can you be more specific about what you are dealing with?
Mathew – If you want helpful feedback, please answer the following questions:
Who is it that is calling or sending you collection notices (name of company)? Is Liberty Acquisitions involved in any way?
What did you mean about not having enough money in your account? I read that to mean there was an attempt to levy your bank account?
My daughter has a debt with Wells Fargo that has apparently been turned over to Liberty for collections. The only phone number they seem to have is mine and they’ve been calling (but I haven’t answered) for several days so I finally looked them up. We live in Portland, OR and may end up needing to contact a good lawyer. Cindy posted on Jan. 15th that they found a good one and I want to know if I could get his/her name? I believe that she was talking about Portland.
Since this has been turned over for collections some time in the last 2 weeks, who would you recommend for her to contact: Wells Fargo or Liberty? I’d like to get it taken care of as soon as possible.
Thanks for any help!
~Linda
Linda – I would not assume you need anyone to help you deal with the Wells Fargo account now with Liberty Acquisitions. Are you looking to get the phone calls stopped, or to resolve the old debt (help your daughter directly, or help her determine her next step)?
Hi Michael,
Since my daughter has no money and won’t for the foreseeable future, I’d like to get it taken care of myself if I can. She’s been living in 1/2 of a duplex I own rent free for over 3 years while on unemployment and going to school. She’s been living off of the unemployment, student loans, food stamps, and me paying the rest. This credit card got behind and she’s just so overwhelmed trying to exist when she doesn’t have the money that she didn’t know what to do. Currently she’s working part-time which finally means she can pay for her gas & utilities but she’s got a long way to go. There are so many young people like her that can’t find anything but part-time (including my son who I also have to help) that it just makes me crazy to see what’s been happening in our country. Anyway, this is just one more irritation. They’ve called me 8 times today since 8:45 am and I want it all stopped. Easiest thing is to just pay it but I’d like to pay as little as possible. What would you do? Thanks!
~Linda
I would likely do just like you are and look to settle the debt for the lowest amount, or get a burr in my saddle from incessant calls and go a different direction…. Most people with the means would prefer to put debt out of its misery though.
You can settle with Liberty Acquisitions on behalf of your daughter on your own. I can also recommend you work with one of the CRN specialists to help you through that. If you would prefer to work with an attorney in the Portland area, I do know a couple of really good ones.
Are you prepared financially to settle with Liberty Acquisitions for as much as 50%?
Sorry Linda, the attorney I have is in Denver, Colorado. Liberty is in Wheatridge but they they buy debt everywhere. I can tell you from a $300 T-Mobile bill that ballooned after almost 6 years with interest and fees to about $1300, Liberty was not willing to settle for less than $1,000.00. I can also tell you that calling you that many times a day even if you haven’t asked them to stop is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Protection Act. They are harassing you and that’s a big no no. And you’re not even the debtor! It’s illegal for them to contact anyone but the debtor to discuss the debt without their express permission. Here’s a website you might look at, most attorneys like mine will take your case on a contingency basis if they feel you have a case under FDCPA. Edited – link removed
Debt collectors can contact family members and the like for location purposes, but the frequency of those calls are indeed a concern.
FDCPA violation cases have an established statutory penalty of 1k, but attorney and legal costs are allowed, so violations that are clear cut are filed without retainer by most consumer law attorneys practicing in this area.
I removed the link you had in your comment because I am not familiar with it, and do not have time tonight, or likely until next week, to review. I am familiar with Justin Baxter and Robert Sola, consumer law attorneys handling FDCPA cases in Portland OR.
I had the same (wells fargo) experience. Wells Fargo discharged the debt and Liberty Acquisitions now holds it.
One problem I do have (IMO) is that ‘debt buyers’ do not exist. i.e. if people went around buying old debts they would have to be 100% sure they could collect or they are wasting money. It would be a short time before they would be broke. Do the math…if LA bought a $100 debt from WF and could not collect…they would be out $100 correct?
I had a friend that used to collect judgments and the way they ‘bought’ debts was on a contractual ‘future pay’ basis. This would mean that LA still has some relationship with WF? that would make LA a ‘third party collection service/agency?
Secondly, I never heard anything from LA except and/or until I received a summons to go to court.
Thirdly, their web page says they are a ‘collection agency’ would it be possible then for me to invoke my rights (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) under federal law and order them to cease and desist? and perhaps make a motion with the court for that same relief? with the idea that I have the right (under that same federal law) to deal with the original creditor?
Any help would be appreciated. Besides, I am on disability and I know they cannot attach that and I own nothing of value. However, I do not just want to ‘ignore’ this process so that it may haunt me somewhere else down the line.
Thank you,
Charles
Charles – Debt buyers do indeed exist. Even though a debt buyer typically is not going to collect on 3/4’s of the accounts they buy (speaking to charged off credit card debt here), they buy large pools of unpaid debts at enough of a discount to still turn a profit on those accounts they do collect from. In your example, if Liberty Acquisitions bought 100 dollar of newly charged off debt from Wells Fargo, they may have paid only roughly $10 for it.
Your friend sounds like he was working to collect debts on an assignment basis. That is one way debt collection works. There are also contingency collections, and debt buyers who collect their own debts, and debt buyers who purchase, but assign collections out.
You are always protected by the FDCPA. How you use those protections and when can vary. But when already sued by Liberty Acquisitions, you are likely going to have to defend their lawsuit, and perhaps bring an action of your own if you have FDCPA claims to make.
My suggestion would be to consult with a debt collection defense attorney as soon as possible. Most of this type of attorney will offer a no cost initial consult. If there are valid FDCPA claims, many will take your case without a retainer.
If you post a comment reply with the name of a nearby larger city I can email you contact info for the type of attorney you would want to consult with.
Michael Bovee thank you for such a speedy response. I live near Portland Oregon and any atty. info you could forward to me would be highly appreciated. ~ Thank you
I did fail to mention. Given that I have already received a summons would the ‘cease and desist’ be a mute issue now?
Charles…typically LA files the case in court and has you served. This is to give them leverage to get you to settle the debt. I’ve had a previous experience with them before the one I have now. They will refuse to accept less than 1,000.00. The collector works on a commission – 10% = 100.00. If they can settle say 8 debts a day, they’re making 800.00 a day. That motivates them a lot. They will “offer” to let you settle (more like refuse anything less than 1,000) and allow you to make 2 payments within either 1 or 2 weeks of each other. If you refuse, then be prepared to go to court. However you still have the right within 30 days to demand proof of the debt and they MUST provide it to you. Once they do that, then you can decide if you want to go to court and end up with a judgment against you or negotiate the debt with them, pay them and have them dismiss the case. That’s what will happen. We paid them the last time (in retrospect, we should have demanded proof of the debt), and they dismissed the case.
Thanks again. I was just hoping to cut them off at the pass i.e. I am on disability anyway so I believe they cannot levy against that even if they did get a judgment. The court wants me to pay $158 for filing a first appearance/answer. I know I can file a ‘waiver of fees’ I just didn’t wanna have to go through all the court/legal BS. An like I said, was hoping I could cut them ‘off at the pass’ before it went that far. Maybe I should just call them an let em know I have no money, I have no property, I have no nothing? :-/ an maybe they’ll take their ball an go home?
Charles – Unfortunately, now that the law suit is filed, I doubt they will take their ball and go home. At least not based on your sharing the fact that there is currently no way they will collect anything from you. Getting a judgment is their goal. That judgment can remain collectable and enforceable for 10 years in Oregon, with the ability for Liberty Acquisitions to renew it for another 10 years after that.
You can also file Chapter 7 bankruptcy pro se (or go to legal aid for assistance). You can also file for a waiver of the CH7 filing fee as well. It’s true that a lot of income is judgment proof but they’ll garnish your accounts and make you prove that they can’t take the money. That’s what they did to me. Court hearing is tomorrow, I’ll post the outcome.
Well the Magistrate agreed that my money was exempt from the garnishment and released it. Now just have to fight with the bank to get the garnishment fee back. He also agreed the Judgment needs to be vacated but wants the original county court judge to sign off on it. We’re hoping she doesn’t set it for a hearing and try to force my husband to appear so they can re-serve him. (Filing the court case tolled the SOL). I’m guessing my attorney can argue him appearing in person since I have MS and can’t be left alone and we can’t afford to travel there.
Cindy – I hope this whole situation continues in the positive direction it has taken. Please continue to post updates!
The court voided the Judgment on Jan. 3, refusing to hold a hearing requested by Liberty for the express purpose of having my husband show up so they could serve him. I filed a complaint with the OCC on my bank for refusing to refund the $50.00 fee. After receiving a copy of my complaint, the bank decided that refunding the fee back to me was in their best interest customer service wise. My attorney is now filing a federal FDCPA claim against Liberty. Sometimes the good guys win, my attorney is awesome and we haven’t paid him a dime.
That’s great Cindy, and thanks for posting the update! It would also be great to know how things turn out on FDCPA lawsuit against Liberty Acquisitions.
My husband was illegally served by Liberty with a court summons while he was incarcerated in March 2011. The process server was not allowed to serve him in person, he gave the paperwork to a corrections officer who gave the paperwork to my husband. The service was illegal because the Colorado Department of Corrections requires any legal documents be processed through their attorneys. They accept service on behalf of the inmate. The facility he was in was a private prison, and broke the rules by accepting the paperwork. The process server also lied in his affidavit giving the same exact description of my husband that can be found looking him up on Inmate Locator.
A default judgment was entered against because obviously he couldn’t go to court.
He was never given the opportunity to validate or dispute the debt. The original debt was charged off by T-Mobile in Sept. 2005, and when he was served, there were only 6 months left until the SOL expired.
When my husband was released, we filed a Motion to Dismiss based on the illegal service. The El Paso County Court denied the motion even though the Court agreed the service was illegal. If the service was illegal then how could the court have jurisdiction???
A week ago Monday they garnished our joint checking account, however the only funds in the account were MY unemployment compensation which is exempt from garnishment. In fact my husband was only on the account if something were to happen to me. He never used the account, wrote no checks or withdrew any money. I want to sue Liberty for invasion of privacy (how did they know I had a checking account and where?). We also want to sue them for not allowing my husband due process to validate and dispute the debt.
We now live in Florida. Since there are no branches of my bank in Florida, I was going to close my account after transitioning to a new bank. I had one check left to clear before I was to close the account and they took the money. I have filed an Objection to the Garnishment and sent it to all parties concerned. What will happen next? There’s no way I can afford to go to Colorado and fight this. Liberty Acquisitions is a group of attorneys whose sole purpose in life is to buy up paper debt and take advantage of the most vulnerable people. The money they took was to pay for my medical insurance. I was just diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and I cannot afford this!
meekocat – You have a host of issues going on here. I would highly recommend you speak to an experienced consumer law attorney who handles both FDCPA and debt defense. If you post a comment with the name of a nearby larger city, I will email you some contact info to the type of attorney you will want to reach out to. Most offer a no cost initial consult, so no reason not to call and talk about all of the issues.
Thanks Michael. I did hire an attorney in Denver and he has filed a Motion to Vacate the Judgment in addition to my Objection to the Garnishment. He agreed the service was defective, the Court had ruled it defective but upheld the judgment on another court rule that there was no meritorious defense to the plaintiff’s complaint. My attorney said once the Court ruled the service was defective that the judgment should have been vacated and the Court had no jurisdiction to give an opinion on anything else. We have a court date on 12/18 for a ruling on both the objection and motion to vacate. Hopefully the court will agree, and we’ll be done with this.
I just received a letter today from Liberty Acquisitions saying I owed them money from a debt that originated from US Bank. I know the debt they are talking about (it was from 5 years ago) but as of this moment according to US Bank I have no debt with them. The letter states that on May 21, 2012 (yes – a year and a half ago) a judgement was entered against me in the amount of $1,324.61 (the original debt to US Bank was $800). The problem is this – this is the first time I have ever heard about anything about the matter with Liberty Acquisitions. I looked up my case with the County Court and it was indeed filed but – I have never been served (the court file indicates that I was) at any point and the writ of continuing garnishment filed was never served on my employer or myself.
I really do not want this to be a long drawn out process but because a default judgement was entered I am not sure of my options. They did file a false document with the court (the Affidavit of Service) but it will be my word against them. Any thoughts on how I should proceed?
Thanks
Kevin – I do have some thoughts and action items to share, but before I do that, can you tell me more about the affidavit of service?
Who is the affidavit from (process servers name, company name)?
Did you or someone you know live at the address served, and if so, still at that address?
What state are you in?
I realize you do not want a long process to ensue with regard to resolving this, and I can offer feedback on that, but if there are sewer service and other bad collection practices, there are additional ways to approach this.
Thanks for getting back so quickly. To your questions-I do not have the actual service document but I intend to get it (post-Thanksgiving) I live in Colorado and the case was filed in Denver County Court. As for the service itself based on when the original claim was filed with the court I lived at my current address. It is my wife & I and at the time I was working from home.
The improper service issue concerns me not just because it happened to me but because I am sure this is not the first time. Yes dragging this out is not what I want to do but if I can take actions that will not only resolve this for me but prevent this to happening to others I would take it as far as I have to.
Kevin
Kevin – Post an update with details of the affidavit. General and vague descriptions of the person served at your address not matching the description of you or your wife would be a red flag. The name of the affiant, or process serving company, may help me to identify past sewer service concerns.
If there are issues, I would recommend working with an experienced debt defense consumer law attorney. There are not many in Denver, but I can email you contact info if you would like. It will also be a good step to file a debt collection complaint with the CFPB (if there are issues with improper service), so wait until next week.
Settling with Liberty Acquisitions is the quickest path to resolving this. And if that is something you want to pursue, I would go about it by introducing the issue with sewer service, and your pending complaints being filed, into the negotiations. The result of settling a judgment should come with a satisfaction of judgment being filed with the court by Liberty Acquisition. Your thoughts on this angle?
So is Liberty Acquisitions allowed to garnish without notification as they have just done to my family? Making it so I can now not pay rent, meaning due to their theft My family will be homeless for the holidays. Great way to conduct business.
John – In order for Liberty Acquisitions to garnish wages, or levy a bank account, they would have to be acting on an existing court judgment. Depending on your state of residency, your income, and some other details, you may be able to prevent this from reoccurring.
Questions:
Were you sued and a judgment entered?
What state do you live in?
I have recently got a certified letter from Liberty in which application for writ of garnishment was in I live in Washington State I am curious about exemption rights and where I get validation letter so no idea what this is from
Are you aware of having been sued by Liberty Acquisitions? A legitimate writ like that would only result from a judgment against you.
How much is the judgment for?
Are you self employed?
Yes I am aware of that. The amount is 1322.00 no I’m not self employed
Washington state allows for up to 25% of your check to be garnished. There are exemptions that may apply to you. You will want to follow the instructions in the notice to contest the garnishment. If there were no instructions for requesting a hearing, call the court clerk and ask what you need to do. Your goal is to show that you are either partially, or fully, exempt from garnishment.
Even if you are exempt, be sure to come up with a plan to tackle this, as the judgment debt is not going anywhere, and can end up leading to a bank levy and/or future garnishment efforts.
What about settling with them for less than what you owe on it?
Michael –
Do you mean 50-100% of the original debt to Chase ($680.90)?
Right now the maximum amount I have in savings to use for settlement would be approximately $800 in my meager savings account.
The attorney info on summons:
Thomas L. Potter, #024280
Attorney
Liberty Acquisition Servicing, LLC
PO Box 17210
Golden, CO 80402
At this point I don’t have the knowledge in how to go about negotiating by filing an answer to the complaint with the court; But I’m wholeheartedly willing to learn in order to take care of this old debt.
-Candice
Candice – I am referring to 50% to 100% of the balance being asserted as owed now. There are instances where settlements can be accomplished lower than this range, and after being sued, but they typically occur with fixed income scenarios, or when a defense to the suit is made.
Filing an answer is not overly complicated. NOLO press puts out some decent books on the topic; there may be law students running clinics under the supervision of a professor at a nearby college; or you may qualify for low income legal aid. The goal of defending against Liberty Acquisitions collection action would be to settle, or to defend until dismissal.
Michael – Okay, thank you. I did receive a referral to an attorney via the Oregon State Bar for a low fee consultation. It sounds like I’ll start with trying to negotiate with Liberty first but, if unsuccessful, according to my savings limits then I’d go onto file an answer.
Is there any site you’d recommend I view in order to have a rough template of how to speak with Liberty when trying to negotiate a settlement? Only want to stay within the right bounds of how to communicate with them so I don’t get myself in a bind, unintentionally.
I appreciate your time and input.
-Candice
Candice – I would encourage you read through this page about settling when sued. There are many reader comments to read through for additional insights.
Candice-
My friend is also dealing with the same issue . I would also request a copy of your credit report. In theory suing someone should be a last resort yet Liberty requested my friends credit report which contained all her current information but did not do anything with it until over a year later when they served her with papers. She filed a response with the courts and when Liberty(Thomas Potter) was supposed to contact her to decided on an arbitrator. He instead filed something saying her number did not work and mailed it on the last possible day. She has had the same number for years so it is just another example of them proceeding in a bad faith manner. She also requested proof that the debt was valid via certified letter and has still not received a response from him.
I personally believe Liberty Acquisitions is an unethical place that uses underhanded tactics to attempt to scare people into giving them money even though they may not owe it.
Angie – Thank you for your input. I tried to settle but the week later that a negotiation was attempted, Liberty had added on an add’l $2,000 (stating interest/court fees etc). Are you suggesting that I or Liberty purchases a copy of my credit report? Since the last time I was on here I’ve since filed an “answer” with the court stating various defenses in holes lacking on Liberty’s side (i.e. no verification of debt, no valid time where they were actually trying to contact me, and unlawful collection practices). I requested both a verification of the debt and that all interactions from Liberty to me be written and mailed, no phone calls. In addition that a ten-day notification of intent to judgement be mailed. At this point I am supposed to, along with Liberty, choose from a list of arbitrators. I am not sure how this process will go but I will most likely have to get in contact with an attorney unless I feel confident from what I learn on here.
Am start to think they a scam. They. Just want money i looked it. All up.
I have a (slightly) similar situation with Liberty Acquisitions, except for the fact that I just received a legal court summons from them at my home for an account they bought from Chase Bank for a credit card I held that went delinquent in 2009 due to relocating and a challenging time paying all of the bills I had at the time.
A few facts:
1. Original indebted amount with Chase: $680.90 (charged-off and sold)
2. Liberty Acquisitions served legal summons to me on Monday, 10/7/13.
3. Liberty total amount requested in summons, including 24.0% contractual interest from 09/30/09: $1733.16
4. 30 days to respond from the “date of service” of the summons on me.
At this time I don’t have a clue how to tread taking care or somehow settling this obligation. I have a small amount savings available. There is much information on the internet that it is challenging to know what direction to take with this summons. One place mentions starting at 20% of what they are asking up to a maximum of 50% when negotiating (percentages of the total in the document and not of the original principal sum owed to Chase). Do you recommend a certain set of chain of events in order to take care of this debt in order to keep it out of the legal system?
Thank you for your time.
Candice – Negotiating a settlement with Liberty Acquisitions now that a lawsuit has been filed would often mean targeting between 50 and 100 percent of the debt if you were to contact them now to settle. You can often increase your odds of succeeding with your negotiations by filing an answer to the complaint with the courts first.
What amount can you come up with total to settle?
What is the name of the law firm they hired?
I had a similar experience with BOFA and it took about six months to get the issue resolved but I was sweating bullets the whole time. Fortunately everything worked out for the best. Thanks for always sharing useful information.
Thanks for the information! I’m not too concerned with my credit report as much as I am paying this company. Neither Absolute Resolution nor Liberty Acquisitions shows up on my report other than a possible inquiry. I’m more worried about paying a company that I had to basically hunt down and hope by paying them I never hear about this debt again. Of course I’ll keep a copy of the settlement letter, cashiers check, USPS return receipt, everything, to be safe, forever. I was looking for some reassurance, so I appreciate the support you provide for us all who are dealing with debt!!
Sounds good Paul. Do hang on to the letter from Liberty, and the proof of payment, in the event you need that in the future. You can also post here if anything pops up for more feedback. Good job!