I had paid off a credit card so years ago. Had a confirmation no. and all I thought was cleared up but, another financial institution has br...

Question

I had paid off a credit card so years ago. Had a confirmation no. and all I thought was cleared up but, another financial institution has brought the loans. After I thought all was taken care of I was still getting request for payments from different companies. I would give them my confirmation no and they sometimes said they could see it but, now i had been in an accident and heavily medicated. A new different company served me last year and i don't remember a thing. They have been rewarded a judgment against me on my property and bank account. Sent me a letter and said to contact them to set up arrangement. I called the local superior court in my county and they confirmed a cases # I now can not find my conformation no or any paper work. How do I combat this problem now that I am more mentally able?

Answer

The time to combat it was when you got sued. Since you did not, the creditor got a judgment against you and the only issue left is collection. You can certainly hire a lawyer to review the case and make sure everything was proper (and even then it is likely too late), but any claim of incompetence would require a whole lot more than being on medication a few days.

Answer

I would agree, If you had a legal defense of payment, the time to raise this was when you were sued. I am sorry that you were in an accident, but this did not excuse you from acting.

Depending on when the judgment was entered, you can try and argue that you were incapacitated, that you just found out about this/realized and that you have a meritorious defense (i.e. prior payment). The bad news is that you need to find the proof of your prior payment and you will need more than just a confirmation number. You will need an actual letter from the creditor or collection agency advising that they agreed to settle for the amount you paid and that they received the funds. If you cannot get it or don't have it, then you are going to be stuck paying again.

It is common practice for junk debt buyers and even original creditors to get you to settle. They then turn around and sell the debt to someone else. The way to protect yourself is: get a settlement letter before you pay them a dime outlining the terms of settlement; pay by cashier's check or money order but make a copy before you send and keep the copy and a copy of the settlement letter FOREVER; and follow up within 30 days after your payment was due to request a closure letter indicating that the settlement funds were received, that no further balance was owed and that the debt will be reported as paid/settled on your credit report.

That is why it helps to have a lawyer involved - to make sure that any payment is done correctly and that you have proof. .