We hear this one all the time at our office. People call my office because they have been sued by collection agencies or junk debt buyers on old credit card accounts. I tell them that we can defend the case and most likely win. They often say “But, I owe the money” 

My response to that is no, you certainly don’t.  Most people do not realize this, but here’s how it works with a credit card account. You obtain a credit card from the original creditor.  Something happens and you lose your ability to pay so you go into default status. The original creditor waits up to 180 days and then charges off the account. (A charge off is simply an accounting term, it DOES NOT mean that you do not owe the money any longer). At this point, the original creditor has 2 choices.  The first is to try to collect from you by filing a lawsuit; The second is to sell the debt to a junk debt buyer or collection agency.  Often times, the original creditor chooses option 2.

When a credit card account is sold, it is sold not as an individual account, but rather, as part of a group of block of delinquent accounts. Typically, these accounts are sold for mere pennies on the dollar. A group of “good” bad debt (good defined as recently defaulted) may sell for 5 cents on the dollar. It can get sold again and again, each time at lower rates. We have seen instances where $1000 of debt has sold for .25. 

So the purchasing junk debt buyer or collection agency then files a lawsuit against you. This is where “but I owe the money” comes into play.  From my standpoint, you may owe the money to the original creditor at the time that you default. If they lend you money or extend credit to you, you do have an obligation to pay it back so you do “owe the money”. However, once you go into default and they charge it off, they have a choice to make. They can sue you or sell the account to a collection agency. If they sue, then maybe you do “owe  the money”.  But if they sell your account, then I don’t believe that you “owe the money” any longer.

Here is my reasoning. You have a credit account and are extended credit. You certainly owe the original creditor something at that point.  Once you go into default, you still “owe the money” to that creditor. I believe, however, that if they sell the account, then you no longer “owe the money” because they have received adequate compensation for you default. When they sell your account they are saying that they no longer want to deal with you and they would like to be compensated for the default. Collection Agency X comes along and gives the original creditor money for your account.  At that point, the original creditor is out of the picture. They have received what they deemed to be adequate and fair compensation for your default.  They would not have sold it otherwise, right?  So if the original creditor is adequately compensated, then you no longer “owe the money” in my opinion.

This isn’t to say that a legal interest such as a credit card account cannot be bought and sold.  Those transactions are certainly legal. I am simply looking at this from a debtor’s standpoint. If you pay anything to that collection agency, if you believe that you “owe the money” , you are simply paying pure profit to that collection agency. After all, they paid only pennies on the dollar for your account. After the first $30 or so, any money that you pay to them is pure profit.  Do you really “owe the money”?

I get asked this question alot and the truth of the matter is Yes, a collection agency can buy a delinquent account from a credit card company.  An account, of any sort, is a “legal interest” in something.  Any legal interest can be sold at any time, for any price.

It’s actually a good thing when your account is sold to a junk debt buyer.  Generally, the only things that the debt buyer acquires are your name, phone number, account number and the amount that is alleged due and owing.  That’s it!  How can they prove a case against you in a Pennsylvania court of law when they don’t have the documentation to back it up?  Most times, they can’t (as long as you file the proper response to the lawsuit and have the right legal representation). 

In further discussing the purchase of an account, there is a burden on the collection agency to prove that they actually purchased your specific account.  This purchase is often called an assignment.  Without this proof, the collecton agency does not have standing to move forward with a lawsuit.  Standing is generally defined as the legal right to sue someone. 

These agencies often have difficulty in establishing standing in these matters because they purchase so many accounts at one time.  I have never seen a collection agency purchase an individual creditor’s account one at a time.  Instead, they purchase these account in bulk, by blocks of money.  For example, maybe they purchase $2,000,000 of delinquent accounts for $40,000.  There could be 10,000 accounts in that sale, and its not feasible for the collection agency to include that list in every lawsuit that it files.  Our argument, which has been successful, is that they cannot prove standing without providing that list. 

If you would like a free, no obligation consultation on a credit card or collection agency matter, please call my office at 412-823-8003 or 1-888-536-6644.

Atlantic Credit and Finance is one of the largest Junk Debt Buyers that operate in Pennsylvania.  A junk debt buyer is a company, often a collection agency, that purchases allegedly delinquent accounts from banks, credit card companies, and other institutions that extend credit.  They purchase these accounts in bulk, often for mere pennies on the dollar.  Our estimation is that they average around 3 cents per dollar on a purchase. 

Atlantic Credit, in my estimation, files about 50 or so lawsuits per week across PA.  Although they use other law firms, for the most part they use David Apothaker and Associates, a New Jersey law firm, to handle their PA collection matters.  In my experience, Attorney Apothaker’s office has been very cordial to deal with. 

Atlantic Credit typically makes oral or written attempts to collect on these cases before filing a lawsuit.  If you receive a phone call or letter from Atlantic Credit or their attorney, please contact my office right away for a free consultation.  I can explain the process to you and guide you along the way.  I would almost never recommend a negotiation on the claim at this point as it is definitely NOT in your best interests.

Eventually, a lawsuit will come.  Believe it or not, you actually want Atlantic to sue you.  The lawsuits generally are easily defended (though we don’t win every case, we do have an extremely high success rate) and will allow you to move forward with the restoration of your credit. 

Call our office at 412-823-8003 or 1-888-536-6644 for a free, no obligation consultation on your Atlantic Credit matter.

Midland Funding is a collection agency, otherwise known as a “junk debt buyer”.  For the most part, Midland Funding buys blocks of accounts that are allegedly delinquent (in default status) from major financial institutions.  Midland then tries to collect on these accounts and if collection fails, they file lawsuits on these accounts.  As noted elsewhere on this site, these lawsuits are generally very easy to defend for an experienced consumer attorney.

The sale of delinquent accounts by financial institutions to junk debt buyers is perfectly legal in Pennsylvania, in fact, it happens on a daily basis.  Midland Funding is one of many junk debt buyers who buy accounts in Pennsylvania, and they are actually one of the larger firms doing so. 

Midland is often represented (but not always) by the law firm Mann Bracken.  Mann Bracken has a presence across PA, with offices in the eastern part of the state and in the western part as well (in Pittsburgh).

Our firm has dealt with Midland Funding and Mann Bracken on dozens of lawsuits in the last year, so we are very familiar with their cases and strategies.  If you are being pursued by Midland Funding, please give our office a call at 412-823-8003 or 1-888-536-6644 for a free consultation.

The phone rings and its a debt collection agency on the phone.  They are demanding that you pay off your Chase credit account from 4 years ago.  What to do?  Honestly, the answer is often that you should do nothing other than encourage them to sue you. 

In this day and age, there are 2 types of collection agencies.  The first is the agency that is working directly for the original creditor.  This type of agency is, in my opinion, a little more credible than the other type of collection agency.  The other type of collection agency what is called a “junk debt buyer”.  (LVNV, Atlantic Credit, Midland Funding, Asset Acceptance and the like are junk debt buyers).  You should almost never pay this type of agency.  The reason is that they are very easily beaten in court, at least with our office representing you. 

The only time that I consider recommending that a client pay one of these agencies is where the claim amount doesnt warrant the hiring of an attorney.  For instance, if you are being pursued for $700, it may be more cost effective to negotiate with the Collection Agency at that point than to hire an attorney for several hundred dollars on a defense.