What to Do If You've Been Sued by Capital Collections

If you have received a letter in the mail regarding debt collections, your first thought might be to throw the letter out. This is the wrong thing to do. Instead, you should educate yourself and understand what to do in the case of being sued by a third-party debt collector.

Who Is Capital Collections LLC?

Capital Collections LLC is a third-party debt collection agency that specializes in the collection of commercial, housing, retail, healthcare, government, transportation, and even agricultural debts. Capital Collections LLC works out of Fresno, California.

If you have a large amount of debt and end up falling behind in payments, then you might be contacted by this agency. This is because they have most likely purchased your debt from the original creditor, and are coming after you to pursue you for the debt. In some cases, Capital Collections has been known to practice unfair or deceptive practices, and in these cases, you do have protection.

The Federal Trade Commission enacted an act called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Known as the FDCPA, it was created to prevent harassment of debtors by debt collectors. This act allows consumers to take legal action against an agency if they feel their rights have been violated.

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What to Do If Capital Collections LLC Is Trying to Collect a Debt from You

If you have been contacted by Capital Collections then you need to know your rights. You should know that you have the right to request this agency stop contacting you about your debt. This is called cease and desist and can be done in the form of a written request. Once Capital Collections LLC receives your request to cease contact regarding the debt, they must stop contacting you. If they continue to harass you or call you then you may be able to build a claim under the FDCPA. This can award you up to $1,000, plus additional damages.

Understand the Timeline for Debt Collection

If you're being sued by a debt collector then you should know what to expect. The timeline that you will personally go through may vary, but generally, it will go according to the following.

• Receive a letter in the mail: This will be the summons notifying you of the debt. This will occur when the debt is 180 days past due.
• Wait for the debt validation letter: Within five days of the original contact, you will receive a debt validation letter. If they do not, you can use this in your counter case. This letter should contain the name of the creditor and how to dispute the debt if you believe it's not yours.
• Ask for a verification letter: This must be sent within 30 days of the validation notice.
• If you owe the debt: You can respond to the debt collector and create a plan to pay off the debt. This might mean setting up a payment plan or negotiating the debt. Your verification letter must include:
  • Who the creditor is
  • If the debt has been paid
  • Why the amount is accurate
• If you want to fight the debt: If you do not respond, then you may be given a default judgment. This is why you must respond to the debt collection notice.
• Court: You will be given a court date and if you fail to show up for this, then you will be given a default judgment.
• Default judgment: You want to avoid a default judgment, but if this occurs then Capital Collections may be able to garnish your wages, place a lien on your property, or take funds directly from your account.

Use SoloSuit to respond to a debt collection lawsuit in 15 minutes.

What Steps to Take When Being Sued for Debt by Capital Collections

Respond to the Lawsuit

Whether or not you owe the debt, you will need to respond. This means if you believe that you owe the debt you should respond, but you should especially respond if you do not owe the debt. This might be stressful but it is incredibly important because otherwise, you open up the avenue of default judgment. Debt collectors are going to pursue a lawsuit whether or not you respond, so it is essential to do so. If you do not respond, you will not have the opportunity to challenge the lawsuit later on.

Challenge the Lawsuit

Because Capital Collections is a third-party debt collector, the debt has most likely changed hands multiple times. This means that you can use a few different methods of challenging the lawsuit:

• The debt is not yours: It is very common to have papers served to the wrong person. This is a perfect challenge to a lawsuit even in the case of being served with papers that belong to a family member.
• You previously satisfied the debt: In some cases, you may have already paid a debt. You cannot be sued for a debt you have already paid.
• The debt amount is incorrect: It's possible that even if you owe the debt, the amount might be wrong.
• The statute of limitations has passed: The statute of limitations is the amount of time that a debt collector can collect a debt from you. It ranges from three to 20 years but is generally around six years. The length of time depends on the state you are being sued in.

Choose the right affirmative defense with SoloSuit.

Identify Violations of the FDCPA

Under the FDCPA if your rights have been violated, you may be able to bring a countersuit against Capital Collections. These violations may include:

• Calling consumers before 8 am and after 9 pm.
• Engaging in harassment.
• Threatening to take property without the legal right to do so.
• Contacting family or friends regarding your debt.
• Make fraudulent claims or misrepresenting themselves.

In some cases, you might choose to fight a debt lawsuit, but other times you might choose to settle with the debt collector. This will vary based on how much you owe, what your overall financial situation is, and how close you are to the statute of limitations.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit: A Student Solution To Give Utah Debtors A Fighting Chance

How to Answer a Summons for Debt Collection Guides for Other States

Here's a list of guides for other states.

All 50 states.

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri

Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah; File a Motion to Satisfy Judgment Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Guides on How to Beat Every Debt Collector

Being sued by a different debt collector? We're making guides on how to beat each one.

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Is your credit card company suing you? Learn how you can beat each one.

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