Re: MBNA-Wolpoff & Abramson Arbitration - info and cases

Posted by LadynRed (199.91.33.254) on April 08, 2003 at 15:32:33:

In Reply to: Re: MBNA-Wolpoff & Abramson Arbitration - info and cases posted by scared on April 08, 2003 at 15:14:28:

Binding Arbitration for credit card debt is a total screw-up, it was NEVER intended for this purpose at all. Its VERY bad for the debtor being screwed into it, the creditor is going to win 99% of the time - its a fixed game - even though the arbitrators are SUPPOSED to be impartial, they are far from it.

Arbitration takes away ALL of your legal rights to fight them, it will railroad you right to a judgment with blinding speed. Once the Arbitrator gives the creditor their AWARD against you, it quickly ends up in front of a local judge and a judgment in entered against you. Once there's a judgment, then they can do all the LEGAL things allowed to force you to pay. That includes wage garnishment (probably the most common if allowed in your state), siezure of bank accounts, and siezure of any non-exempt assets. Since winning the AWARD is NO guarantee in itself that they'll actually GET any money, the judgment is what they're after.

Now, since it IS a debt it can be discharged in bankruptcy and the judgment they get based on a discharged debt can be vacated (made null and void). Once the DEBT is discharged, their AWARD from Arbitration doesn't mean squat, the bankruptcy laws forbids further collection attempts on a discharged debt.

SO, in essence the Arbitration AWARD is not dischargeable in bankruptcy, but the DEBT they were after you for IS.

In the cases I posted, the plaintiff that won the arbitration contested the debtor's bankruptcy. However, they did not win because the Arbitration did not do anything to prove FRAUD or any of the other conditions that have to be met for a debt to be non-dischargeable.

You can still get out from under the debt, and a judgment, even it they do pull you into arbitration. Arbitration, for them, is a fast-track to get a judgment. If you are given the choice to REJECT arbitration, DO SO !

Follow Ups:

Post a Followup