Re: What NOT to say in court.

Posted by Boadicea (66.149.179.202) on August 09, 2004 at 18:42:20:

In Reply to: What NOT to say in court. posted by qutgnt on August 09, 2004 at 13:45:10:

There is a big difference between being PREPARED for the "what if's" and being BEDEVILED by them. Do you know how to make a flowchart? If so, then make one for yourself, with a gameplan on what to do and when to do it, to take with you.

First of all, what makes you think Sherman will be impressed by your threats to file Bk if they don't give in to your demands? If you can *really* afford to pay $250 a month to them, then you are not a candidate for a Chapter 7. If you must file a Chapter 13, they will count on getting something anyway. Not much of a threat, is it? When they come to talk to you before the trial, say you have nothing to say to them and are ready to go to trial. They're never prepared for that.

You are assuming that one, the CA will actually go through with the trial and has proof sufficient to get a judgment; two, that the judge will ask you if the account is really yours. In truth, NEITHER of those may happen if you don't panic and give your position away. It is Sherman's job to prove that the account is yours, and if they don't have that proof, they will try to scare you into admission.

The only time I saw the judge ask if an account was the defendant's was in a car loan situation where the signed contract was handed over to the judge, and another where a signed (but forged) contract for a land deal was displayed as an exhibit. The defendant in the first case admitted the debt and lost. The second admitted there was a contract, but disputed the signature and WON his case. As they say in opera, "It ain't over until the fat lady sings!"

If *I* were you, I would admit to NOTHING until Sherman forks over the signed contract OR a statement with my name on it. Until then, I would maintain that since I have no records of the account, I don't know for sure that the account Sherman *claims* is mine is legitimate. Why admit that you've had a card of the same type? What does that do for you? There are probably millions of people who have the same branded card.

Then *if* --and only *if*-- Sherman were to bring up something with my name on it, I would ask for an accounting of how they came up with that amount. If they've tacked on illegal charges such as attorney's fees and interest after the charge off, I'd dispute them. If the judge were to then rule that I had to pay *something* then that is when I'd ask for installment payments and a delayment of judgment to see if I could pay it off. I'd not agree to anything I couldn't afford, either. (If you miss one payment, the judgment is entered and a garnishment order would follow.) Believe me...at that point Sherman would probably consider themselves very lucky and would not quibble with the judge over the amount.

Trying to negotiate a settlement with terms such as a pay for deletion, or an agreement not to sell the balance, seldom works. Go over to Creditboards.com and see how many people were screwed by the CA's after settlement. But once the court decides what you own, that ends it....forever. I'd personally take my chances with the court. But that's just me and my own choice to go pro se. If I had felt I couldn't stand toe to toe with a CA, I'd have gotten an attorney to do it for me.

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