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I need to talk to an attorney
I have a supena for order of contempt because I won’t give a collection agency a
huge amount of personal information including all my banking info, possession of
cars, social security etc. I sold a house and the buyer shorted the bank by
27,500. However, I have a statement from the judge saying that the house is
paid in full with no balance owed. The collection agency attorney told me I need
to fill out the forms requested, and my refusal to do so is what the order of
contempt is about. I need advice on how to proceed with this case.
Asked on June 21, 2016 under Bankruptcy Law, Florida
Answers:
B.H.F., Member, Texas State Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
You need to visit with a consumer rights attorney asap, have them review your documents, and potentially write you a cease and desist letter. They also need to review the "order" they sent you to make sure that it is valid. A party cannot get an order entered without some type of notice to you. For this to be a suprise to you means that you may not have been properly notified.
If you already have a judgment that says you are not obligated to pay any additional amounts on this deal, then their attempts to collect are considered illegal and harassing.
It is only contempt of court if you violate something that a judge has instructed you to do. It is not contempt to refuse to divuldge personal, confidential information not other wise required by the court. It is illegal for a collection agency to threaten you with legal activities that are blatantly false.
An attorney is your quickest and best start to shut them down. After a basic letter threatening the collection agency, then they will most likely back off. If this is simply not feasible, file a complaint with the attorney general or the Federal Trade Commission for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. But... considering that you are being served with a subpoena that may or may not be valid, I strongly recommend that you have someone look at it to insure it is or is not valid.
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