Help with Weltman,Weinberg and Reis

That's funny.  Most of the people we contact claim they are being harrassed just because we sent them one letter informing them they owe a debt.  Which we are required by FDCPA to send that letter.  Many people ignore that letter so when we try and call them their first response is profanity or a hangup.  We take this as they are not interested in paying the debt that they promised to pay so we file a judgement.  These are not actions of poorly informed people.  These people are professional debtors and take advantage of FDCPA to postpone paying their debts as long as possible.

The reason Weltman Weinberg and Reis tells people to contact them only is because they are representing the creditor. If you try and contact the creditor they will tell you to contact Weltman, Weinberg and reis.

If you yourself are represented by an attorney we can only contact the attorney.

I hope this helps you.

Just had a message from WWR for my husband to call them.  He is making monthly payments on this account.  HOWEVER, WWR refuses to give credit for several payments that we have proof - canceled check - that were made.

Cashier check or bank draft are a check from the bank, not you, so they can not trace it without the complicity of the Bank,
They want you to signed a consent judgement in case you do not fulfil your part of the contract they can petition the court for a judgement against you without notice and you can not defend yourself .

So send them a copy of the cancelled check.

Also, WWR has several staff attorneys who act as their " compliance staff". Depends on the office closest to you. I;d ask for the name of the compLiance attorney for your area and complain to him/her.

AJP1law.com

So, please, can anyone tell me if WWR is a collection agency that collects for themselves, OR do they really collect for the original creditor?

They collect for either the original creditor or another company who may be a debt buyer.  They don't purchase debt.  They either get a commission on money collected or a flat fee for legal work that needs to be done.

My boyfriend is dealing with these POS. It all started for him with a loan for a TV he got from Best Buy. His bank account kept ending up in the negative & we could not figure out what was going on. After looking back, I figured out he had gotten a summons, but it came after the supposed court date. So they were taking the money out of his account. No one notified him of that & on the bank statements, it just says debit. We went to an attorney who told us to go to the court house & file a motion to make installment payments, which we did. I listed all our bills & calculated it to pay 40 on interest with 25 going to the principal. So 65 a month. They took his state income taxes also. But the amount it says that we owe has almost doubled from what the original amount on the court summons had written on it. I'm wondering if this will ever stop?!!! Whats the point of paying on it?!! Should he just file bankruptcy? I do have records of what we paid, we did use personal checks (oops). I'm not sure how to prove the bank account rip offs though, as they are generically labeled. Basically I'm wondering where to go from here.. The way it looks, they can just add on "attorney fees" in whatever amount they want?!!!! How is this legal? And btw, we are not "professional debt dodgers". We don't make a career out of dealing with a*^holes like these guys for entertainment value.... Also, his debt 1st started with LVNV Funding, which I think they are involved in a big class action suit, so did LVNV sell this to WWR? I'm confused.

First, unless a court has ruled you can't, close the account.    They can't empty what ain't there.  

Secondly, WWR is being sued in virtually every federal circuit in the country principally for violations of  FDCA.   I think they are up to 68 or so current cases, at least according to Justica.com:
http://dockets.justia.com/search?query=Weltma ... &after=&before=    
I hate to think how many suits are pending in state courts.

WWR is a very nasty bunch.   You'll need to talk to consumer lawyers who specialize in fighting this sort of thing.  In fact some law firms specifically mention fighting WWR in their online Google ads.   If you Google "Weltman, Weinberg and Reis" a number of hits should come up re lawyers who have experience dealing with these guys.   Good luck.

With the caveat that we see only a summary of your story, I think you two were given poor legal advice. It sounds like improper process service was in play, and you were told to merely change the way the creditor drains a man's assets without even asking if the debt claim was valid or accurate. My response would be to try to vacate the judgment, then build defenses against the creditor refiling, then assess the chances for a FDCPA suit.

LVNV is a junk debt buyer, whereas WWR would merely be hired to sue to collect. Debt buyers are almost laughably simple to beat in court since they don't bother holding any real proof. They buy a spreadsheet of names and numbers and the right to enforce lender contracts, then do so through often sloppy and illegal methods. There may be lovely violations right in those court filings you can use for ammunition. As to what's "legal" to charge post-judgment, that is derived from both the lender contract and state law. The amounts can tower overhead thanks to compound interest, but again should be challenged. The road is lumpier now that your beau has more or less agreed to "own" the debt, but you may not be out of options.

I think some lawyer shopping would be needed, but I differ with Ollie in sending you to random search results. A fair number of unimpressive and equally sloppy consumer "defenders" use well-known collector names as search bait, but cannot be said to have any deep insight. The marketing vehicle of NACA.net can start you on some names, but the best place to shop is in your local court files, seeking lawyers who actually go to hearings and bloody noses. A bankruptcy paper mill is simply not going to battle for you.  

If you don't mind doing your own homework, or can't find the right attorney candidate, the forums of Credit InfoCenter and DebtorBoards can help you become better informed of your options and rights than most lawyers ever will.

I have dealt with this group. They are lawyers, and they are aggressive in their debt collection. They are a debt collection agency. The debt they were after me for was for a credit card account that was delinquent. Fortunately I was already working with a debt relief company who immediately negotiated a settlement and resolved a settlement and is now paid off. What ever you do don't ignore them they are aggressive.

Thanks for the info. I knew that it was a mistake to make these installment payments. I should've done more research. After talking to this "attorney", I stupidly second guessed myself & took his worthless advice... My boyfriend isn't very good at this kind of stuff, so he just listens to me! I think I will do some homework & try to fight these scumbags. Btw, if they have 68 different suits against them, ( I realize they are civil suits) isn't there some sort of criminal or malpractice laws they are breaking? Shouldn't they be forced out of business? What would happen to the debts they collected for then? Just curious... Again, thanks for the info! You seem to really know your stuff! Much appreciated!

Thanks Ollie! We did actually stop having direct deposits to our account when this first started. That only worked for a minute, it didn't take them very long to have his paychecks garnished. That's why we were so desperate & found an attorney as quick as we could. (big mistake!). They were taking almost half of his paycheck every week. We seriously didn't even have grocery money at one point, we had to go to our parents! Not cool. I didn't really have time to do alot of research. They backed us into a corner. A*#holes.

If there is anything your (young?) man should take to heart, it's that nothing said or written by a debt collection lawyer is to be taken at face value. Everything in her pleadings is there for a purpose, that often being to confuse and frighten her defendants. I'm sorry to report what you've already found, that some of the "defense" lawyers are no more transparent.

} criminal or malpractice laws .... Shouldn't they be forced out of business?

We would have to find and read all those complaints to know everything the firm was alleged to do wrongly. Those in turn would be part of a larger set of naughty actions which have *not* been prosecuted or reported. You're forgetting that you and I and some others reading here belong to a minority group who straighten their backs when debt vultures come calling. The debt industry thrives on the absence of resistance to shame and disgrace, amplifying that moral fog machine through the courts. Simply for invoking your right not to be abused and swindled, you are roundly considered a whining hypocrite because you first broke a contract and "stole from a bank".

I would not doubt WWR has inspired many complaints to the Ohio state bar, attorneys general, the FTC, and so on. To get its doors shuttered will take a massive scandal, like the kind seen from Rincon, Axiant, Mann-Bracken, and the Tobias Boyland operations. Say you got your wish; killing the rogue collectors would not kill the debts they chased. They're all assets owned by banks and debt buyers, and they would find their way to collectors and law firms not yet dead. You would need a judge to throw out a mass of cases and order related debts cancelled, which has begun to happen very occasionally when a company is found winning suits unfairly through "robo-perjury".

You're very welcome for anything here which proves helpful. What I share comes from hard experience and long study, and I continue schooling myself every week. I urge that you tap a variety of resources and find your own winning strategy. The concept of the CFPB notwithstanding, there is no one-stop shopping for consumer protection wisdom.