One of the tricks of the trade used in collections is to scare ordinary folks into thinking there are dire legal consequences facing them when some third-party Squaliforme collector's lawyer starts harassing them over a debt they may not even owe.
The implication these low-lifes present is that because a letter or a phone call comes from an attorney's office, the victim should be afraid of being sued, or worse yet in some of the more ruthless cases, even arrested.
They also prey on the fact that most people don't realize that some of the Squaliformes will buy and then try to collect on debts that have gone far past the statute of limitations. The stupid part of this is, they can legally TRY to do that - as long as they don't threaten legal action.
Using this trickery, Squaliforme law firm Riddle and Associates, on behalf of CAMCO (Capital Acquisitions and Management Company), kept threatening legal action against someone for an MBNA debt that was over ten years old. The victim, Gilbert Gervais, sued - and won in U.S. District Court in Connecticut.
The real message here is that if these bottom-feeder lawyers even imply they are going to take you to court to collect something you legally don't owe any more, they are making a "false, deceptive or misleading representation," in their effort to collect, and having multiple phone calls and letters from the law firm regarding a "legal matter" is enough to imply they were going to sue.
Finally, a small victory for consumers!
Course, 'round here, we'd a had a quick trial and introduced these Squaliformes to the inside of one of our cells for a few weeks for pulling the stunt. Up there, they just spent a fortune on lawyerin' to try and keep their sorry asses from havin' to follow the law.
The Honorable Judge Roy Bean.
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