themom50

It's a credit card.

My notes say, SOL STARTS FROM FIRST DELINQUENCY Section 2725 of the Pennsylvania Uniform Commercial Code provides that "an action for breach of any contract for sale must be commenced within four years after the cause of action has accrued." 13 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. 2725(a). A cause of action for breach of a contract for the sale of goods "accrues when the breach occurs." 13 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. 2725(. In the case of an installment contract, breach of the whole contract occurs "whenever nonconformity or default with respect to one or more installments substantially impairs the value of the whole contract." 13 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. 2612©. The account was deliquent the first month, September 03, with nonpayment. I look forward to hearing what your attorney has to say. Thanks.

Hope someone can chime in here and let me know if this is correct. It is my understanding that PA SOL starts from the first delinquency. Say an account is opened in 8/03, no payment made in september as required, no payment was made in october as required, a payment was made 11/3/03, and then account was never again paid or current. If a suit is brought by a CA in late november 07, is it time-barred, SOL? The account is not appearing on any credit report.

In this case the suing CA is the second or third AFTER a request for validation from a different CA a couple of years ago. I thought the law indicated NO collection could proceed if validation wasn't provided. Guess that could be a defense. Kid hadn't received anything from this new CA until he received the hearing notice.

Thought I would give you an update -- Mystery solved! Now I know what that certified notice was all about. I had returned it to the post office with a note saying that son did not live at this address. Well, a constable showed up to our home the other night with paperwork for a notice of continuance for a hearing. Kid is being sued in a local magistrate's office for a debt that is old and no longer appears on any of his credit reports! We hadn't ever received anything from this agency before this suit. By the way, I told the constable that my son didn't live here but I ended up accepting the paperwork. I didn't know what else to do and had no idea what the hearing was all about! I was so nervous since this has never happened before. I'm reading everything on how to answer a complaint and will use the SOL defense. I'll go over to the Help I've been Sued forum to ask a few questions and get prepared. Do you know how if you don't have the old paperwork that lists first delinquency date you can prove it's beyond SOL. I have one or two old statements from early 2004 that show no payment--only added late fees, etc. Don't have copies of old credit reports to reference, either. In 2005 we DVed one collection agency for this account and never received validation. Would the account have been removed from reports at that time? Should we call/email the CRAs to inquire about first date of delinquency for our defense? I know the plantiff has to prove it's valid but I'd like son to have his ducks in a row for the hearing. How can this agency sue when the account was never validated nearly three years ago?

Can't be a student loan since that was paid and I don't think there are any summary offenses against him (civil court). I'll put a note on it as you suggest and drop it off at the post office. Thanks!

This may be a stupid question but a notice was left at my home twice for a certified letter for my son. He doesn't live with us anymore and I'm willing to bet it is a letter from a debt collector. They call here for him all the time but we don't answer the phone. He and I are going to start soon work on sending the DV letters, etc. So, should I just not do anything and let the letter go back to the sender or should I have him go and pick it up at the post office? It makes me nervous!

My two cents for what it's worth: If you haven't done so yet, DV the CA for the account, of course, CMRR. A few days later, send the arbitration refusal letter to NAF and the CA via CMRR. Be very careful with NAF and the CA. Make sure you carefully read the correspondence they send you (check account numbers, etc. to be sure you're dealing with the same case/account throughout). If/when NAF sends you a scheduling notice, write them again, state you have previously refused arbitration, you had no arbitration agreement on the alleged debt, the CA hasn't validated any such alleged debt, etc.; this letter should be sent to NAF, CA, your state attorney general and the FTC. In my case, I wrote complaints to my AG and the FTC separately (about the railroading process, violations of the CA, etc.) and sent those to the CA and NAF. Be sure to respond to any and all correspondence sent. You should check on CT law to see if there are any recent cases regarding compulsory arbitration. Cite this information in your complaints. NAF may stay the arbitration for one reason or another (more than once!). Send copies of that documentation to your state AG. Just keep fighting them. My state AG (who had received copies of all my DV, refusal letters, NAF's letters to me, etc.) actually wrote NAF on my behalf and received a lengthy letter back from a NAF manager defending their process in my case. Fortunately for me, I responded to the AG to dispute many of the claims in the letter and after several weeks I received a letter from the AG stating that my case had been resolved. I still don't know what that means, but I haven't received anything from the CA or NAF in a long time. Don't panic, just stay on top of this and do everything possible to avoid having an award made against you. Keep us posted

Tee, sounds great! Don't beat yourself up... you'll love the floors!

Don't pay anyone and don't contact anyone! Mann Bracken will have to have a local attorney file a judgment against you in your local court to get you to pay the NAF award. Have you researched any of these types of cases in your state? If they do file a judgment against you, you must answer and show up in court or they will win by default. These arbitration awards are outrageous. I can't believe how quickly they fast-tracked an award against you. When did they actually award against you? It seems they didn't give you sufficient time to answer their complaint, to request debt validation, etc. I suggest you write to your state attorney general to complain about the procedure. You should indicate that you never agreed to participate in any arbitration proceeding. There are lots of articles to cite about this type of compulsory arbitration (especially how consumers lose these NAF cases 90% of the time). I had the same fed-ex letter sent to me and answered with a refusal of arbitration letter. When NAF sent me a scheduling notice I fired off a validation letter to MB with another refusal letter and wrote complaint letters to my AG and the FTC. My AG contacted NAF on my behalf and NAF responded to the AG with a bunch of BS which seemed to further my position that the whole fast-track arbitration procedure denies consumers their rights. At that point I received a second stay from the arbitration procedure. I answered the AG and haven't heard from anyone since. You need to make a paper trail for your defense against this phony award and read up on your state's law. I posted a court case here recently that you should read. It's a PA case but it outlines several points that may work in your jurisdiction as well. http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?s...opic=104632&hl=

Thanks for sharing, Co Sign R. My heart goes out to you. And, you, too, lgt525

Oh, this is good! I also posted this on the Case Law site under Consumer Protection Forum. I hope the duplicate posting isn't a problem. I just feel this is appropriate here as so many have been receiving arbitration claims, and subsequent awards, from NAF and other arbitration forums. Pennsylvania Case Law: Bank One Delaware N.A. v. Mitchell No. GD04-004813 Common Pleas Court of Allegheny County, PA 70 Pa. D & C. 4th 353, 2005 Pa. D. & C. LEXIS 27 January 27, 2005, Decided Headnotes: Arbitration -- Credit card agreement -- Petition to confirm award -- Jurisdiction Summary: "The court refused to confirm an arbitration award against a credit card holder who never participated in the arbitration proceedings because, in the absence of a court order compelling the holder to proceed to arbitration, the arbitrator lacked jurisdiction over the holder. Petition to confirm arbitration award and to enter judgment thereon denied". "In summary, I am denying Bank One's amended petition to confirm arbitration award and enter judgment thereon for two reasons: First, in the absence of a court order compelling the respondent to proceed with arbitration, the arbitrator does not have any jurisdiction over a respondent who never participated in or otherwise acknowledged the arbitration proceeding. Second, since 42 Pa. C.S. 7304(1), 7313 and 7342( are part of a statutory scheme for enforcing arbitration agreements, a court shall confirm an arbitration award under section 7313 or section 7342( only if the respondent either was ordered to proceed with arbitration pursuant to section 7304(a) or voluntarily participated in the arbitration proceeding". This is very well written for even a lay person like me! Mann Bracken sent an arbitration claim to respondent via FedEx. Respondent didn't respond to the claim, the National Arbitration Forum awarded an arbitration award against him, Bank One filed to confirm the arbitration award and enter a judgment against the respondent in his local jurisdiction. The Court of Common Pleas denied Bank One. Among other things: 1. "Since the amended petition for the entry of a judment is based on an award NOT made by a court....a court may enter judgment based on the award ONLY if the record....can support that the arbitrator had jurisdiction over the respondent. Record failed to provide necessary support. 2. Under PA law, the court determined that Mitchell was not required to arbitrate Bank One's claim until Bank One established in a court that its claim was governed by a VALID agreement to arbitrate. Court further noted that a party who bypasses...{part of PA arbitration law}... cannot use other sections of PA law to confirm an arbitration award entered in an arbitration proceeding in which the respondent did not participate. "..respondent was not required to arbitrate Bank One's claim until Bank One established in a court that its claim is governed by a valid agreement to artibtrate. Thus, respondent is not bound by the ex parte proceeding even if a court subsequently determines that Bank One's claim is governed by an arbitration clause". 3. Court said Bank One was trying to create another method to obtain a default judgment which violates the safeguards provided by PA Rules of Civil Procedure. 4. Lots of GREAT stuff on PA law with regard to arbitration, validity of arbitration agreements/credit cards, proper service, default judgments, etc. Great case! Read on (beware, it's very long!): http://www.quicktopic.com/31/D/VKrgQBn8w5D3t.html

Thanks, WhyChat. whiteelephant, what state are you in?

De, I am in the midst of the process with NAF and a CA. I figure if I lose I'll go down fighting. Currently, the Claimant has issued another stay; this one "indefinite". I have spent hours writing correspondence to the CA and my state's AG (who, surprisingly is attentive to my claims against the CA and NAF). I'm happy that you were successful in winning against NAF!! If I prevail I'm definitely going to share my strategy. Whiteelephant, Don't offer to settle anything. Besides, I don't think a CA would settle now that they've won the arbitration case against you. Document any/all violations against the CA. File complaints with your state AG and the FTC about compulsory arbitration -- there's lots on this site (cases and articles) to reference. What kind of documentation did the CA submit for the award against you? Did the CA or NAF provide you with a signed CC agreement with ALL the terms, including the arbitration agreement? I would keep writing letters if I were you. As I understand it, you still have to be sued in your local jurisdiction to have the arbitration award stand. I think the more documentation you have the more it will help with your defense. WhyChat, Should whitelephant file the "Motion to Deny Arbitration Award" from your website at this time or should he/she wait until a suit has been filed? Do you know if others have been successful with the motion once an arbitration award from one of these forums has been filed against them?

OMG stetz! The arbitration award was for a different account? Is the first one still stayed? The CO attorneys are trying to collect for the account that awarded in arbitration, right? Well, I hope they aren't licensed in your state! Why don't you file a motion to dismiss the award (from WhyChat's site) in your local jurisdiction to try and prevent them from getting a judgment? If I recall, you have proof that you opted out (in writing) of any arbitration proceeding. Just a thought! BTW, since we last chatted here, MB sent a letter stating my arbitration claim was indefinitely stayed. I don't know what they're up to and am not real sure how to proceed but I'm going to go down fighting! I'll come up with some strategy soon, I hope!!!