If you’re asking yourself this question, you may be facing a collection lawsuit. It is important to know your rights and act quickly to protect yourself.
A letter arrives in the mail – certified mail. You open it, and find that it comes from your local county court, and you’ve been summoned to answer a lawsuit that has been filed against you by somebody you’ve never heard of. Somebody called “Convergence Receivables.” A few questions pop into mind:
Is this real?
What have I done to deserve this?
Do I have to go to Court?
If this has happened to you, you are not alone. Every year, new debt collectors, factoring companies, and similar scavengers pop up and start hitting unsuspecting people with lawsuits.
So just who or what is “Convergence Receivables?” It is a debt buyer, and what they do is purchase pools of charged-off credit accounts, usually from credit card companies. They typically get a few big spreadsheets with your personal identifying information, your address, and an alleged balance (which is, according to the documents transferring the accounts from the original creditors, hardly ever warranted to even be accurate). Then they start suing people.
They hit the courts with massive blobs of lawsuits. Usually they’re bare-bones allegations that don’t tell you or the courts anything about what you supposedly owe, who you supposedly owe, and why. Of course, if you deny that you owe them the money and hire a lawyer, they’re going to have to prove all of that at some point, which is why it is always worthwhile to try and defend yourself.
If you receive a summons from Convergence Receivables or their lawyers, you should contact an experienced debt defense lawyer as soon as possible, and even if you can’t find a good lawyer, answer the complaint. Once you’ve received your lawsuit paperwork, you have only a limited time to file a formal response with the court. If you don’t file something in time, you could face a default judgment, which could result in wage garnishments, bank account freezes, and other unpleasantness.