A client of mine was sued in the Mobile County Small Claims Court by a Asset Acceptance, LLC. The lawsuit asked for a judgment of $2,399.63 including court costs and interest. The debt was based on an account with Dell Financial Services, and was filed under an “Account stated” theory. An account stated lawsuit is basically where you think someone owes you money, but you may not be able to prove a contract existed between the parties. To win on an account stated, you have to show that money was borrowed, that the lender drew up a statement of account showing just what was owed, and the borrower agreed to or somehow accepted that statement of account.
In some places, an account stated has a shorter statute of limitations than a contract, but in Alabama, both are six years. The suit was brought within 4 years of the last alleged payment.
Because it was small claims court, I made a settlement offer to the Plaintiff: $400 plus court costs. That is a deep discount – more than 75% off the original debt, and the credit card lawyer complained about it like they always do, but they know the risk of going to court and losing, so they accepted the deal.
Potential Liability: $2399.63
Settlement: $438.89
Total Savings: $1960.74
Discount: 81.7%
And the South Alabama stimulus package rolls on…
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Well I live in Kentucky and I am having an issue with dell financial services and currently seeking an attorney, I purchased a laptop back in 2011 for 645.00 been paying faithfully for almost 4 years the laptop quit working before the first year…. I have already paid like 1500.00 on this defective product and they are saying I still owe almost 1300… I have called them over and over about it not working and without my knowledge they charged me over 300 after doing diagnostic over the phone which still did not work…. I refuse to pay this company another dime…..this is fraud and they need to be stopped!!
Becky,
I sympathize with your situation. I’ve defended people from old Dell Financial Services accounts before, and can say from experience that they do a horrible job of keeping payment records. I cannot give you specific advice, as I’m not licensed to practice law in Kentucky, but based on what you’ve told me, I believe that if they ever tried to sue you for this debt, you would have a very good chance of beating them in court. If that ever happens, go to http://www.naca.net and search their attorney directory for someone who defends debt collection cases. Don’t go down without a fight!