Serving clients on the Eastside, in Seattle & throughout King County

Member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA)                

Debt Defense & Negotiation

I represent clients seeking successful resolution of many Consumer Debt issues, including:

• Credit Card collection actions: lawsuit defense, judgments & settlement(s)
• Apartment lease collections
• Judgment defense: vacating judgments & settlements
• Garnishment defense & settlement
• Prosecuting Civil consumer claims: Debt Collection, FDCPA and FCRA issues
• Prosecuting Collection Agency Act violations
• Prosecuting Consumer Protection Act violations
• Defense representation in Civil Claims & Lawsuits  
• Credit card account balance validation, reduction & negotiations 
• Retail installment or 'rent-to-own' contract defaults

It's almost counterintuitive how some creditors act.  A consumer starts to fall behind on payments, and instead of trying to work with the consumer, the creditor declares a default - accelerating the debt and sending the interest rate charges through the roof.  Maybe this has happened to you over the past few years.

Maybe you've just been served with a summons and complaint from a collections attorney, but it doesn't look like much more than a threat, since there isn't a case number on the paperwork.  

What you may not know is that under Washington civil procedure, it's perfectly legal to serve a summons and complaint before actually filing the complaint.  The creditor or debt collection attorney simply waits as little as 20 days after the date you were served, and then files the complaint - along with a motion and order for default judgment on the very same day.

Debt collectors know that well over 80% of collections suits filed will end up in default judgments in their favor because the consumer is frightened or simply fails to answer the unfiled summons and complaint. 

Debt collection firms are pros at this and will try to use this trick against you every time.  

Do not wait before you take action.  The debt that the collections agency or collections attorney is alleging you owe may not be your debt at all.  The debt may be past the statute of limitations and 100% uncollectable.  The attorney or credit card issuer may not have any right to bring suit against you in the first place.  The debt may have been bought by a third party who lacks a valid legal assignment and proper evidence to back up ownership of the claim.  The so-called 'debt validation' you've been provided may been completely inadequate under the law. 

Know your rights and be extremely careful how you respond to a summons and complaint. 

To protect yourself,  contact an attorney as soon as you get served in order to protect your rights.

With the assistance of a knowledgeable attorney, untangling debt collections lawsuits can also sometimes be achieved through a negotiation process.  There may be several defenses and counterclaims available to eliminate, reduce or offset the alleged debt you owe.  If you've already had a default judgment entered against you, it's still not to late to take action to protect yourself from wage or bank account garnishment - but you must act timely to preserve your rights.   

Don't let debt collection agencies or collection attorneys take advantage of you. 

It can actually cost a lot less to hire a competent, qualified attorney to handle debt defense and negotiations for you than it will be to hire one of these fly-by-night 'eliminate debt now' outfits.  If a collections lawsuit has already been filed against you, it's still not too late to prevent a default judgment and garnishment of your wages or bank account(s) - but you need to act quickly to protect yourself.

Don't wait to act once your debts have become unmanageable.  The faster you take action to protect yourself, the more options I will have at my disposal to assist you.

Law Office of Fred Martens   Phone:  206.300.2733   Fax:  425.643.6222

Email:  fred@fjmlaw.net

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