The Beginning Process

The first thing I did after I knew we were being sued, was to read the Colorado Collection Agency rules. I googled the Colorado Attorney General's Office, and ran a search on the name of the collection agency. What I first discovered was that the agency that was listed on my credit reports, is not licensed. That was the first sign that something was not right. I printed the rules made by the Collection Agency Board, and discovered that every collection agency doing business has to be licensed. I also discovered that corporations are allowed to use one alias outside of their corporation entity. This was another trigger for me since I knew they were violating one rule, why would they not violate others? So, I googled the Colorado Secretary of State since I knew that a business is required to regiseter their business with the Secretary of State in each state they conduct business in. When I found the website, I did a corporation name seacrh. What I discovered was that Collecto Inc. was in fact registered in Colorado, and had 4 other trade names. Of course I now know that you can use only one alias other than your corporation name.

Once I discovered the trade names, and dug a little deeper, I realized that there was a new trade name registered within months after my suit had been filed. I immediated asked the Attorney General's Office to tell me the licensed trade name associated with Collecto Inc. The response I got was that the newest trade name was the only licensed trade name with their office. This of course set off red flags since the company that filed suit against me is not the current licensed trade name.

With the initial investigation results, I contacted the Federal Trade Commision, and the Secretary of State, as well as the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General's Office and lodged my initial complaints. Originally on the surface, I was dealing with a few violations that could affect the validity of this company from doinf business, and most of all proving that they had no standing in my case.

Of course nothing is as simple as it sounds, and collection agencies are trained to know what a judge will allow, and what he will not allow, so they still have an advantage. The laws make it clear that you do not have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that your rights were violated, however if the agency can provide a statement that they did not intentionally cause the damage, then they will not be required to pay you anything other than attorney's fees. In the same sense if the judge feels like you are maliciously seeking revenge, he can in turn award them attorney fees. So you need to be well prepared in advanced to address those issues. If you remain calm (which is my worst demon) you may be able to change the way the judge views your case.

My best advice is to do your research. Make sure you use the applicable laws, and bring your knowledge to the table with a twist. Make the judge interested in your case. Be prepared, take good notes, and listen to what the other party is saying. A lot of information and contradictions will me made.....stay focused on what you have to present. It is always good to come prepared with questions and points you want to make. It is very helpful for me to draw graphs of the relationships between what I want to express and what the other side is expressing.

When you are doing your research, google can be a really good friend, as well as college websites for college research. There are tons of cases that have been won that you can get some really great information from. I am going to attach in my next posting, some really great case for you to read!