James Foley, PLLC. is Fort Worth’s pick for Debt Defense and Credit Reporting
My name is James Foley, PLLC., and I’ve defended both North Texans and Texans across our entire state against the predations of debt collectors, credit reporting agencies, and lenders for many years.
If you’ve been sued for a debt, you NEED an attorney today. Don’t wait to address your right to excellent debt defense against banks, collectors, and credit card companies. If you’ve found something that looks like identity theft on your credit report, you NEED an attorney just as much. Waiting even a week can mean the difference between you having a case or not.
Don’t gamble when it comes to your credit history, which can affect future lending decisions, job applications, and much more. Reach out to me, James Foley, and see what I can do for you and your financial future.
NORTH TEXAS Debt Lawsuit Defense by James Foley, PLLC.
Finding the right lawyer to defend you against a debt suit can be challenging, but my goal is to be the perfect value when it comes to getting excellent debt defense and advice. Whether you live in Fort Worth, Benbrook, White Settlement, Aledo, Weatherford, or Richland Hills, my goal is to get you the help you need when a bank, lender, or collector takes you to court over unpaid amounts.
If you’ve been sued by one of the following, or a similar entity, you need to reach out to me at once, otherwise it could mean forfeiting your right to any of your avenues of defense:
Have you been sued by a BANK like Discover, Bank of America, Ally Financial, or Chase?
Have you been sued by a DEBT COLLECTOR like Midland Funding, Javitch Block, Michael Moss, or Jefferson Capital?
If so, you have more options than they might tell you. Rather than PAY NOW or PAY LATER, you may be able to FIGHT the debt, forcing them to produce necessary documents that they may not have. You may be able to SETTLE with better terms of payment or a reduction of unfair fees.
When you are faced with a debt lawsuit you basically have 3 options: You can fight the debt, you can settle the debt, or you can file bankruptcy. Two major things to consider if you want to fight the debt are 1. Who is the creditor and their attorney 2. What court are we in?
Original creditors are generally more likely to be able to prove their cases, and some collection firms have their act together more than others. Different firms will have different settlement authority than others. For example Portfolio Recovery Associates will have 3 different personalities depending on who the attorneys are.
As for fighting, venue is a huge factor. The Justice of the Peace Courts have very relaxed rules of evidence which makes life very easy for collection attorneys. Furthermore, even in Courts of Law with attorney judges and full rules of evidence there is a split of authority on almost every point of contention.
All that said I know almost every Judge in the area and have a rapport with almost every collection attorney around. If you can give the name of the Plaintiff, The Court we are in, and the name of the attorney I can often immediately tell you within a few seconds what the offer will be or whether or not we should take this to trial and fight it.
A WORD ON SETTLING
I get a lot of push-back when I mention the word Bankruptcy. I often ask why, and rarely get intelligent answers. Their response is often founded on inaccurate information. Often people cannot even articulate why they don’t want to file. Settling often sounds like a reasonable option. In a lot of cases, especially if you are gainfully employed or have some cash to work with, we can make a deal. There are several drawbacks to settling. If you need more than a few months to pay the agreed amount the creditor will insist on an agreed judgment for the full amount. Furthermore, most Courts want to move their dockets and are not anxious to leave cases open for extended periods of time. This means that if you are on a payment plan and stop paying the debt will accelerate from the agreed amount to the original amount sought in the petition. By this time, you’ve admitted owing the debt and long since waived your right to trial.
While I am not a CPA and cannot give tax advice I can tell you that forgiven debt is taxable income and the creditor will issue a 1099 for the forgiven debt. By then Bankruptcy is ineffective against the IRS.
Most creditors will not delete tradelines. A tradeline is an entry on a credit report. Despite the mountains of caselaw that say that credit reporting is purely voluntary the best most creditors will do is update the tradeline. That means that once you pay off the defaulted debt your credit report reflects that you settled a debt for less than the full amount and your credit worthiness does not improve that much.
D/FW Debt Defense BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY James Foley, PLLC.
Did you know that you can have debts and debt lawsuits resolved by means of bankruptcy? If fighting or settling with the likes of Couch, Conville, Blitt or Portfolio Recovery means “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” it’s time to seek out other avenues.
As your debt defense attorney, I’m equally experienced in helping North Texans navigate the process of bankruptcy, which in many cases can allow one to keep their home and vehicle throughout. I’ll help you pursue the option that’s best for you, because I’m not financially motivated based on taking one way over the other.
When your debt lawsuit from Midland Funding or Michael J. Scott grows larger than what you can pay off, get in touch with me, whether you live in downtown Ft. Worth, Arlington, Burleson, Lake Worth, Azle, or the Westside. And remember, once you’ve been sued, you need a debt attorney, not a credit solutions company that’s unable to help in a lawsuit.
Identity Theft appearing on TransUnion, Equifax, or Experian Credit Report in TEXAS
Maybe your issue isn’t a debt lawsuit, but instead something you’ve found on your credit report. I get many inquiries about identity theft, because when you find incorrect information on your report, it’s the first thing you might think is wrong.
But there’s good news: identity theft is RARE when it comes to your credit report. What you may be seeing is not Identity theft but in fact a mixed or merged file. This means that someone else’s information has bled over onto your account. When you look at your credit report look for things like strange addresses and phone numbers that you don’t recognize. These are often indicators that your file has been mixed or merged with someone elses.
That’s where I can help. If you’re the victim of something that LOOKS LIKE ID theft but ISN’T, you may need an attorney to get your rights to Fair Credit secured under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. I can help you with your FCRA concerns if you’re located anywhere in the Lone Star State, including D/FW, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Tyler, Amarillo, El Paso, or Midland/Odessa.
TEXAS FCRA ATTORNEY James Foley, PLLC. | Fix Errors on your Credit Report before it’s TOO LATE
Your credit report is important, and is tied to your credit score, which can make a huge difference for jobs, loans, and background checks. This impacts your ability to get mortgages, car notes, credit cards, and at more reasonable rates. Let me help you get your life back.
When you contact me, I’ll give your credit report an assessment, looking for signs of re-aged accounts, merged files, privacy violations, or the previously mentioned identity theft. Then, I’ll help you file a dispute with any or all of your credit reporting agencies. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always make things right, because your dispute could be overruled by the furnisher on the other side.
That’s when it’s time to take the fight to federal court. Getting your credit report accuracy under control is one of the most important things you can do for your personal finances, and I’ll be ready to take the offensive against Experian, Equifax, and/or TransUnion, depending with which you’re having issues.
Before going any further, make sure you visit www.annualcreditreport.com and DOWNLOAD your credit report.
FAIR CREDIT, DEBT DEFENSE, AND BANKRUPTCIES BY JAMES FOLEY, PLLC.
As our financial systems grow more complex, your ability to stay on top of things like credit reporting and multiple forms of debt can grow more challenging. Most consumers may not even know the state of their debts or credit reporting accuracy. My goal is to make sure that you’re not one of those consumers!
Whether you’re addressing debt lawsuits in county court or taking the fight to credit reporting agencies in federal court, I’ll represent you and your best interests so long as you’re in the state of Texas.
So reach out to me, James Foley, PLLC., and be ready for a challenging but worthwhile FIGHT, one which I hope we shall WIN.