Who is Velocity Investments, and why are they suing me?
You may have gotten a letter in the mail stating that you’ve been sued by Velocity Investments.
You may be thinking, “Who is this company, and why are they suing me?”
Who is this company “Velocity Investments”?
Velocity Investments is a company claims to buy up old car loans, generally after repossession.
Why are they suing me?
They’re trying to get you to pay on this old debt that they claim you owe and they claim to own.
Usually, they use a very experienced law firm, the Barry Friedman law firm in Mobile, Alabama.
This firm has been in business for years, so they know what they’re doing.
If you get a letter from this firm, take it very seriously.
This firm isn’t new to this world of collection lawsuits.
They’ve been around for years, so they know how these cases work.
How is Velocity Investments breaking the law?
Velocity claims that they own this debt, however they have to prove that they own it, not merely claim they own it.
Let’s say that the dealership offers to finance your car for you when you buy a car from them.
Under the law, that’s called a “sale of a good.”
Then they immediately sell that loan to someone else, such as Citi or Cap One Auto.
After that company has had it for a while, they sell it to someone such as Santander, an infamous car loan company.
When it gets to Santander, they’ll handle it for a year or two and then there’s usually a repossession. Santander will say that you owe $20,000, they get $8,000 in the repossession, so now you owe Santander $12,000.
After Santander tries to collect on it for a while, they sell it to Cascade.
Finally, Cascade sells it to Velocity.
At least, Velocity claims that they bought the loan.
You weren’t there to witness the sale, so there’s no way for you to know if they actually own it without proof from them.
In addition to proving that they own the debt, they have to be able to trace it back to the car dealer.
Velocity Investments hates having to prove they own the loan.
Like all debt buyers, they come to court and complain, saying things like, “Judge, it’s so much work to prove it,” or “We shouldn’t have to do this,” or “This is so unfair!”
It’s odd, because when we deal with huge cases such as wrongful death cases, we don’t say, “Judge, it’s too much work to prove this. Let’s make the rules go away so we don’t have to deal with this.”
If Velocity is going to buy this loan, and be the fourth or fifth person to do so, they need to be able to prove it.
Even if Velocity Investments can prove it own the loan, the Statute of Limitations only lasts for 4 years.
Once you stop making payments, the clock starts ticking.
Usually this is before the repossession.
Velocity normally tries to sue you after the Statute of Limitations.
If they do that, then they’re supposed to lose the case.
Even if they could prove that they own the loan, which we have not seen them do, if they waited too long to sue you, that’s a great defense for you.
If they do violate the statute of limitations, then under the FDCPA, this is a violation.
You can sue them in Federal Court for doing this.
If you get one of these Velocity lawsuits, take it very seriously.
If you get a letter from Barry Friedman and they’re threatening to sue you outside of the Statute of Limitations, send them a dispute letter telling them that the Statute of Limitations has expired.
Ask them why they’re threatening to suing you, and see what they say.
Many times, they won’t respond, and sue you anyway which again normally violates the FDCPA.
Whatever the situation is, know that you have rights.
You also have 5 options.
1.) You can file bankruptcy.
I don’t recommend this option, but it’s still considered an option.
2.) You can fight it on your own.
Just make sure that you understand Alabama law, especially since your case will most likely be in Circuit Court, which is the highest court. Velocity will fight you very hard on the statute of limitations so you must be prepared for major arguments on this. Normally with a company like Velocity represented by someone as experienced as Barry Friedman, this is not a good option.
3.) You can settle it on your own.
This option doesn’t make much sense, if they’ve illegally sued you after the Statute of Limitations.
4.) You can hire us to fight it for you.
We will be happy to help you with your case against Velocity Investments.
5.) You can hire us to settle it for you.
Again, it doesn’t make much sense to settle this as normally it is better to win the case and then sue Velocity in Federal Court.
Contact us with any questions you may have.
Hope this was helpful to you.
If you live in Alabama and you have any questions about what you should do, feel free to contact us.
You can reach us by phone at 1-205-879-2447, or you can fill out a contact form and we will happily get in touch with you.
I look forward to talking with you!
Have a great day.
My Husband Received a Garnishment notice in the mail recently here in Ohio about a credit card (Providian). The Credit Card was from 2004. There was a court case back in 2007 which we knew nothing about regarding this case that wanted to seettle. Nothing happened with the case. Now in 2016, Velocity Invesments, LLC just sent us a Court order Notice of Garnishment with no noticcement. But there is no notice, nothing else. The amounts don’t match. And it is supposedly for the same card? What should we do? Are they just going thru court records pulling stuff? I mean how do i know. I don’t trust this. Thank You, Chrissy Harrison.
Sorry you are dealing with this — my suggestion is you must get with an Ohio lawyer to figure out your options. I’m not sure what is going on with your situation and Velocity. It may be that Velocity has bought the judgment — I’ve not seen that in Alabama.
Best wishes and hope you get some answers very soon!
John Watts
Can you give me an approximate price to fight these people on a suit for outside of statute of limitations.
James,
Two ways to fight — one is on your own and one is hiring a lawyer.
As far as the statute of limitations, we would want to look at the lawsuit and get some dates from you to help you confirm whether it looks like that’s a good defense or not.
If it is a good defense, and if the lawsuit is brought in a place where you can do this on your own, then the only price is your time.
If you need to hire us, then we will give you a flat fee to represent you. Normally it is based on how much you were sued for so without knowing the details of your particular lawsuit, I can’t give you an amount right now.
Give us a call at 205-879-2447 and ask for Carolyn. She’ll look up the court information and then get us a phone appointment so we can go over your options and the cost for each option.
Thanks!
John Watts
I got a letter from Global collections on behalf of Velocity. It clearly states in the letter that the last payment was in 2007, clearly out of statute and my father in law they are trying to collect from is deceased and mortgage is upside down. I told them “good luck with that one”.
Philip,
Sounds good. I would definitely keep that letter — physical copy and digital copy. Sometimes these companies will “change” the date of last payment so you want to have all the proof you can that the debt is too old to sue on.
Best wishes!
John Watts
I just received a letter from Velocity Investments saying they own my debt and it is from 2007. Dont they have to tell you who the original debt was too and isnt 12 years a little long to start things back up????
Stacey,
In Alabama a debt from 2007 (with no payments made in last 6 years) would normally be too old to sue on. I think they should tell you this but often they don’t and if they can convince you to make even a small payment that will (in their eyes) re-start the statute of limitations.
Certainly get with a consumer lawyer in your state and the most likely thing you will be advised to do is to write Velocity a letter (certified mail) and ask them about the statute of limitations (SOL). Ask them when the last payment was. Is the SOL expired or not? How did they get to supposedly own this debt?
Dispute it — here is an example (certainly add stuff about SOL, etc).
Also check credit reports to make sure no credit reporting by Velocity. And has Velocity pulled your credit reports.
So a few things to do once you get with a lawyer — hope this is a good starting point for you.
Call us at 205-879-2447 if you live in Alabama and we’ll be happy to give you specific advice.
Thanks!
John Watts
I received a garnishment notice that was filed in an Alabama circuit court filed on behalf of Velocity and their lawyer Spina & Levelle. Is it to late fight this?
Shawn,
This sounds like there is a judgment against you and now they are collecting.
About the only way to fight the judgment is if you were not served. Then you could challenge the judgment. We see this a good bit.
If you can’t fight the judgment, then you have to see if the garnishment is valid. Are they trying to collect funds that are protected (exempt) like social security? If it is your wages, do you make under the threshold where you can protect some or all of your wages?
But let’s assume the garnishment is valid.
Then you have to see if you can settle with the Spain & Levelle lawyers. I have dealt with them — they are good experienced lawyers. So that means they will represent their clients to the best of their ability. It also means they are confident and are willing, in the right circumstance, to make a deal that is good for everyone. (Incompetent collection lawyers are so scared and greedy they won’t make any deals but the lawyers that know what they are doing will).
If you want to chat about this give us a call at 205-879-2447 and Carolyn can look up your case and we can go over your options.
Best wishes!
John Watts
I received a notice to contact the sheriff that there was a summons for me. The notice had my maiden name on it which I have not used in more than 40 years and it was left at an address I have not lived at for over 9 years. Now they say there is a summons for me in Campbell County, Ky I looked it up and found out it was by Velocity, can this be legit if none of the information on it is right
Thanks
Carole
Carole,
That is very odd about the name — I’m not sure why they would do that.
If there is a summons then the lawsuit is real. Now it may be without any merit but you do have to respond so they don’t get a default judgment against you.
Find a consumer protection lawyer in Kentucky to help you — this can be good place to start — https://www.consumeradvocates.org/find-an-attorney
Best wishes
John
I find out that Velocity Investments is suing me through lawyers advertising letters (yah) -however, I looked it up my county’s court records to be sure that it is indeed legit. There is a summons on file dated 5 business days back… But, I have not been served yet.
My question is: can they sue me without prior contact with me? -no letter, phone call, text, email – nothing.
Can they file a lawsuit with false information?
I never heard from Velocity before and neither I have a debt for the stated amount of the court paperwork.
Please advise…
Thanks
Kaya
I find out that Velocity Investments is suing me through lawyers advertising letters (yah) -however, I looked it up my county’s court records to be sure that it is indeed legit. There is a summons on file dated 5 business days back… But, I have not been served yet.
My question is: can they sue me without prior contact with me? -no letter, phone call, text, email – nothing.
Can they file a lawsuit with false information?
I never heard from Velocity before and neither I have a debt for the stated amount of the court paperwork.
Please advise…
Thanks
Kaya
I received a mail by Weston law firm stating that I have been used by velocity in Dallas county court. They called me eatly this year for a debt that I owe another company and I have them my debit card number for automatic monthly withdrawal: they withdrew the first one and never withdraw again, I called them on 5/24/19, they told me that they will look at the records and get back to me, I called again and they said the same but no further correspondence with them after then and they never withdraw any money again. Now a law firm says that they are seeing me though I haven’t receive a letter from a court. What do I do?
Thanks
Dan,
You have to get with a Texas lawyer ASAP to find out what is happening — start here — https://www.consumeradvocates.org/find-an-attorney.
I would lay out all the facts for the lawyer so he or she can give you good advice.
Best wishes!
John Watts