Debt collection lawsuit: The difference between owing and owning a debt
Debt collection lawsuit: The difference between owing and owning a debt
When you’re dealing with a debt collector, it’s important to know the difference between owing and owning the debt.
Here’s what I mean.
Debt collectors think that they just have to convince you that you owe the debt.
Let’s say you’ve been sued by a debt collector.
Their goal is to make you believe that you owe the debt to them.
They also will try to convince the judge that you owe them money.
Case closed.
However, this isn’t how these lawsuits work.
The debt collector has to prove it owns the debt.
These guys need to bring hard evidence that they own the debt.
They’re strangers to this contact.
You don’t have a credit card from Midland Funding, Cavalry, LVNV, Portfolio Recovery Associates, etc. You have the original creditor.
Companies like Wells Fargo, Captial One, etc.
And now, this debt buyer has come around and claimed that they own that debt.
We say to them, “Prove it.”
They need to prove that they own this debt.
Remember this distinction.
It’s not enough for these guys to say they owe the debt.
When they sue you in Alabama, they have to prove they own the debt.
It’s like when you have a video camera at a family get together, and you zoom in on one part of the whole event.
Or when you’re taking video of your child playing a sport and you just focus on your child.
That’s what debt collectors want to do.
They don’t want to focus on the big picture.
We need to zoom out and ask them if they can prove they own it.
If they can’t, then why does it matter if we owe it to someone?
Here’s another example.
Let’s say that I, John Watts, owe money on my mortgage.
That’s only important to the people who own the mortgage.
It doesn’t matter to anyone else.
Owning and owing are two different things, and the debt collector needs both of those to win their case.
If you have any questions, reach out to us!
Hope this article was helpful to you.
If you’re dealing with a debt collector and you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with us.
You can reach us by phone at 1-205-879-2447.
Or you can fill out a contact form and we will get in touch with you quickly.
We would be glad to help you figure out your best course of action.
Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
PS — I recommend, if you want to go deeper, that you go through our series of answering over 150 questions about debt collection lawsuits in Alabama.