Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

I received a voicemail from a lady today claiming that I missed a "court appointed deposition appointment at 8am". She went on to say that because of this she was filing for an arbitration with the courts. She also went on to say that my attorney or I must show written proof of where I discharged this. She did not say what she was calling about. She only said her name and Henderson and Assoc., then left a phone number. My question is that did she violate any laws by falsley claiming that I had a court ordered deposition to do? I have not received anything from any court. I have not called her back because I am not sure who this is.


Asked on 4/22/13, 10:32 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Glen Ashman Ashman Law Office also dba Glen Ashman Attorney

You haven't given us enough information to answer you. You use the word "discharge" which suggests you may have done a bankruptcy. Was this alleged debt included? Have you been sued?

You also may have been called by a phishing scam. Real creditors send real paper.

In any event, you need to see a lawyer ASAP and the one thing NOT to do is to call a creditor, be they real or not.

Just a note: there is a deposition company named "Henderson and Associates." But it would be unusual for them to be calling people.

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Answered on 4/22/13, 10:37 am

Relax. This is not the deposition company called Henderson & Associates. This is probably a scam or a debt collector. A google search reveals others have received similar calls.

It would be impossible for you to not know of a deposition if a real one was scheduled as it implies (a) that there is already a legal case filed and you would have already entered an appearance in it by filing an answer; and (b) there would have been a notice of deposition sent to your attorney.

Do not call her back. If this is about a debt and its a legitimate debt collector calling about a debt, they are required within 5 business days to send you a letter about the debt under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Next time they call, note the time and date of the call, any message and the number they are calling from. Google (or whatever search engine you use) the number.

Don't worry about if she violated any laws. She probably did but unless you have real damages, I would not focus on that.

The question is, did you owe any debts that went delinquent or is there anything on your credit report? If you don't have a recent copy of your credit report, get one at www.annualcreditreport.com. Review the report to see if there are strange accounts; it could be that you are the victim of id theft.

If you have an unblemished record and there are no strange accounts, then its probably a scammer trying to get you to call and pay them money.

And you don't have to prove anything to this lady, even if you have a delinquent debt. If they are a debt collector, then they have to prove that you owe the debt.

Depending on what you find out you may or may not need to see a lawyer. If its just a scammer looking to prey on a victim, then you do not. If you are the victim of id theft, go to www.privacyrights.org and follow the instructions on fact sheet 17 about id theft. You may need to see a lawyer at some point. If its your debt that is delinquent, you may also need to see a lawyer but first find out what the issue is before you panic.

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Answered on 4/22/13, 5:42 pm


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