Stand up to Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC
AUGUST 10, 2023
Jefferson Capital Systems is a buyer of charged off debt and was founded in 2002. This well-known debt buyer files thousands of collection lawsuits each year against Florida consumers. This article will help you Stand Up to Jefferson Capital Systems and fight their lawsuit.
“I have been sued by Jefferson Capital Systems”
Has Jefferson Capital Systems sued you to about a debt? You must have been shocked because you never had any business or other dealings with this company. You probably never even heard of them. So, you wonder: is the lawsuit a scam or legitimate, and what do you do, if anything? The Debt Relief Law Center can help you discuss steps to take if you get served a Jefferson Capital Systems lawsuit below.
Who is Jefferson Capital Systems?
Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC is a debt buyer and collector. It is a legitimate company headquartered in St. Cloud, Minnesota. According to its website, it has additional U.S. operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Denver, Colorado.
Stop Jefferson Capital Systems from contacting you.
Are you receiving phone calls about a debt? Debt collectors like Jefferson Capital Systems make it a regular practice of calling or emailing consumers in an attempt to collect a debt. It is easy to stop these calls by writing a short letter to the debt collection agency, describing the debt and asking them to stop contacting you. They have to stop!
Why is Jefferson Capital Systems Suing Me?
Debt buyers like Jefferson Capital Systems purchase outstanding debt accounts from creditors for pennies on the dollar. Then, they pursue the total outstanding debt, which is how they make money. So, if Jefferson Capital Systems is suing you, it likely means that they purchased your account from the original creditor.
Your original creditor may have charged off the debt as bad debt, meaning the creditor has exhausted its means to recover the debt. Rather than filing a lawsuit against you, it sold the debt to Jefferson Capital Systems to recover a percentage of its losses.
Who Represents Jefferson Capital Systems?
Debt buyers like Jefferson Capital Systems use many tactics and extensive resources to pursue an unpaid debt, including filing lawsuits. Jefferson Capital Systems will likely retain a large debt collection law firm to pursue the lawsuit against you on its behalf. In Florida, Rausch Sturm LLP and Lloyd & McDaniel, PLC, 700 N Hurstbourne Pkwy Suite 200, Louisville, Ky 40222, handle many of Jefferson Capital’s debt collection cases.
Jefferson Capital Systems has sued me. What Do I Do?
A Jefferson Capital Systems lawsuit is not a scam. If you have been sued by Jefferson Capital Systems, do not ignore it. Every debt collection agency relies on the fact that over 80% of consumers do not fight back. When a consumer disregards a lawsuit, the debt collection company can get an easy default judgment.
You should provide a written response to the lawsuit that addresses Jefferson Capital System’s allegations and your defenses and demands proof of the debt. In Florida, you may have as little as 20 days to respond. We recommend having an experienced debt defense lawyer on your side to file this on your behalf and guide you through the legal process.
Consumers often have viable defenses available to them in debt collection cases. Depending on your unique situation, you may be able to get the debt dismissed, negotiate a settlement, or explore legal options such as bankruptcy to discharge the debt. But, if you ignore the lawsuit and do not appear in court, Jefferson Capital Systems will likely get a default judgment.
What Happens if I don’t respond to the Lawsuit?
If you do not respond to the lawsuit, a default judgment is a ruling granted by a judge in favor of the plaintiff in the event that the defendant fails to respond or show up in court. If you get a default judgment against you, Jefferson Capital Systems would be entitled to collect the amount it claims you owe.
What Can Jefferson Capital Systems do with a judgment against me?
If you get a default judgment against you, Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC, is legally entitled to recover the money that the Court awards them. Depending on the debt, it may be able to recover from you through:
Bank account garnishment. Bank account garnishment orders your bank to freeze your checking or savaging accounts to use to pay off the debt.
Wage garnishment. A wage garnishment orders your employer to hold part of your wages to pay the debt.
Property lien. A property lien is a legal claim against your property. If you do not pay the judgment, Jefferson Capital Systems could seize your property to pay toward your debt.
Property seizure. Jefferson Capital Systems may be able to seize certain assets and personal property to pay your debt.
Has Jefferson Capital Systems been sued under the FDCPA?
Jefferson Capital Systems has been sued in Florida numerous times under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. PACER shows a complete listing of all of these decisions and it can be determined by the docket reports that Jefferson Capital Systems settles this cases quickly.
Furthermore, Jefferson Capital Systems has many complaints with the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.
Reviews of Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC, are overwhelmingly negative which is not unusual for a debt collection company. They have a 1.31/5 rating on their BBB page and a 1.6/5 rating on Google reviews.
At the time of this writing, Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC, had over 1100 customer complaints filed on its BBB rating. No complaints were unresolved or unanswered. Most complaints about Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC, are from people that were unaware that their debt was sold to a collection agency or that had problems verifying their debt.
The FDCPA gives you rights that can protect you from Jefferson Capital Systems
Jefferson Capital Systems LLC as well as other debt collectors, try to take advantage of consumers since they assume that most people are unaware of their legal rights granted by the FDPCA. As a result, many debt collectors will use questionable tactics in an effort to collect on the outstanding debt.
A good way to fight these illegal practices is to understand your legal rights and use them to defend yourself. What follows are a partial list of actions that debt collectors cannot do according to the FDCPA:
A debt collector cannot call your home or mobile phone before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.
A debt collector cannot contact you at your place of employment.
A debt collector cannot use vulgar language during a phone call with you.
A debt collector cannot threaten you with legal action if they cannot or do not plan to take it.
A debt collector cannot discuss your debt with anyone except for you, your spouse, and your attorney.
A debt collector cannot pretend to be the police, a judge, or any government official.
If Jefferson Capital Systems has used any of these tactics to get you to make payment on a debt, you may be entitled to compensation of up to $1,000. You should report this behavior to the FTC, CFPB, and the Consumer Protection Division of the Florida Attorney General’s Office.
Send a Debt Validation Letter to Jefferson Capital Systems
You should also demand a debt validation from Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC. The FDCPA states that you have a statutory right to demand a debt validation.
You can request a debt validation by sending a Debt Validation Letter to Jefferson Capital Systems. The debt collection company must then provide documents and other evidence to substantiate the collection effort. The company must produce evidence within 30 days of receiving your validation demand. If the debt collector cannot provide sufficient evidence, the negative entry should be removed completely from your credit report.
How Does a Jefferson Capital Systems Lawsuit Affect My Credit?
When you are sued on a debt, you want to know:
Does the lawsuit show up on your credit report?
How does the lawsuit, and potentially a judgment, affect my credit?
And if I defeat the lawsuit, does the underlying debt come off of my credit report?
First, the lawsuit will not appear on your credit report with the three major credit bureaus unless it results in a judgment. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the lawsuit cannot appear on your credit report until and unless it results in a judgment.
Second, if the lawsuit results in a judgment, the judgment can remain on your credit report for at least seven years and possibly much longer.
A judgment can remain on your credit report for seven years, or until the judgment expires, whichever is later.
As long as the judgment remains active (as long as the creditor renews it), it can remain on your credit report. Paying or settling the judgment will not get it off your credit report any sooner, but it will prevent it from being renewed, and, in that way, limit the amount of time that it can appear on your credit report.
The underlying debt can remain on your credit report for seven-years from the date of last activity on the account, just as with any other derogatory entry on your credit report. Unfortunately defeating the lawsuit will not get the underlying debt off your credit report any sooner.
Defeating the lawsuit will, however, prevent you from getting a judgment on your credit report, which is much worse than a charge-off and is a new credit event than can remain on your credit report for at least seven more years, and possibly longer. It may be advisable to consult with a credit repair company.
Who does Jefferson Capital Systems collect for?
Jefferson Capital Systems LLC collects for many fortune 500 creditors, banks, telecommunication and utility providers, credit card issuers and auto finance companies. These creditors may hire Jefferson Capital Systems to collect a debt that they don’t have the time to pursue. Its client base is constantly changing, so even if you don’t recognize the debt collection agency’s name, you still might owe a debt to a creditor like a credit card company or bank.
Discuss Your Legal Options with an Experienced Debt Defense Attorney
We recommend discussing your unique situation with us. We understand how stressful it can be to get sued by a company you may have never heard of before. However, you may have strong defenses available to you, and an experienced debt defense lawyer can help you find those defenses and pursue them.
With few exceptions, all of the defenses that you had against the original creditor can be raised against Jefferson Capital Systems or other collection agency. A few examples of defenses include:
Inaccurate records. The records Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC. has about the account may be false. The amount of debt may be wrong, and in some cases, the debt owner can be incorrect.
Statute of limitations. Under Florida law, a debt collector only has five-years to file a claim to pursue recovery of a debt. So, Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC, cannot sue you if the time limit has passed.
Predatory Loan: The debt that you have been sued on may have imposed unfair or unreasonable terms on you. In other words, the original creditor may have convinced you to accept unfair terms through coercive, exploitative or unscrupulous actions for a loan or debt that you could not afford to repay. Did the original creditor fail to properly review your financial status to determine that you were capable of performing under terms of the loan or debt that is the basis of the lawsuit.
Standing: Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC, may not be able to prove that they are the proper owners of the debt they have sued upon. They have to produce proof that the debt was transferred to them by the original creditor.
Will Jefferson Capital Systems Settle the Debt Sued Upon?
Under the proper circumstances, settlement of a debt on which you have been sued can be a good idea. What a favorable settlement can give you is:
Possible debt reduction.
Time to make payments over time.
Possible removal of debt from credit reports.
Possible credit repair.
Reduction of attorney’s fees paid.
Reduction in stress and aggravation; and
Other terms that can be worked out in favor of consumer.
Why Should I Hire a Defense Lawyer for My Case?
At Debt Relief Law Center, we help our clients reach favorable outcomes in their cases that work for them, including debt dismissal or settlement negotiation. When you hire our firm, we will handle your case from start to finish.
When you hire the Debt Relief Law Center, here are some of the things that we will do:
consult with you on an as-needed basis regarding your lawsuit;
deal with opposing counsel on your behalf;
Explore any affirmative defenses that might be available to you.
file all necessary papers in Court.
Help you resolve the debt.
be your advocate!
attend all hearings, court appearances and depositions.
answer all of your questions; and
give you experienced legal advice
Contact Us About Your Situation
If Jefferson Capital Systems sent you a summons, please do not ignore it. Payment of the debt immediately is not your only option. Protect yourself by contacting an experienced debt lawyer about your situation as soon as possible. We offer free consultations. The Debt Relief Law Center specializes in these type of cases and we help you understand your best legal options.
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