Question:
Dear Steve,
I had rec’d 2 threatening notices via email from Ace Legal Attorneys telling me if I don’t pay 300.00 they are calling the sheriff, taking my social security checks.
I have no idea who they are. I have my credit reports here, directly from the 3 bureaus. I had ID tHEFT, which has caused nothing but aggravation.
However, everything was paid. Whether it was not illegal. She felt since I NEED AN AUTO, if everything was paid in full, my credit would increase and I would be able to purchase a new auto. NOT TRUE. My CREDIT SCORE A FEW YRS AGO, WAS 759 NOT it’s 569.
What do I do with these threatening letters? I have received two letters in 3 weeks. This is no doubt scam.
Christine
Answer:
Dear Christine,
These situations are stressful and infuriating for sure.
The knee-jerk reaction would be to say it’s a scam and ignore it.
But I think a bit of detective work is in order here before we jump to that conclusion.
There are three issues that catch my attention.
- They say they will call the sheriff. That sure sounds like a scare tactic and I don’t know what they’d ask them to do.
- They claim to be able to take your Social Security checks. That is some of the most protected forms of income from creditors. Again, sounds like a scare tactic.
- They are called Ace Legal Attorneys. If ever there was a generic name of a law firm, that would be it. That makes it hard to find them to check them out.
I wish you had reached out to me when you had the identity theft issue. There are things you can do rather than have to pay for fraudulent items.
To deal with this and get to the bottom it can be pretty straightforward.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau provides this excellent advice to follow to determine if the debt is something you actually owe.
Follow that link and those steps. You need to do it without delay. Please update me in the comments section below and let me know what happens.
But your credit report issues are interesting. Something is bringing down your credit score and we need to know what that is. I would suggest you click here to see a copy of your credit reports so we can figure out exactly what is bringing your credit score down.
Send the debt validation letters and look at your credit report and then report back in the comments below.
You are probably eligible for very low-cost representation from the non-profit law firm HELPS who can help deal with the situation for you.
You are not alone. I'm here to help. There is no need to suffer in silence. We can get through this. Tomorrow can be better than today. Don't give up.
Do you have a question you'd like to ask me for free? Go ahead and click here.
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ACE Legal sounds like a scam law firm
And that’s where the problem lies. They are either a scam or a poorly communicating agency. More research is needed.
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