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When you beat Caine and Weiner in court ^^

Summary: Is Caine and Weiner suing you for a debt? SoloSuit can help you take a stand and win in court.

Being on the receiving end of a debt collection notice is no one's idea of fun. However, it happens, and if you are in receipt of a letter from Caine and Weiner attempting to collect a debt, you'll want to know how to handle it.

Understand that Caine and Weiner is not your original lender. It is a debt collection agency that earns money by purchasing old debts from a variety of different consumer and commercial companies. Once Cane and Weiner has purchased these old debts, it seeks to collect them from the borrower using various collection methods.

Your first letter from Caine and Weiner should contain some specific information, including:

Your name and contact information
The name of your original lender
Amount of money owed

The remaining parts of the letter will provide you with instructions on how to pay the debt and a contact number for Caine and Weiner. Another important part of the letter will be directions on how to dispute the debt. By law, you have 30 days to dispute the debt by sending a Debt Validation Letter to Caine and Weiner requesting a debt validation. If you choose to do so, all collections activity will cease by the company until they are able to substantiate your debt.

Even if you're fairly certain the debt is yours, it's important to validate it to ensure that the amount is accurate. Due to the sheer volume of accounts that debt collectors work with, it's not unusual for them to mix up accounts or lose documentation related to a consumer.

Watch this video to learn more about how sending a Debt Validation Letter can help you:

What is Caine and Weiner?

Caine and Weiner is a third-party debt collection agency based in Sherman Oaks, California. It purchases a wide variety of overdue consumer and business debts, including credit cards, loans, and medical debts. The company has been around since 1930, making it one of the oldest debt collection agencies in the United States.

According to the BBB, Caine and Weiner has had more than 350 complaints from customers and consumers over the past three years. Most of these complaints relate to individuals who received bills that they indicate they do not owe or were the victims of identity theft. In several cases, consumers had requested that information on their credit reports be removed in return for payment, but when payment was sent, the negative marks still remained.

When dealing with any debt collector, it's important to make sure that they abide by the law set forth by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). This law was designed to protect consumers from abusive and harassing techniques that debt collectors sometimes engage in. Read on to learn more about your rights under the FDCPA.

What are my rights under the FDCPA?

The FDCPA prevents debt collection agencies from certain actions when attempting to collect a debt. These include:

Calling the consumer at odd hours, such as before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
Threatening the consumer or using profanity when attempting to collect a debt.
Letting the phone ring “off the hook" or repeatedly calling throughout the day.
Calling the consumer's place of employment, especially when they are prohibited from doing so.
Pretending to be someone they aren't, such as an attorney or law enforcement professional.

These are just a handful of abusive tactics that are prohibited by the FDCPA. However, there are many other activities that are expressly forbidden. If you feel that Caine and Weiner's debt collection methods are abusive, you may file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

What if I am sued by Caine and Weiner?

If Caine and Weiner is suing you for an unpaid debt, you should act immediately. Otherwise, the court may review the case and file a default judgment against you, which will allow Caine and Weiner to pursue further collection activities. This can include garnishing your wages or placing a lien on your property.

Your next step should be to file a written Answer in the court that responds to the claims of Caine and Weiner. In your Answer, you should demand that Caine and Weiner provide you with specific information, including:

Proof that you are the legal debtor.
Complete substantiation that you owe the debt.
Confirmation that Caine and Weiner is authorized to collect the debt from you.

In some cases, debt collectors are unable to fully substantiate their claims. If they are unable to do so, the court will throw out the lawsuit.

Let's consider an example.

Example: Suzie is sued by Caine and Weiner for an old credit card debt. In her Answer, Suzie denies all the claims against her, because she doesn't remember owing any debt to Caine and Weiner. Come to find out, Caine and Weiner purchased Suzie's charged-off account from the credit card company, but it never received the proper documentation necessary to pursue her for the debt. Caine and Weiner is unable to prove its case, and the lawsuit is dismissed. Suzie wins!

Do you need help with your Answer to Caine and Weiner?

To draft and file an Answer to a debt lawsuit, you'll need to take three steps.

Respond to each of the numbered paragraphs in the original Complaint, choosing to either admit, deny, or claim a lack of sufficient knowledge about the argument presented.
Assert your Affirmative Defenses (or reasons why Caine and Weiner doesn't have a case).
File your Answer with both the court and the plaintiff (in this case, the attorneys representing Caine and Weiner).

To learn more about these three steps, check out this video:

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to fight debt collectors.

You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, to send letters to collectors, and even to settle a debt.

SoloSuit's Answer service is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your Answer. Upon completion, we'll have an attorney review your document and we'll file it for you.

Respond with SoloSuit

"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James

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>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate