Do Your Legal Leg Up Materials Work on an Original Creditor?

The short answer to this question is “yes, most of them work against an original creditor.” But there are important distinctions between original creditors and debt collectors that shouldn’t be forgotten, too.

Debt Purchasers Must be Considered

A debt “purchaser” is just what it sounds like, a business entity (could be a person, partnership or corporation, doesn’t matter) is someone who buys old debt from the original creditor. When we started Your Legal Leg Up, the courts basically regarded every debt purchaser as a debt collector, but that has changed. Legally, now, debt buyers are generally not regarded as collectors. That’s tough on your chances for a counterclaim, but practically speaking, debt buyers have most of the same weaknesses debt collectors do in terms of debt defense.

Legal Differences between Original Creditors and Debt Collectors

Debt collectors have a different status in the federal law than “original creditors,” the people who initially extended credit to you. For example, creditors are not, generally speaking, subject to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, while debt collectors although this distinction has been somewhat blurred by recent Supreme Court decisions. On the other hand, some states, like California, have done away with the distinction between debt collectors and creditors entirely and hold them all to the same standard.

Practical Differences between Original Creditors and Debt Collectors (and Debt Buyers)

There can be some big practical differences between original creditors and debt collectors/buyers. Because the original creditor created the business records that will, if they exist, largely determine the outcome of the case, they are more likely to have the records they would need to prove their case, and they will have an easier time introducing them into evidence at court. Surprisingly often, however, they do NOT have the materials they would need to win.

Debt buyers and collectors did not create the records they need in a lawsuit and thus both have trouble getting them at all and getting them into evidence. That has been a major point of attack in our materials, and it is still good against collectors and buyers, and often against original creditors, too as it happens.

Some debt collectors are more designed to litigate than original creditors, but some refuse to litigate at all and drop the suit immediately if you file an answer. Original creditors also have different appetites for litigation, so it’s hard to generalize.

How do you Know what Chance you have of Winning?

I can say this much: if the original creditor is well organized and willing to fight, they have a better chance of winning than a debt collector or buyer would. So how do you know if you’ve got that kind of a creditor? And how can you tell whether the debt buyer is set up for litigation and has what it needs?

There’s only one way. You have to start, at least, to defend yourself.  You have to answer the petition and begin to conduct discovery. That’s the only way to know. You certainly can’t believe what they or their lawyers say – you can rely only on their actions.

So do the materials work on Original Creditors?

Yes they do. They give you what you need to start the fight and test the person suing you AND, regardless of whether it’s a tough original creditor or a weak one, or a debt collector, our materials help you navigate the courts and give you your best chance of winning. If you want to settle, fighting is the best way to start your negotiations. If you’re savvy, you’ll save the more you make a company suing you work – and the more it looks like it will have to continue to work – the less money it will take for you to settle the case.

Therefore, the YourLegalLegUp materials work against original creditors. They help you test the strength of the other side’s case and find out if they have what they need – and by fighting you can expose weaknesses and give yourself a real chance to win. If you have to settle, you’ll be able to do it for less.

It should be noted that some of our products are intended for use only against debt collectors. For example, our sample debt dispute letter, free to members, applies only to debt collectors or purchasers. Our “Three Weaknesses Almost Every Debt Collector Has” report was written with debt collectors and debt purchasers in mind, but would be useful to anybody.

If you are being sued for debt, our best value is the membership that gets you our products and the teleconferences for free.

________________________________________