Re: Wolpoff & Abramson, NAF

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It sounds like the "award" against you was made about a year
ago... If that's the case, then W&A might be bumping up
against the expiration of the year in which they are allowed
to confirm the award in Court per the Fed. Arbitration Act
(Section9 below)

Without a court confirmation, an arbitration "award" -- even
a likely fraudulent one, such as those NAF sells to W&A --
is not worth the paper its printed on, unless you
voluntarily agree to abide by it.

If the year has passed, then you must tell the judge this if
and when you chellenge the award for the many grounds that
you've already established. The matter could well be settled
right there.

Just wondering: Have you ever admitted that there is any
agreement binding on you to arbitrate, and is W&A able to
produce that agreement? If the answer to either of these
questions is no, then, that, again, is a very important and
powerful defense against the "Award."

W&A MUST produce a binding contract to arbitrate before a
Court will confirm an arbitration "award." But you might
need to remind the judge of this, since many judges simply
rubberstamp arbitration "awards."

It is extremely likely that the NAF has delivered
the "award" via an electronic data stream, and that there is
no hardcopy agreement that can be produced, except for a
ontract of adhesion (a pre-printed contract that you cannot
negotiate) that W&A will then have to prove applies to you.
(Go back and review my post about the case in Vermont for
more on this.)

If I were you, I'd troll through the Fed. Arbitration Act
(link below) and your own state's Arbitration Act and I'd
focus closely on what W&A are obligated to do, as well as on
what you need to do. Remember, W&A are bringing this
action, not you, so it is up to them to justify it.

Finally, I'd be very skeptical about agreeing to any kind of
reduced payment plan, particularly if W&A's position is as
weak as it seems to be.

Also, W&A is famous for making these "deals" and, when the
debtor satisfies their terms and pays the reduced amount in
full, W&A will sell the remainder of the full amount to
another debt collection company, who will be able to drag
you through arbitration/a lawsuit again, if they want to.

Whatever else you do, under no circumstanes trust W&A and/or
NAF.

Good luck!

"Section 9. Award of arbitrators; confirmation;
jurisdiction; procedure
If the parties in their agreement have agreed that a
judgment of the court shall be entered upon the award made
pursuant to the arbitration, and shall specify the court,
then at any time within one year after the award is made any
party to the arbitration may apply to the court so specified
for an order confirming the award, and thereupon the court
must grant such an order unless the award is vacated,
modified, or corrected as prescribed in sections 10 and 11
of this title." SOURCE:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode09/usc_sec_09_00
000009----000-.html

On 11/13/07, Terry wrote:
> Sent a Cease Communications to W&A, that didn't work.
> Sent a Debt Validation letter (more than once) and that
> didn't work. I was delivered a Arbitration Notice about a
> year ago from the NAF and W&A. I responded to the
> arbitration and demanded proof where I agreed to be part
> of any arbitration agreement between W&A and myself. This
> went back and forth for a couple of months. I was
> surprised (insert sarcasm here) when the NAF sent me a
> letter stating in favor of W&A. By the way, each letter I
> sent was certified with return receipt to both W&A and the
> NAF. About a year has passed now and you guessed it, W&A
> want to sue me for award of the arbitration. I filed a
> written response with the court house well within the time
> frame. Living in Texas I know the SOL is 4 years. It
> has not reached that point yet. What happens now? Once
> the attorney(?) for W&A receive notice of my response will
> they then proceed with a court date and if so, will they
> try and make a last ditch effort to settle? They have
> never validated the debt so how do I really know it's mine?