Q: Im gonna make this short. I broke a contract at a apartment complex. I owed $8k to finish off the contract.
I joined the army, and after a deployment they had went and got a lawyer. I went ahead and just paid in full. Well 4 years later im trying to buy a home amd this still showed up as unpaid even though i had a statement of judgement. Turns out the lawyer never sent the money to his client, "the collection agency". Yesterday he said the check must of slipped through the cracks and he cut the agency a check. So I want to know if i have a case since my credit has been hurt by this for so long. This has effected the interest rates on my vehicles and possibly the home loan i just locked in. Thanks for any advice.
A:
hmm good question.
You relief could be calculated by the difference in interest rates based on the two different credit scores multiplied by number of payments you made. It sounds like you have a case, but you really ought to run the numbers to see if it is worth it. I don't think you would get attorney's fees and it might be hard to get future fees because it is too uncertain. What if you sell the truck or sell the home or pay both of them off earlier.
Depending on the attorney it might be hard for them to take the case. Typically attorneys don't like to sue each other, so you would be looking at suing the collection company.
So to answer your question, yes you probably have a case, and yes you will probably have to sue them to get recovery. You would need to have a recovery amount more than 5k I think for it to be worth it (meaning it will probably cost you that much from an attorney if it settles before trial) and if your damages are 6k or less then I am not sure it is worth it. I hope this helps.
Wes
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