There is someone in B.P. someone Whos last name starts with a P. . he supposedly helps people to get out of messes like this . although I heard good things about him. I have reason to believe that he works with transmedia hand in hand.
Last week (I believe it was) Wednesday there were a bunch of people at Mr P. House wanting to get advise how to proceed In this stricher case, in the middle of the meeting burach K. from transmadia walked in and tried to convince everybody not to dispute but to work with him. Obviously because it makes his work harder. ( wondering how dis Burch K. Know of this meeting that night) Beaware he works for the merchant in this case its stricter. Not for the card holders the victims.
by the way he charges 30% of the recovered money.
People go get professional legal help. maybe form a group and work together with a lawyer.
I cannot comment on most of what you wrote, but I can share whatever I know about Mr. P.
I don't know when Mr. P. started helping people with legal/financial problems, but I assume it was when the financial crisis hit in 2008. When I first met him, he was still operating out of his living room, nothing like what he has going on now twice a week in his basement.
Essentially, he is a good man, with knowledge and experience. And he tries to help (and has helped) countless people navigate their way out of debt, judgments, etc.I have no idea what the numbers are, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's it's over $100MM in debt that was eliminated with his help over the last 12-13 years. I have referred some people to him, and he has referred some people to me when I was helping people with mortgage modifications during the HAMP/MHA years.
As more and more people came to him, with ever more complex situations, his operation evolved (and is probably always evolving), with attorneys working with him (being paid by the customers - but often with their fees bargained down by Mr. P.).
I think an important part of his work is his charming personality. People come to him in desperation, and he calms them and gives them hope. One cannot downplay the importance of this. A person needs to be in a healthy state of mind in order to dig themselves out of a hole.
The second part of his help is his understanding of the legal system (at least as far as it comes to debt collection). People in debt are afraid of losing their assets, having wages garnished, etc etc. The reality is, that if one understands the world of debt collection, in most cases (bar those cash advance companies that have you sign a confirmation of judgment in advance) if one doesn't just ignore the debt collection attempts, but rather handles them with a thought through strategy and plan, one can usually settle (unsecured, and sometimes even secured - as we have seen with mortgages) debt on favorable terms.
A vast majority of judgments obtained in the area of debt collection are default judgments. Debtors ignore the summonses, and a default judgment is granted. Whenever that is not the case, as the more the creditor sees that they may be dragged into court over and over, the more eager they are to settle. And the courts usually try to help the debtors negotiate a settlement. The key is to put emotions aside, go in knowing that you have nothing to fear or lose, and stick to your position with a lowball protracted settlement offer (for example: I'll pay 5% now, or pay 25% in SMALL, manageable installments over as many years as it takes).
In the early days Mr. P (or a paid assistant) would write an answer to a summons and complaint, and even file it in court personally for people. As the volume grew, that became impossible. Various lawyers work with him (it's a great way to get clients) and do the work for the clients (though unlike Mr. P. they don't work for free).
Obviously, these cases are more complex than just a person getting over their head with debt they can't pay. I don't have the knowledge or experience that Mr P. has. But I do believe he would try to work things out for the little guys, to the extent he is able to. It's definitely worth it to talk to him and hear his advice (which might evolve as he learns more about the cases).