I received a letter from your law firm. How do I pay my debt?

Answer:

-  You may mail a check, money order or cashier’s check payable to Philip H. Monagan to 61 Holmes Avenue P.O. Box 2390 Waterbury, Connecticut 06722. (Overnight mail should be addressed to Philip H. Monagan 61 Holmes Avenue Waterbury, Connecticut 06710)

-  You may also call our office (203) 753-3374) with a credit card or debit card (with a Visa or Mastercard symbol) to make a partial payment or payment in full (we do not accept American Express or Discover).

-  You may also fill out an ACH or CREDIT CARD form to set up a one time or recurrent payment plan (weekly, biweekly, or monthly) where we debit or charge your account automatically.

Online credit card payments: we are unable to accept online payments at this time, but our IT professionals are working on this.

-  You may also set up recurring payments through your bank’s online bill pay platform.

 

I received a letter from your law firm. How do I dispute the debt?

Answer:

You may call our office at (203)753-3374 and speak to any staff member or write to us at 61 Holmes Avenue P.O. Box 2390 Waterbury, Connecticut 06722 or email us at [email protected] to dispute any debt we have tried to collect. We will promptly mail you or email you validation of the debt we are trying to collect. (Copies of what we have in our file showing you owe our client (the creditor) money)

 

How can I contact the Law Offices of Philip H. Monagan?

Answer:

Telephone: (203)753-3374

Mailing Address: 61 Holmes Avenue P.O. Box 2390 Waterbury, Connecticut 06722

Fax: (203) 575-1364

Email: [email protected]

                [email protected] 

                [email protected]

                [email protected]

Overnight Mailing Address: 61 Holmes Avenue Waterbury, Connecticut 06710

 

Do I have to pay my debt all at once? Can I pay my debt in installments over time?

Answer:

Usually any reasonable offer to pay a debt over time with recurring weekly/biweekly/monthly payments will be accepted (For comparison, the court’s usual (nominal) order of payments is $35.00 per week (which equals approximately $150.00 per month). Any offer of payments of $150.00 month for a consumer debt will be accepted. (The creditor may accept lower payments based upon the amount of the debt and your circumstances).

 

Can I make a lump sum offer to compromise my bill?

Answer:

We are required to transmit any reasonable offer of settlement to our client for approval. Any approved settlement must be paid promptly to us, in a lump sum, and not over time on a monthly basis for instance. Creditors usually do not accept less than 80% of their debt, if they are willing to compromise.

 

How do I get a payoff amount of my debt or get a judgment lien removed from my property?

Answer:

Please call (203)753-3374 or email [email protected] to obtain a payoff figure for your debt or learn the balance due. We will mail or email you the amount owed to pay off your debt. (“payoff statement”) If you are using a lawyer, please have them send us a payoff request in writing.

When a debt is paid in full we will file a Satisfaction of Judgment with the court (when a judgment has previously entered) and mail you a copy (we will file withdrawal of the suit if an action is pending). If there was a lien filed, we will mail you an original release of Lien to record in the land records.

If there was a payoff requested by your lawyer, we will mail your Attorney or Title Company an original Release of Lien for recording in the Town Clerk’s office where the lien was filed. (Please note the Town Clerk charges $60.00 to record the original Release of Lien in the land records)

 

Will this debt affect my credit?

Answer:

This office does not report debts to any credit reporting agencies.                            

Most of our clients do not report their debts to credit reporting agencies.

Some of the major credit bureaus do rely on the public record of reported civil judgments and satisfied judgments. A satisfied judgment is better than an unsatisfied one.

Recent changes in the law have impacted how companies issuing credit rely on unpaid medical debt.

If a debt was referred to our office by a Collection Agency, these companies may have reported the debt to credit reporting agencies. When the debt or judgment is paid in full we report this fact to the referring collection agency promptly, as well as file a Satisfaction of Judgment in court when a judgment has entered or a Withdrawal when an action is pending.

 

Your firm obtained a judgment against me. Why did you file a Judgment Lien on my property?

Answer:

Under Connecticut law a judgment creditor has the right to file a judgment lien on a judgment debtor’s real property, regardless of whether or not the debtor is paying on the judgment. It is security for getting the debt paid.

When a judgment is paid in full, this firm will file a Satisfaction of Judgment with the court and send you an original Release of Lien promptly for recording in the land records. If you misplace the Release this office charges $35.00 for the preparation of a duplicate release.

There is judicial precedent that the failure of a lawyer to file a judgment lien on the debtor’s property after obtaining a judgment on behalf of their client amounts to legal malpractice.