2nd Round Sub is one of the newer debt-buyer creditors that we have encountered in the last year. Like other debt-buyers, they buy debt from original creditors like Citibank and JPMorgan Chase as well as other debt buyers like LVNV Funding and Midland Funding. They often buy these debts for pennies on the dollar. They pursue a standard policy of collection first using a collection agency to attempt to enforce the debt by sending letters and calling the debtor. When collection is unsuccessful, they pursue litigation through a common debt collection law firm, Tromberg, Morris, and Poulin formerly known as Stephen Einstein and Associates.
Tromberg’s goal is to obtain a default judgment against consumers as it then allows them to levy a bank account, garnish wages or even place a lien on real property. A judgment also allows 2nd Round Sub to accrue judgment interest which is 9% in New York. Submitting an answer with defenses is the best way to defend against the 2nd Round by keeping the burden on them and Tromberg, Morris, and Poulin to prove that they are the rightful owners of the debt and that the amount sought is indeed correct.
For a debt buyer like 2nd Round Sub, it is not simple to prove that they are indeed the proper owner of the debt as they have to provide a full chain of title or assignment from creditor to creditor, a bill of sale, and have a witness with actual knowledge to testify to the assignment were it to proceed toward a trial. This gives the defendant significant leverage when defending against 2nd Round Sub and can be used to settle the matter for less than the full balance as an alternative to litigation.