If Clark C Kingery PA has contacted you or filed suit over a debt, the first thing to grasp is that a law firm collecting someone else’s debt is a debt collector under federal law, so the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act binds it just as it binds any collection agency. This page opens with whether the contact is lawful and how to respond, then explains who the firm is and how to test the debt. Every section answers its heading up front.
The reason that classification is easy to miss is that the notice arrives on legal letterhead, or as a court summons, which feels weightier than a collector’s phone call. It is not exempt. In Heintz v. Jenkins, the Supreme Court settled that a lawyer who routinely collects consumer debts, litigation included, falls squarely within the statute, so a filing from this firm carries the same restrictions and hands you the same defenses as any other collection attempt.
Are the Calls, Letters, and Lawsuits From Clark C Kingery PA Legal?
The firm may lawfully pursue a debt you actually owe, but federal and Delaware law restrict how it does that, and breaking those rules is a violation no matter how valid the balance. Lawful collection is separated from harassment by conduct, not by whether your name appears on an account.
Clark C Kingery PA cannot inflate or misstate what you owe, dangle a consequence it cannot legally impose, phone you during off-limits hours, or air your debt to people with no reason to know. Because this is a firm that takes matters to court, one warning matters most: filing or threatening a suit on a balance that has already outrun Delaware’s time limit can itself be unlawful. Treat each demand as something the firm has to back up, not a fact you are obligated to accept.
Who Is Clark C Kingery PA, and Why Is It Contacting You?
Clark C Kingery PA is a Wilmington, Delaware law firm that represents landlords in eviction matters and creditors and debt buyers in consumer collection lawsuits. It is contacting you because a client, a landlord, a creditor, or a company that bought your account, says money is owed and hired the firm to recover it, which is why the balance usually traces back to unpaid rent or a charged-off credit card rather than to the firm itself.
The essentials, from the firm’s public listings and the Delaware Justice of the Peace and Common Pleas court records where these cases are filed:
- Firm: Clark C Kingery, P.A., a Delaware law firm handling evictions and consumer debt collection
- Address: 203 West 18th Street, Wilmington, DE 19802
- Phone: (302) 428-1915, with a toll-free line at (866) 428-1915
- Attorney of record: Clark C. Kingery, admitted in Delaware since 1979 and listed with no record of discipline
- Collects: Unpaid rent and tenant charges, plus credit card and other consumer balances placed by creditors and debt buyers
Because the same firm handles both eviction cases in the Justice of the Peace Court and debt-buyer suits in the Court of Common Pleas, the first thing to pin down is which kind of matter you are facing and who the actual client is, since that determines both the paperwork the firm must have and the defenses open to you.
What Debt Is Clark C Kingery PA Collecting, and Who Really Owns It?
The debt is usually either rent tied to a Delaware tenancy or a purchased credit card account, and identifying which one, and who owns it now, is the heart of your response. When the firm sues on a bought debt, the company it represents has to prove it actually owns your account, and that proof is often where these cases turn.
This is not hypothetical. In Dahlink Financial Corporation v. Bochniak, a 2012 Delaware Court of Common Pleas case, Clark C. Kingery represented Dahlink, a receivables acquisition company that had bought a delinquent Chase credit card account and sued the consumer for roughly $21,806. The court entered judgment for Dahlink only after it established a chain of title showing the account had passed from Chase through an intermediary and on to Dahlink. The lesson for you is direct: when a debt buyer sues, demand that it document the full chain from the original creditor forward, because a gap in that chain is a real defense.
When Does Contact From Clark C Kingery Become Harassment?
Contact becomes harassment when its frequency or its content is meant to pressure or deceive you rather than resolve a documented account. You have no duty to tolerate it, and a dated record of each call, letter, and court paper is what turns the experience into a claim you can pursue.
Flag and date any of the following:
- A cluster of calls in a single day, or a fresh call the moment you end one
- Any outreach before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. where you live
- Pressure to pay a number the firm refuses to break down
- Talk of arrest or a garnishment it has no legal footing to pursue
- Your balance mentioned to a family member, roommate, neighbor, or coworker
- A disputed mark on your credit file that nobody will stand behind
With a collection law firm, the pressure usually shows up as a looming lawsuit, stated or merely hinted at, which is the precise reason the debt’s age and the quality of its paperwork should be tested before you respond to anything. When the calls simply will not let up, our guide to handling harassing phone numbers covers what you can do.
How Do You Verify a Clark C Kingery Debt?
You verify it by demanding written proof and comparing it against your own records before you pay or agree to anything, and by confirming exactly who the firm represents. A rent claim and a purchased credit card account each require their own documentation, and both can carry added fees or interest that have to be itemized.
Work through these before you commit:
- Get the details in writing. Require the client or original creditor, the account or lease reference, the amount, and the date of default, using our debt validation letter guide.
- Trace the ownership. If a debt buyer is behind the suit, insist on the assignment records that connect the original creditor to the company now claiming the debt.
- Match it to your history. Compare the balance and dates to your lease, statements, or account records, and flag anything paid, settled, or unfamiliar.
- Check the calendar. Note when you last paid, because Delaware limits most debt suits to a short window measured from that date.
If the firm cannot produce this proof, keep your money and treat the account as unverified. Our page on unfair collection practices describes the tactics a collector is barred from using while it pursues a balance.
Can You Sue Clark C Kingery PA, and What Are Your Rights?
Yes, you can sue a collector, including a collection law firm, that violates the FDCPA, and a winning claim shifts your attorney fees onto the firm. Your protections come from federal law and are reinforced by Delaware’s shorter deadlines and its consumer-fraud statute.
- The FDCPA covers this firm when it collects a consumer debt for a client, bars false, unfair, and abusive tactics, and guarantees written validation, with statutory damages up to $1,000 plus actual damages and fees.
- The TCPA limits automated and prerecorded calls to your cell phone without consent, at $500 to $1,500 for each call.
- The FCRA governs how a collection account is reported and lets you dispute an entry that is inaccurate or unverified, through our credit report dispute guide.
- Delaware law gives you a notably short three-year deadline to be sued on most debts under 10 Del. C. Section 8106, and its Consumer Fraud Act reaches deceptive conduct, so timing and honesty defenses can be powerful here.
That short statute of limitations is worth emphasizing, because a Delaware debt older than three years from your last payment may no longer be enforceable in court even while the calls or letters continue, which makes the account’s age one of your first questions.
Where This Conduct May Cross the Line
| What happened to you | The legal problem | Provision | Possible outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| A phone that rang all day | Harassment through sheer volume | FDCPA 1692d | Statutory and actual damages |
| A call at 6 a.m. or near midnight | Contact outside allowed hours | FDCPA 1692c | Damages up to $1,000 |
| A suit threatened on a stale balance | A deceptive legal threat | FDCPA 1692e | Statutory and actual damages |
| A lawsuit with no proof of ownership | Chasing an unsubstantiated account | FDCPA 1692g | A defense, possible claim |
| Your debt aired to someone else | Improper outside disclosure | FDCPA 1692c(b) | Statutory and actual damages |
| A recorded cell call you never allowed | An unauthorized robocall | TCPA | $500 to $1,500 per call |
| A tradeline it cannot substantiate | Reporting that fails the accuracy rule | FCRA | Actual damages, plus fees |
Debt collection sits among the largest complaint categories consumers file with federal regulators each year, as recorded in the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book and its hundreds of thousands of annual reports.
What Should You Do If Clark C Kingery PA Keeps Contacting You or Sues?
If the contact continues after you have asked for proof, or a lawsuit lands, do not go quiet, and do not miss a court date, because a missed deadline can hand the firm a default judgment even on a debt that is disputed or too old. Preserve every record and treat any summons as urgent.
Gather your call log, letters, lease or statements, and any court papers, then measure the conduct against the FDCPA and Delaware law, respond to any filing by its deadline, and challenge inaccurate credit entries with the bureaus. You can also report abusive collection to the Delaware Department of Justice Consumer Protection Unit and the Federal Trade Commission, and a dated cease-and-desist letter can require the calls to stop even while a court case proceeds.
How Consumer Rights Law Firm PLLC Can Help
If Clark C Kingery PA is suing you on an old account, pressing you over rent you dispute, or reporting a balance you cannot verify, you should not have to answer a collection law firm alone. Consumer Rights Law Firm PLLC has stood up for consumers since 2010 under the federal collection, robocall, and credit-reporting statutes and their state counterparts, and a large part of that work is forcing a firm or a debt buyer to prove a debt before anyone pays. Our how we work page lays out the arrangement.
Picture the cases we see. Someone is sued on a purchased credit card balance the plaintiff cannot tie back to the original bank. Someone else faces an eviction-related money judgment with charges no one will break down. A third person spots a collection entry on their credit file that should not be there. Each deserves a real look, not a rushed payment.
Getting started costs nothing, and if a covered claim succeeds, the fee comes from the recovery rather than your pocket, because the statute assigns that cost to the party that broke the law. Reach us at (877) 700-5790, open a free, no-obligation case review, or write to us through the contact page.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Clark C Kingery PA?
A Wilmington, Delaware law firm that represents landlords in evictions and creditors and debt buyers in consumer collection lawsuits, so the debt it pursues is usually rent or a credit card balance.
Does the FDCPA apply to a law firm collecting a debt?
Yes. Under the Supreme Court’s Heintz v. Jenkins decision, a lawyer who regularly collects consumer debts is a debt collector bound by the FDCPA, litigation included.
Clark C Kingery filed a lawsuit against me. What do I do?
Answer the summons on time rather than letting it slide, since an unanswered complaint can turn into a default judgment even when the debt is disputed or expired.
How do I make them prove I owe the debt?
Send a written validation request for the client, the account or lease, and the amount, and if a debt buyer is suing, demand the records proving it owns the account.
How long can a debt be collected in Delaware?
Delaware allows only three years to sue on most debts under 10 Del. C. Section 8106, so a balance older than that may not be enforceable in court.
Can they robocall my cell phone?
Not without your consent. Under the TCPA, an auto-dialed or recorded call to a mobile line can be worth $500 to $1,500 each.
Can this debt hurt my credit report?
It can, but a wrong or unverifiable entry can be disputed and sent for investigation under the FCRA.
Will a lawyer cost me anything up front?
No. Representation runs on contingency, so the fees fall on a collector shown to have broken the law.
