wow here i go .. i live in NEVADA & i have a charged off creditcard ( charged off june 2006 ) for apx 7500. ( i stopped paying in dec 2005 ) that has blownup to over 13500. becouse of crazy nonsense fees & such but they SOLD the account ( debt ) last summer to a collection agency from another state & few mths ago that collection agency then hired a local NEVADA attorney to collect & now all the sudden hitting me with a summons & complaint telling me i have 20 days to announce to either their attorney or the court of what my intentions are concerning this debt . 1st off i never received any request for any validation from anybody ( they have the wrong apt # listed on the mail they send me so WHO KNOWS what else they've mailed ) & the craziest thing is that they EVEN HAVE THE WRONG ACCOUNT NUMBER LISTED IN THE LEGAL PAPERS & the only 1 letter i ever received from them besides these legal papers i just got yesterday . i need some fast help from some pros asap ............ i dont want to file BK if at all possible & of course i do not want a judgement so i really need some advise ........... should i request validation since they have the wrong account number listed ?? please any help is welcomed & fast !!! thanks lots !!!!!!!
any suggestions guys ? im going to speak w a local attorney next week even though i can't really afford it but thats next week - i'd love to have some reasonable suggestions before seeing him ............. thankyou guys ......
check under Apexcrsrvc and enigma Check out these threads on how to answer the complaint. Enigma and Apex gave wonderful suggestions on how to respond and basically get this attorney jumping through some hoops.
basically the complaint has apx 6 lines w the 1st line before item 1 saying COMES NOW ( the name of the collection co - plaintiff ) through its council XXX OF LAW OFFICES & makes this complaint against ( ME ) by alleging & inserting as follows . the next 6 lines are saying im a resident of NEVADA HOW MUCH THEY WANT - HOW MUCH INTEREST....... IN MY OPINION THE MOST IMPORTANT IS ON LINE 3 saying THAT THE DEFENDENT RECIEVED A LINE OF CREDIT with ** THE WRONG ACCOUNT NUMBER LISTED ** ........ im far from an expert by how can they be taken seriously IN ANY COURT w THE WRONG ACCOUNT # LISTED ??????? last page is something called AFFIRMATION .. like i say nxt week i'll speak to a lawyer but ANY HELP WOULD BE MUCH APPERICIATED .............. i'm sure some mail they claimed they sent me i did not get becouse they have my wrong apt number ......THANKS ALOT GUYS .................
You need to file an answer. That's why we need the exact verbage of the complaint. But if you are going to be represented by counsel, then do as they advise.
ok thanks . im about to be married in may & id love to get this settled w/o my boyfriend having to get involved becouse its very embarrassing thats why im talking to an attorney late nxt week when he's away for 2 days . let me ask you this - Since i never did get any type of 30 day validation notice from them & MY GUESS is that its becouse they send all their mail addressed to me addressed to the wrong apt number DONT I HAVE ANY RECOURSE TO THAT ?? another huge question what about them having the WRONG CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT NUMBER dosen't that mean anything ?? I NEVER SIGNED FOR ANY SUMMONS OR ANYTHING FROM THEM ive not been served by publication either does that not mean anything either ?? im baffled to be honest .... what would have happened IF I NEVER RECEIVED ANYTHING FROM THEM AS ITS ONLY SHEER LUCK ( i guess ) I EVEN GET ANY OF THEIR MAIL BECOUSE AS I SAY THEY MAIL IT TO THE WRONG ADDRESS .......... thanks again Julie from beautiful carson city
You've been served with a lawsuit that requires you to file an answer. There is no need to be embarrassed. But in order to help you we need to know paragraph by paragraph of what the complaint states.
enigma tomorrow afternoon when im alone i'll get the papers & type item by item .. thankyou for helping .. im only embarrassed telling my future hubby , IF AT ALL POSSIBLE i want to handle this w/o him knowing ........ i still dont understand HOW they can realistically sue me with a wrong cc account # & sending me mail they have addressed wrong THAT I DONT GET ........ thanks again .................. Julie from Nevada
today i decided to cousult w a bankruptcy attorney & we talked in person for maybe 15 - 20 mins , at least it was a free consulation . well honestly he was'nt THAT HELPFUL , he looked over my papers & said yup i am being sued & his suggestion to me was EITHER file complete chapter 7 BK ( sad to say i DO qualify for a 7 becouse im broke have no real assets & dont make enough to worry about chapter 13 ) OR settle with the crappy a$$ attorney sueing me by trying to make a deal with them . this lawyer who yes was nice told me IT DOSEN'T MATTER THEY HAVE THE WRONG CC ACCOUNT # LISTED ON THE SUMMONS & COMPLAINT ( SHOCKING & STILL HARD TO BELIEVE !! ) & that i should call this attorney sueing me & ask how much their looking for . im not crazy about that !! honestly I DONT LIKE EITHER CHOICE becouse my credit isn't that bad that i need to file BK as i only have 2 chargeoffs & i have lots of good current credit as my fico varies between 645 - 665 & goes up a bit each mth which i mean isnt that bad i guess right . my question to anyone that feel's they might know is this - IF I SETTLE ON A 13000 . DEBT HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK THEY'D TAKE & FOR HOW LONG ????? I READ SOMEWHERE ID HAVE TO PAY TAXES ON THE AMOUNT I SETTLE FOR IS THIS TRUE & IF SO ABOUT HOW MUCH ??? well any info would help me as my goal is to squash this before i get married nxt spring thanx alot Julie from cold carson city nevada
IMHO the advice you received was less than....well you get the picture. Yes, it does make a difference that they have the wrong account number on the complaint. Post the complaint line by line and we can help you.
ok heres my best shot at copying the official COMPLAINT ........... ( THEIR NAME ) plaintiff vs ( MY NAME INSERTED HERE ) does i through x & ABC CORPORATIONS H THROUGH X inclusive , DEFENDANTS .......... COMES NOW , the collection co name ( plaintiff ) by through its councel ( their attorneys name ) by & through its councel ( their lawyers name ) of the law offices of XXXXX & makes this complaint against ( my name here ) ( defendents ) by alleging & inserting as follows : # 1 that at all times relevant here to , plaintiff was & is a corporation duly qualified & doing business in the state of nevada ........ # 2 that defendants are residents of RENO state of nevada ..... # 3 the plaintiff does not at present know the true names & identies of those defendents both corporation & individual herein does i through x & ABC CORPORATION i through x inclusive but is informed & believes & therefore aleges that said defendentsare agents employees & representives of the name defendent or persons or entities acting in concert with the names defendent w respect to the debt & amounts due & owing acting herein pled who are liable to plaintiff by reason thereof & the plaintiff prays leave to amend this complaint to inseet true names & identities w appropriate allegations when same becomes known ..... # 4 that at the request of the defendents , defendants recieved a line of credit from plaintiff , accountant # ( WRONG CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT # INSERTED HERE , NOT MY ACCOUNT ) ....... # 5 that defendants are in default on payments on the said line of credit & account is not current . although demand has been made no further part thereof has been paid ...... # 6 that there is currently due to plaintiff the principle sum of 10669.04 plus pre petition interest in the sum of 2008.61 up to & including july 30 2007 ....... # 7 that the above refrenced account currently accrues interest on the un paid balance at the rate of 29 percent per annum ...... # 8 that as an alternative to paragraphs 6 & 7 defendants owe the plaintiff the principle sum of 10669.04 plus pre pettion interest sum of 2008.61 plus interest on the principle balance at rate of 29 percent per annum according to account stated between plaintiff & defendants from july 30 2007 ................ that plantiff has been caused to obtain the services of an attorney in order to prosecute this action & is entitled to reasonable attorney fees therefor together w costs of suit herein ...... wherefor plaintiff prays for judgement against the defendents ( MY NAME HERE ) as follows ......... 1 for principle sum of 10669.04 plus pre petition interest in the sum of 2008.61 together w interst on the principle sum at the rate of 29 % per annum from july 30 2007 until pd ...... 2 for costs of the suit ....... 3 for reasonable attorneys fees & 4 for such other & further relief as court may deem & proper ......... DATED THIS 21 OF AUG 2007 ............... just WOW , long stuff to type but again THANKYOU SO MUCH FOR UR HELP ....... julie from ice cold nevada !!
I'd guess the lawyer's advice was based on the fact that paying him to contest it would be as much or more than just settling with the plaintiff. It wouldn't take very long at all to run up a $5,000 bill on something like this in which case you'd end up paying the settlement PLUS the lawyer's fee. So the advice from the lawyer makes sense from a strictly out-of-[your]-pocket perspective. If you feel up to battling with lawyers in court (which can be intimidating), you could proceed pro se and hope for a dismissal for some reason (e.g. incorrect identification/information.) Or you could try to negotiate with the lawyer before trial (you still need to respond to the summons in a timely fashion) and see what you can work out. Or you could hire a lawyer and pay about the lawyer what you might otherwise pay to settle...and then pay whatever settlement/judgement results from the trial (if any). Or you could ignore it and let them get a default judgement against you.
You could respond pro se while trying to figure out what to do next. Look up here or on the internet (or from the courthouse) how to respond and deny everything. It's easy, but you have to use the right words. There are lots of places here and elsewhere that can walk you through the first steps. They seem to be pretty common. After the first round of summons and answer and motion for more definitive statement or discovery, it can get more complicated. You could hope to: a) prove they're after the wrong person, however, if you had a charge off they could just amend the complaint with the correct, i.e. your, account number and keep pressing on). b) to show you're not going to roll over and let them walk all over you, but they could still end up in court and get a judgement against you. c) fight it by making them work for it, but that can be tiring in its own right and not everyone is up to the fuss. d) keep pursuing the legal process while trying to negotiate a settlement, however, the closer you get to trial and the stronger they feel about their case, the harder it will be to negotiate. For that matter, you might want to pitch them a low-ball to get the negotiation started sooner than later. It's like a game of poker. If you're not a good poker player, then it might very well be a good idea to settle with them.
Sometimes a ca will use their own account number as a reference number regarding a certain account.So what you perceive as a wrong account number may not be true.Ca's will also use an old former address hoping you never get the summons and so you never show up to court and they win a judgment by default.Ca's will use every dirty trick in the book to get you to pay.If you have the means to pay you may end up doing just that after all is said and done.If your broke your broke and all the judgments in the world won't change that reality.
1st off i want to THANK YOU ALL SO VERY VERY VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP , YOUR TRUELY A BUNCH OF GREAT PEOPLE !! NO it was/is not a corporation or business its just me a single 30 yr old female that applied for this creditcard apx 5 yrs ago that i was current with until apx oct 2005 then when no longer possible to pay my bills eat & so forth in apx dec 2005 i had to make a tough decision on stop paying this bill along with 1 other card becouse i could no longer afford to do so . trust me it til this day kills me that i have these 2 bad marks ( chargeoffs ) on my credit but i could not help it . as i say i have a wonderful b/f whom im marrying next spring here in the lake tahoe area & i with all my heart want this to be handled before were married , i dont mind telling him after the fact but not now while im going thru my private hell . NO i have basically nothing i lease my car for another 2 yrs i rent an apt. at my job i make apx 625. per week & i only have a local checking account with direct deposit with really never over 500 . in it at a time becouse im almost always broke living wk to wk . the wrong account # REALLY BOTHERS ME ALOT & THE FACT I NEVER DID GET A 30 VALIDATION REQUEST EVER BOTHER ME ALOT TOO & I NEVER REALLY GOT SERVED THEY JUST SENT THE SUMMOMS & COMPLAINT IN THE REGULAR MAIL WITH A REG STAMP TO THE WRONG APT # TO BOOT ! in my opinion THERE HORRIBLE HUMAN BEINGS , its christmas time & instead of celebrating with both our families im a nervous wreck ................ thankyou once again guys Julie from windy cold NEVADA ................
Not to meddle too much, but you might consider a couple of things: If you're that strapped for cash, you might seriously consider chap 7 bankruptcy. That'll shut down the law suit and make it go away completely and you can then start over (you'll probably have to get rid of your car as well, but that's the least of your troubles. You can always get another car.) It sounds dramatic and there's some short-term pain, but you and your future husband will be much better off in the future. WRT telling your bf/fiance, um, this is a pretty big deal that could affect the both of you down the road. IMO, you should 'fess up and come clean with him ASAP. If he's a cool guy, he'll be there to support you and work it out with you. If not, then, well, you probably shouldn't think about making a life together. Just my $.02
