I just came home and found a civil summons on my porch for my daughter. It is regarding her Discover card that she got 2 years ago at college in WV.The limit was $1000 that she promptly maxed out and was unable to repay. This summons is from a magistrate court in WV. It orders her to appear within 20 days. She indeed owes the money, but cannot repay at this time. The amount owed is stated to be $1923.10, with "interest, court costs, and such other." Should she contact Discover before the judgement is handed down to try to negotiate with a small monthly payment? Should she ignore it, let them get the judgement, then contact them to work it out? Should she ignore it, let them get the judgement, then have it overturned for improper serving? (The service of process section is blank) What is the best way to go about this? Also, while searching this subject, I noticed many people with Discover charge-offs. Why didn't they just charge this off? Or will they charge it off after they obtain a judgement?
Just because a card is chargedoff, doesn't mean the debt goes away or collection efforts cease. I'm sure this debt was charged off long ago and now, they are trying to collect. Chargeoff is just an accounting term. Financial institutions must chageoff loans at 180 days after last payment. This is there way of notifing regulators and investors that nearterm, the chances of collecting are zero. But, collection activity can still proceed.
A few things come to mind. First don't believe the service of process is invalid because the copy you have indicates no information in that section. It is common for a process server to leave that information blank on a copy and file a separate "Proof of service" document which you should receivea copy of. Check the statutes in your state to see if service of process is allowed by delivery to the last known address - in many states it is indeed allowed. I would not allow a judgement to be entered and request it be overturned for improper service - you will have to file paperwork, schedule a hearing, and appear to have the judgement overturned - in most cases the creditor is going to appear and can refile the case and sometimes will have you served while you are leaving the court. Is the suit being filed by the actual creditor or a collection agency? Most courts allow an arbitration meeting before the actual hearing in which you sit down with the creditors representative to try and reach an agreement instead of proceeding with the hearing - often they will push to have you sign a "stipulated" or "confession" judgement - this only keeps you out of court for the moment and still counts as a judgement so be careful. As for the account being charged off - it very likely already is.
I don't have any real advice as to *what* to do, but I DO know that Discover WILL take you to court... happend to a friend of mine who is on gov't assistance (full time student/single parent)... Not meant to scare you or anything, but you maybe should start looking for a lawyer? Deb @ Mich St
Anna, I would first try and see if she can come up with the money. Could you or a family member cosign something for her? If that isn't possible, try and work something out with the lawyer that filed the suit. The danger I see, is they get the judgement and then, garnish her wages. That's just not the sort of thing you would want your boss to know about. That's why I suggested negoiation last. Before they'll agree to any payment plan, they'll want to know where she works and how much she makes, etc. And, I doubt they'll settle for $50/month if they see they can get twice that in a garnishment.
First thing you need to do is find out the rules for service of process. In most states it must be served to a person or served by certified mail. I don't know where you live but I highly doubt leaving a summons on your front porch would constitute legal service. You could have the service quashed if that is the case. They will no doubt serve you again if that happened, but it will buy you a little time to figure out what you will do.
