Hi, I'm being sued by a collection agency and need advice on how to proceed. This is what happened I let a ATT Universal card account get charged off 2 years ago (it was about $585). I'm a student and missed a couple of payments and couldn't catch up. Anyway in March 2005 a collection agency sent me a letter saying it was a response to my request for validation and it included all my previous credit card statements. The only thing is that I never sent them a request for validation and it including some recent credit card statements with additional fees from 2004 which where never mailed to me (I stopped receiving statements when the account was charged off). In May someone served papers at my parents house saying that I was being sued for $785 by the collection agency on behalf of CITICARD. The papers say I have 30 days to file a written response at the court house or the CA may get a default judgement. What should I do? Should I try and settle with the CA for a smaller amount? I really want to avoid going to court if possible, is there anything I can do to get the CA to drop the suit.
You have to answer the lawsuit, and show up at the hearing,otherwise you will get a default judgment. You need to check all your records and see EXACTLY what you DO have in the way of legitimate charges. It is POSSIBLE, given the confusion about the dates and the "request for validation" response, that your account was mixed up with someone elses.You need to request all records in your answer so as to have PROOF that the account they are suing on is really YOUR account. If you were properly served, there is a casefile #, check with the Court and find out what forms you need to file for yor answer and notice of appearance. If you go to my website, linked below, there is a link to How To Answer A Lawsuit, this is probably NOT the format for you to use, however it does have some internal links that may help you.
