I have yet another problem. This guy kept "spying" around my house for 2 days until my mother finally opened the door. He made her sign something she didn't know about and delivered a summons naming me as the defendant. Turns out the credit card {Discover} has filed a "judgement" against me. It says I have to write a reply within 30 days. I don't really understand it. Does it mean that I'm going to have to go to court or jail even? I am scared that my name will be printed in the local paper [I live in a very small area and EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYTHING]. Please tell me what I should do next. Someone help me make sense of this.
first of all did the paperwork say its a summons or does it say judgment? is this your acct or your moms? and did the process server attempt to serve you personally? need more info as to what type of acct this is, the date and status . were you ever given notice prior that you owed this money? they can NOT legally publish your name in the paper and why would you think that you are going to jail? if there is a judgment it will be public record info which means a person would have to go to your local court house and search your name to find that info.
I called the Circuit Clerk's office and she explained it to me more. It does say "summons" at the top. It is my account and not my mother's. I had a credit card with Discover Card and I was unemployed and couldn't keep up the payments. According to the Circuit Clerk I need to file a response in their office within 30 days or else they are going to take money from any employer I work with. I'm not employed now. This isn't the first time they contacted me but I assumed that they would just write it off like all the other creditors did. I was having problems with a collection agency for a debt I owe and I wasn't sure if they validated the debt or not...since no one answered my questions on this site I just forgot about it..and now this comes up. I thought I would go to jail because I can't pay these people. Yes, they will publish my name in the local paper; it's a custom here. Whether it's legal or not it is still done every week..and if you done something "wrong" your name will be in the paper. I didn't know anything about credit repair until recently and I still don't know exactly how to repair my credit even now. I was a college student who got "caught" up with credit cards and loans..and now I'm paying for it. As far as my current situation, I don't know what kind of "response" I should be writing. I tried writing "debt validation" letters before to the collection agency I mentioned earlier and it didn't work. I was told that "Cease and Desist" letters don't work anymore either. I don't know what to do-I feel like crying and pulling my hair out. I did consider filing bankrupt but their fee is TOO HIGH. Dang! If I had the money to pay the lawyer to file bankrupt on my behalf I wouldn't owe the credit card companies and all the collection agencies!
It looks as if the creditor has commenced proceedings to obtain a judgment for the amount you owe them. If you do not file your answer with the court and do not show up on the hearing date they will obtain a default judgment against you. This will allow them to put liens on any real property you own, and they can get court orders to empty your bank accounts, and to take part of your pay check until the judgment is paid off. If you don't own anything (house, car, etc) and are not working there isn't really much they can do - you are "judment proof". The problem is that the judgment will remain on your credit report for 7 years, and is VERY DEROGATORY, also the judgment can be enforced for years (20 years in some cases) so that if you do start working, or get property in the future they can come after it. Also there is statutory interest charges that could run up a debt of a few thousand dollars to one of tens of thousands of dollars! You need to file your answer witht the court - deny everything - it is up to the plaintiffs to prove you owe. Also you need to show up in court to avoid a default judgment against you. Chances are if you do show up they will be willing to work out a settlement / payment plan before trial, you have nothing to lose. Chances are also that they may not show up in court, but if you are not there you lose. Maybe you can get some free legal aid advise to help you with filing answer, and what to expect in court good luck!
When did you make the last payment to them, and what state do you live in? You need to make sure they are still within the Statute of Limitations (SOL) to collect. A cease and desist letter doesn't stop them from suing. In fact, just the opposite. If you tell them to cease and desist, the only thing they CAN do legally is file suit against you. In the response, say you don't remember owing this, and you ask that they provide proof that the account is yours and how they arrived at the balance.
Thanks to everyone who responded. Right now, I don't currently own anything nor am I employed. They did not have an "actual" court date on the summons. I live in MS [Mississippi] and I have no idea what the statue of limitations are for this state. So basically, I should write them a debt validation letter as my response right?
No, you need to reply to the court summons as pd11604 said. Just reply to the summons and deny everything. In that answer you will say that you don't recall a debt to whoever is suing you, and that you do not know where the account and the amount came from. Someone who has done this may chime in with better words, but at this point you need to answer the court summons.
Thanks, Hedwig. I was also told that I need to seek legal counsel immediately...but I can't afford a lawyer or attorney. I just don't understand why they are going this far when I don't owe more than $2000.
How far is the lawyer from where you live, and the same with the collection agency. Chances are good, that the CA files against everyone, and hopes for a default judgement, because the majority of consumers get scared, and don't bother to show up.
By the way, it looks like the SOL in MS is 3 years. If the last payment was longer than that, the account is time-barred, and you have an affirmative defense to argue when you appear.
Jam237, the lawyer for the credit card company is at least an hour and half away from me. The last time I paid on this account was a little less than a year ago. Also, as far as I know no court date is set-not yet anyway. Pd11604, OF COURSE I don't want a judgement on my credit reports! I have sought advice and I am in the process of trying to get legal counseling tp try to file my "response" within the 30 days. It seems that the only way out of this is to file bankrupt. Since I am unemployed...I really can't afford the fee to file Ch. 7. I AM BROKE! If I had the money to pay the lawyer's fee then I wouldn't owe the credit card companies that are suing me and reporting bad "marks" to the credit bureaus.
You should not be considering BK if the only debt you have is the $2000 they are trying to collect on! In that case a judgment is better than a BK but either one will screw up your CR's for years I understand you have no money to pay them. Most of us here have been in that situation. There is a chance they will not show up in court and only file for judgments in the hopes of getting default judgments! You are pretty much "judgment proof" so even if they get a judgment, they will not be able to collect right away. It may give you enought time to save up the money to pay them off, then you can work on clearing up your CR... I'm sure everyone here would not recommend BK for $2000 work of debt!
If you contact the Bar Association in your county or state, they may be able to put you in touch with a low-cost or no-cost attorney since you don't have the money. Also, some attorneys will give you an initial consultation free. I agree that if this is the only debt you have it may not be worth the BK. Then you can't file for some period of time if other things come up. Even if they get a judgment, there's nothing to collect. As someone else said, if your situation changes, perhaps they'll agree to some settlement.
Pd11604, Thanks for your concern about my credit history. I am concerned myself. To tell the truth, I have more debt than the 1800.00 to that one credit card. I have other accounts and credit cards-some of them are past due but others are still current. I also have student loans that are in deferrment. Now, do you think I should consider filing bankrupt? Every law office I spoke with today suggested I come in with a list of creditors in preparations to file-even though I can't even afford that either...some of the law offices charge a minimum of $1000 just to file. Anyway, excluding my student loans I would say I have around $5500 in debt..that includes all credit accounts. Does it matter that its under $10000 of credit card debt? I mean I do owe student loans which I didn't add to this sum simply because I know I have to pay that back regardless. What do you suggest now that I told you EXACTLY what I owe? Should I still consider bankruptcy as an option?
Re: Re: Help! Hedwig, thanks for again for answering and emailing me back in a timely response. I have contacted my local legal services office and they are supposed to be getting back with me. As I stated in another post, I do owe more than $1800-$2000 but that's with the other accounts added up. The total debt I have now is around $5500. That's with credit accounts...some are past due others are current and up to date. This is also not counting my student loans..they are in deferrment.
Re: Re: Help! Well, I can't say whether you should file - everyone's circumstance is different. As HEDWIG said, you will not be able to file again for 6 years in case more problems come up in the future. And your CR will be trashed for 10 years....are you ready for that? I was very close to filing myself in Jan 2003, even had the $1300 ready for the lawyer, but with the help of people here, I now have 730 FICO Score and the only derog is 1 paid state tax lien on my CR's. You can be "judgment proof" for many years, but eventually creditors will track you down and apply pressures such as wage / bank account garnishments (it will be easy since you have student loans to track you) That is the time to declare BK! You should considered holding off on filing for BK until you literally have no other option. That's not to say there is not life after BK There are many here who have started over after BK and within 2 years had good credit history , but I think all of them will tell you that it is just a much harder path to travel with BK always haunting you good luck!
Re: Re: Help! Update: I talked to the "almost free" legal services people and basically they said that they don't help clients to "file" their response and I can't go through them to "file" bankrupt either. They don't work with "judgement proof" clients..I would have go through a private attorney. Also, the lady I spoke with said to not even show up on the court date....I noticed that most people on the credit sites I visit say that's what you want to do-make sure you show up. She also said to be honest when I "answer" the questions...don't deny anything because that's perjury and she would hate to see me go to jail. SO I AM BACK TO SQUARE ONE. IT'S A MESSSED UP SITUATION NO MATTER WHAT I DO.
Re: Re: Help! I forgot to mention this: I am unemployed right now but soon [not sure exactly when] I am supposed to start a "contractor" type position out of my home...that would be considered employment right? How will this change my situation?
