Over the last few months I have been trying to clean up some old bills that were unpaid. One of the CA's that is collecting for an old Providian account from several years ago has been a real problem. I spoke to the collector that called me and she told me that my account had gone to process server. She said she would not stop legal proceedings unless I could pay IN FULL. I offered two payments which she denied. As I thought, the next day I received the summons (side note-it was left with my boss who was standing outside my home). I have a court date approaching and I'm wondering the best course of action. In either case, I cannot afford to pay it before then. I'm assuming that my wages will be garnished whether I show up in court or not. Any ideas for me? Xero
whatever you do, GO TO COURT... a judgement does not necessarily mean a wage garnishment.... How long before court..... I would immediatley ask for debt validation I would state in the letter your offer to pay that was refused in lieu of lawsuit... I would document date and time of last call When you go to court, tell the judge 1) you offered to pay w/o validation but they refused to accept payment that was reasonable ( two payments) 2) subsequent to receiving summons, you have requested debt validition ( proof that debt is yours and proof of charges fees etc) You also may have some service issues... since they delivered the notice to a person not knowing who it was..... I would check with court clerk about this.
two days before court...I just receive the summons since it was given to my employer while I was out of town. County clerk couldn't tell me anything....they're clueless. I'm sending the validation letter tomorrow - they won't receive it before court so I'm sure it won't do any good. So, I have for court: 1. Copy of letter requesting validation. 2. Copy of a debt management program I'm on. 3. Copies of my credit report showing three different creditors for the same bill...Providian and two collectors. (I honestly was confused by this and didn't know WHO to pay). Providian said it was a charge off. I never heard from the first coolector and the second refused to work with me. Guess I should just expect a judgement? Or, I could just flirt with the judge. ; )
Whatever you do, do not admit the debt is yours. Make them prove it and dispute the amount. Make them account for it. Tell the Judge you are unable to sort it out due to more than one collector and that you do not think the amount is correct. You only offered to settle in order to not go to Court and be out expenses for a Lawyer and time off work. Now you want them to prove this debt since you have no knowledge of it. Do not bring to court any letter admitting the debt. The CA will not be able to validate the amount and if it is from 96 they will probably not be able to produce the signature card either. Again, tell the Judge you do not think it is yours but you offered to settle to not have to take time from work and you did not want to hire a Lawyer so you tried to settle. They refused so now you have no choice but to make them prove the debt. You do not think you owe what they say and you have no knowledge of the debt ever existing so prove it.
You still didn't say what State you are in. You may be past the legal time limit (statute of limitations) for the lawsuit to be filed. In the papers that were served to you, there should be a complaint, it should say when the account defaulted. On your Experian credit report, it should say when the account is due for removal (7 years) that will give you the date of first delinquency or chargeoff.
