Hi all. I am in florida, and just had a knock at the door with someone serving me a summons for a pretrial conference about a debt with citibank/gateway. The account was for a computer that was purchased in 1999. Originally it was somewhere in the range of 1300$. I did make some payments, but due to being young and stupid, and becoming a new (single) mother, i stopped paying. Those are excuses and i just need to know where to go from here. From my best recollection, i paid somewhere in the range of $800 towards this. I have been playing ostrich from that point on, basically ignoring the letters. Like that would fix anything, right? anyway, ive been reading this board and others, and am just overwhelmed at this point and dont even know where to start. Facts of the letter 1.Plaintiff Asset Acceptance LLC 2.says they purchased debt for value from citi 2/25/04 3.says defendant owes plaintiff $1515.19 plus interest in the sum of 328.76 for use of citi credit card.Never actually got "card" more like you call up and they give you credit.probably a meaningless fact 4. attached statement of account showing current balance due 5. Statement of account shows following Asset Acceptance Assignee of : Citibank/Gateway my name and address Asset Acceptance acct # orig lender acct # Purchase date 2/25/04 principle amt 1515.19 interest due 328.76 total bal 1843.95 interest rate 8.00% date of charge off 11/30/01 date last pmt 06/08/01 Dated this 16th day of Aug 04 Delaware corp doing bus at po box 2036 warren MI 48090 I dont think i can do validation or anything at this point, i just dont know what to do or how to start disputing this. I believe i read (perhaps interpreted incorrectly) that this statemnt of acct is not complete bec doesnt detail my payments etc and the balances with my payments. Do i demand those things, I am just so confused and have no idea where to begin to fight this. Please help. Thanks so much in advance for any insight or assistance. The court date is set for 9/30, so not too far off. I just really need some help and i cant afford for them to take anything from my bank account or freeze it or whatever. Do they have to leave something so my daughter can eat? can they just take everything? Please help me muddle through this mess ive created for myself.
What's the statute of limitations in your state - if it is past, they can sue you all they want but can't touch you. Sal
looks like its 4 years for open accounts. But is that 4 years from last payment date, acct opening, 1st delinquency or what?
It's supposed to be date of last delinquency. According to that letter they sent you it charged off 11/01 which isn't good, but it might still be past (FIND THIS OUT ASAP) - this explains why they are rushing this through. Find whatever you can to prove the EXACT date of last delinquency (statements, credit reports) Sal
how would i do that? normal validation letters or what? is it different now that its at this stage..i.e. lawsuit pending?
Date of Last Payment would probably be the best indicator, 06/08/01; the next payment would have been due sometime approx a month from that (July), and that would be when the delinquency most likely commenced. 08/2001 probably is the safe date to presume that the SOL began, which would place you within the SOL until 8/2005. The statement of account is not validation, even if your requesting documentation to substantiate their claims does nothing but bolster your paper-trail (i.e. it may not stop the trial process, but it may look good for you, if they can't obtain anything from their 'client' before the trial), it at least shows that the alleged debt is in dispute. What you don't want to do is use one of the sample validation letters, or even something like I use, which is my own, but legalistic enough to throw up sirens. I would simply reply back saying "I received on xx/xx/xxxx, something from your company, but I have don't know what this is in regards to. I would appreciate it if you could provide me with something that shows that the matter in which you are referring to is mine, and that the amount which you are claiming is accurate." You want to make it your own, but notice that it disputes both that the account is yours (signed application), and that the amount is accurate (contract, complete payment history, all invoices, etc.) Remember a few ground rules, admit nothing, deny everything, make them prove everything, including that every penny of the amount that they are claiming is complete, accurate, and legal under your states laws.
ok. now do i need to send it registered/return receipt? can you do that to a po box? since i have recived a summons, do i do this letter as a motion to the court or directly to asset acceptance. there is a po box listed for them in michigan, also there is an address for the lawyers they are using in florida. do i send it to both of them or what? thanks so much for everyone's advice so far
Anything that you ever mail to a CA, or CRA should be for your own protection mailed CMRRR. Especially when there is a suit involved. I would just send a simple letter, unless the court process in your state requires that all communications go through the court. You'ld want to check with the court to find out, it'ld be good to have a copy of the letter when you do, because if they do require it to be a part of a formal process, they may be able to show you samples of how to request (what you are requesting in your letter) through the process. The process which you need to do for the legal process is completely dependent upon your own state. You would need to check your states procedures to know what is required as far as the case is concerned. You'll also want to check on your states garnishment rules, to determine exactly what they may be able to take if the case does go as far as them getting a judgement against you. http://www.carreonandassociates.com/articles/statute.htm Once you've looked at your state there, you can search on "judgement" and "garnishment" to find out more about how that process works. The general page focuses on the federal garnishment rules, the statutes page should give you the additional protections which you may have under your states rules.
