Since they are losing their shirts these days, Citibank is really getting very aggresive with past-due accounts. They skirt the FDCPA by owning collection agencies, so when a Citibank collection agency calls, they can do whatever they want.

My latest client is being sued by Citibank for a $19K debt from 2004 that with fees and interest has ballooned to $46K. The problem is that Citibank usually keeps good records and if they sue you, you are basically screen.

She has not been officially served, but I told her to go down to the courthouse and get a copy of the complaint so she can be ready. It goes back to the courthouse on Feb 21. She is not hiding from the process server, and I have no idea why they haven’t served her. The statute of limitations in her state is 5 years, so she has 1.5 years to go before the statute of limitations is up. Maybe the process server will sit on his/her hands until then?

The only items on her complaint are:

1. She got the card and used it.
2. She owes $46K and refused to pay it (actually not true, she only found out about the debt through a scummy lawyer - who dug through court records and sent her a “I can help you with your upcoming lawsuit!” card.)
3. She also got an affidavit from the person who worked at the collection agency and said they had “personal knowledge of the debt”.

In any case, I had her prepare her answer so she is ready to go. If she actually gets served, she can answer them. Along with the usual “Insufficient proof to deny or affirm” claims, she has some juicy affirmative defenses.

1. No cause of action stated (I’ve seen better Word docs)
2. Unjust enrichment (I mean more than a 100% increase in amount owed??!!)
3. Hearsay evidence. If you work at a whole other division, how do you have “personal knowledge of the debt.

In any case, she has no money, so settling is not an option. She owes a total of $100K in credit cards. I asked her why she hasn’t filed a Chapter 7 BK. She said she doesn’t qualify. IMHO, if anyone qualifies, it’s her. No money, couldn’t qualify for a 13 - hello! The lawyer she talked to said you can only have $7K equity in your house - mmmm, no. He also said that you can file something to quash a service for another judgment she has against her - the SOL on filing a motion to vacate doesn’t matter - mmmm…no. Where do they get these lawyers? The poor woman has been told 100 different things.

We will see what happens.

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