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Hello, and thank you for taking the time to look at this. On July second I was served papers through Forster and Garbus regarding an old student loan debt from 2003. I've feverishly researched this issue, and I've prepared an answer to be delivered ASAP. I'm attaching a censored version of both the summons and the document with the intention of getting them having some good people here proof read them to ensure I'm not missing anything. On that note, I do have a raw question before I get to answering the standardized questions. Specifically, I'm talking about an entry on their complaint form that says : "2nd cause/action: Plaintiff stated an account to be defendant without objection. That there is now due plaintiff from defendant(s) the amount set forth in the complain, no part of which has been paid although duly demanded." Isnt this a violation of some rule? I do have the old letters they said making claims that if I "dont respond the debt is assumed valid"; and I was told in passing that this violates some law; but I'm unsure of what can be done. Also, as it's not written as an official numbered complaint, I'm unsure if I should address this on my written answer. I'm also not entirely sure how I get the answer to the plaintiff. Resources on NYC's legal aid site mention having to involve a notary and having a third party uninvolved in the case deliver the answer, while the summons itself states I need to serve a copy of my answer directly to the plaintiff's attorney, which is located about 3 hours from me. Also, the index number on the summons handed to me is a 6 digit number, but a reminder from my local courthouse has the same index number only with a slash and an additional two numbers at the end. Sorry for all that, here are the template questions. 1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Jefferson Capital Systems LLC. 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Forster and Garbus LLP 3. How much are you being sued for? $31,829.81 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) SLM Education credit finance C. 5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) I was served on July 2nd, 3:00pm. 6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) In person 7. Was the service legal as required by your state? Yes. Process Service Requirements by State - Summons Complaint 8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued? Nothing. 9. What state and county do you live in? Richmond, New York 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) January 2012 11. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 6 Years. Statute of Limitations on Debts 12. What is the status of your case? Suit served? Motions filed? You can find this by a) calling the court or looking it up online (many states have this information posted - when you find the online court site, search by case number or your name). Suit served. 13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) No 14. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request, don't bother doing this now - it's too late. No 15. How long do you have to respond to the suit? (This should be in your paperwork). If you don't respond to the lawsuit notice you will lose automatically. In 99% of the cases, they will require you to answer the summons, and each point they are claiming. We need to know what the "charges" are. Please post what they are claiming. Did you receive an interrogatory (questionnaire) regarding the lawsuit? 20 days. The summons was handed to me on July 2nd, so this Friday. Here is an example of what the summons/complaint may look like: Sued by a Debt Collector - Learn How to Fight Debt Lawsuits 16. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. The summons states "Upon information and belief of a promissory note." 17. Read this article: Sued by a Debt Collector - Learn How to Fight Debt Lawsuits I'll be watching this thread closely, so please feel free to ask any questions in the event I missed some details.

Please help me, I have no clue how to respond! Cavalry SPV I, LLC is suing me for $3,369.87. My debt was bought from Citibank on 8/12/17. I'm not sure if it's verified. The evidence against me is a basic sale of account document (exhibit 1) and and old statement with a lesser balance of $2,671.00 (exhibit 2). I have never even spoken to anyone from this company! I'm a broke college student who has recently been laid off and can't afford this. I would highly appreciate any advice on how to move forward.

Hi! Thank you for putting this site together. I have never been sued. I have looked through the posts on this site but I am still very confused on how to reply to the Summons Complaint. I would like to create a post that is clear and detailed on how to address this Summons in the hopes of assisting anyone else facing the same. Please help. I think I would like for the Plaintiff, Portfolio Recovery Associates, to drop the case. I am not sure how to proceed. If I can't get them to drop the case then settling for a smaller amount to pay them is my second hope. I am unemployed. I do have all the pages of the Summons & Complaint scanned and can upload them if needed. The Summons was served at my door and I have 30 days from 08/18/16 to respond. I do owe the money but it was owed to Capital One Credit Card. I would rather not pay the amount since I am unemployed but if I have to I would like to have to pay a lot less. I would also like this to go away as easily and painless as possible. I would rather not have to go into the Court House. Please tell me in detail the steps I should take. The following are my beginning questions; -Do I want to challenge the Plaintiff by requesting they supply proof I owe them the money in the hopes of them not wanting to put that much effort into the case or do I want to request Arbitration or should I submit something else? -What do I send in reply to the Summons, what does it look like and what should it say? -Do I send my reply USPS Certified with tracking and proof of delivery? -Is the Summons and Complaint valid and done correctly? Is there anything about this Summons and Complaint that says it's an easy win for me? I noticed that others have posted specific questions and answers to help assist so I am supplying that info as well; 1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Portfolio Recovery Associates. 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Hunt & Henriques. 3. How much are you being sued for? $1967.00. 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) Capital One. 5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) Served. 6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) In Person. 7. Was the service legal as required by your state? Yes. 8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued? By mail by Portfolio stating they will open a case. 9. What state and county do you live in? California, Orange County. 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) Jan 2014. 11. What is the SOL on the debt? 4 years on credit cards. 12. What is the status of your case? Suit served? Motions filed? You can find this by a) calling the court or looking it up online (many states have this information posted - when you find the online court site, search by case number or your name). Summons and Complaint, waiting to respond. 13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) I have not. 14. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request, don't bother doing this now - it's too late. I have not. 15. How long do you have to respond to the suit? (This should be in your paperwork). If you don't respond to the lawsuit notice you will lose automatically. In 99% of the cases, they will require you to answer the summons, and each point they are claiming. We need to know what the "charges" are. Please post what they are claiming. Did you receive an interrogatory (questionnaire) regarding the lawsuit? 30 days from 08/18/16 (day served), They did not include a questionnaire. 16. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. No Affidavit. Included Exibit A which is a copy of a Statement from Capital One from Jan 2014 showing I made a payment and Exibit B which is another Statement from Capital One showing I did not make a payment for Feb 2014 and also an attached document that states "Your Account Has Charged Off, it is now being serviced by the Recoveries department, call 1-800-###-#### if you have questions about this notice." with no other information on that document. No Contract. Please help me and others by explaining to me step by step what I should do now that I have been served. Thank you all!

Greetings, A Law firm named Berndt & Associates representing Jefferson Capital Systems LLC, whom bought the debt from Fifth Third Bank sent me a letter the end of this past summer trying to collect a credit card debt. I sent the firm an email provided on the law firm's website (info@berndtlegal.com) stating that I can not afford to pay them, due to me having health issues, barely able to work part time and I just scrape by month to month (the letter was a couple of paragraphs and more explanatory). I sent it in text form as well as an attached PDF. I never received any type of reply or letter after. Fast forward to this past week, about 5 months later and I received a letter in the mail with a court summons, with Second typed in under it, I have attached a picture of the top of the form. Berndt & Associates also filed a motion for a second summon s with a motion stating "Defendant evading service." in the 2nd box. Also included was a complaint with 7 lines as well as stating: WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for Judgment against Defendant(s) in the sum of...$ There was also an ORDER REGARDING ALTERNATE SERVICE asking for electronic certified mail-RRR. There was a bill of sale from Fifth Third to Jefferson Capital, as well as a few pages of mostly redacted sales document with my information included. The next day I had a note in my mail box that missed a certified mail that was to be signed for, assuming from them, since it is from the same city as the law office. I never received a First summons, I'm confused as to why I received a Second alleged summons though. I have a record of the email that I sent to Berndt & Associates , can I present that as evidence? Also, can I ask to see the received email from their end, since I sent it to the email provided on the law firm's website? With this presented, does this mean that they are providing false information on the summons stating "defendant evading service"? I have had a debt collection lawyer,use dirty tactics in the past and ultimately was involved in 2 class action lawsuits against them, but that was after they ruined my life for a bit. I don't want to let this happen again. Can you please help me?

I was served a summons and complaint by a process server but I said I was not the person he was looking for and didn't know that person (even though it was me) and he gave me the papers anyway. The Papers do not have a court file number nor a case number. It only has a case type listed as consumer credit contract (3A) and there is what appears to be an attorney file number. Papers are from Rausch Sturm and they say I need to respond with answers within 20 days. The 20 days will be in 5 days now and falls on a Sunday. What is my best action to take? I'm in Minnesota. Thank you.

It seems the debt companies have gotten a little smarter and started laying out their claims better in summons. I received one today for a court date in April, so I have time to try to figure this out. They did attach an Affidavit of Indebtedness and Ownership of Account (see attached). My question is, does the information contained in it fulfill the necessary "bill of sale" requirements? And is there anything else I could do to shut them down? They did not file this lawsuit until I disputed the debt on my credit report, so I'm thinking this is a lawsuit of opportunity.

Summary: I'm being sued by debt collector, and I need guidance on Answer in response to Complaint by 5/2/2019. Questions at the very bottom. Thank you. 1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Discover Card 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) M&J LLP asserting they are attorneys for Plaintiff Discover Bank 3. How much are you being sued for? ~$7K (I have several other similarly sized credit card debts I anticipate similar Complaints for) 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) Discover Bank 5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) Served a Summons & Complaint April 2019 6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) In Person 7. Was the service legal as required by your state? Yes, I think so. 8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued? I previously wrote them sometime in 2016 with an offer-in-compromise of 10% of outstanding balance, and again with the same offer after receiving Summons in April 2019. I have never received a response. They called recently, and left a call-back message, but I have not returned the call. I have since learned that I don't know if they are legitimately entitled to anything due to various Affirmative Defense reasons. 9. What state and county do you live in? El Paso County, Colorado 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) Last Pay Date - Oct 2015 11. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 6 years 12. What is the status of your case? Suit served? Motions filed? You can find this by a) calling the court or looking it up online (many states have this information posted - when you find the online court site, search by case number or your name). Summons/Complaint for Money Due - Dated 3/19/2019 Served Summons/Complaint - April 2019? Not sure exactly. Complaint Answer Due - 5/7/2019 (but I'll be out of state and so must file by EOB 5/2/2019) 13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) No. Debt was "Charged off as bad debt. Profit and loss write-off” by Discover in April 2016 (per my credit report). 14. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request, don't bother doing this now - it's too late. No. 15. How long do you have to respond to the suit? (This should be in your paperwork). If you don't respond to the lawsuit notice you will lose automatically. In 99% of the cases, they will require you to answer the summons, and each point they are claiming. We need to know what the "charges" are. Please post what they are claiming. Did you receive an interrogatory (questionnaire) regarding the lawsuit? I must respond to Complaint by 5/7/2019. Complaint: “1. Venue is proper as Defendant resides ... 2. The amounts the Plaintiff claims from the Defendant are $xxxx which represent the liquidated balance of the Defendant’s credit car account owed by Plaintiff, less credits of $xx, plus court costs. 3. The Plaintiff’s claim arises from the Defendant’s failure to pay the liquidated balance due on credit card account xxx as required by cardholder agreement. The Plaintiff claims the right to recover from the Defendant under one or more of the following legal theories: Breach of Contract, Liquidated Debt arising out of a Contract under C.R.S 5-3-304, or Unjust Enrichment. 4. The Plaintiff request interest on any judgment entered on the Plaintiff’s claims in this case to accrue at the rate of 8% per annum compounded annually fro the date of the judgment, pursuant to C.R.S. 5-12-102. 5. The Defendant is not a minor ... 6. The Plaintiff does not demand a trial by jury.” 16. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. They sent: a copy of the Complaint; the last credit card statement before the account was closed; a stock fine-print copy of the Cardmember Agreement (no signatures); an ANSWER form; their contact information & payment information. I've since learned I need to file an Answer by 5/7/2019, with admit, deny, or lack of knowledge for each of their numbered allegations (but I'll be out of state and so must file by EOB 5/2/2019). Here's my draft response: I. ANSWER In answer to paragraph 1, Defendant admits he resides at the stated address, but lacks knowledge to admit or deny the allegation of whether this is the proper venue, and therefore Defendant denies the allegations. In answer to paragraph 2, Defendant lacks knowledge to admit or deny the allegations, and therefore Defendant denies the allegations. In answer to paragraph 3, Defendant lacks knowledge to admit or deny the allegations, and therefore Defendant denies the allegations. In answer to paragraph 4, Defendant lacks knowledge to admit or deny the allegations, and therefore Defendant denies the allegations. In answer to paragraph 5, Defendant admits the allegations. In answer to paragraph 6, Defendant lacks knowledge to admit or deny the allegations, and therefore Defendant denies the allegations. II. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES Plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Plaintiff’s claim demands monies for an alleged debt for which no proof of said debt, nor proof of ownership of said debt, has been verified and exhibited. Plaintiff has failed to trace in his statement of claim the derivation of his cause of action from his assignor so that the defendant may challenge the plaintiff’s claim that he is the present owner of the cause of action. Plaintiff has knowingly filed the claim without presenting any applicable original signed contract. Insufficient Specificity. Plaintiff has failed to provide the dates on which individual transactions were made, the amounts therefore and the items purchased to be able to answer intelligently and determine what items Defendant can admit and what items he can contest. Failure of Consideration. No exchange of money or goods occurred between the Plaintiff and the Defendant, therefore, defendant cites Failure of Consideration. Repudiation. Plaintiff is not named in any alleged signed agreement that is purported to have been entered into between Defendant and Plaintiff. Lack of Privity. Defendant claims Lack of Privity as Defendant has never entered into any contractual or debtor/creditor arrangements with Plaintiff. Plaintiff's complaint violates the Statute of Frauds. There is no contract or agreement in writing and signed by Defendant or by some other person authorized by Defendant and who was to answer for a debt. Scienti et volenti non fit injuria. Plaintiff claims to have purchased the defaulted debt allegedly owned by the Defendant, causing Plaintiff's injury to its own self, therefore Plaintiff is barred from seeking relief for damages. Laches. Plaintiff waited too long to file this lawsuit, making if difficult or impossible for Defendant to find witnesses or evidence or that evidence necessary to provide for Defendant's defense has been lost or destroyed. My questions: 1. What am I missing? 2. What have I added that doesn't apply? 3. M&J is listed as attorney's for the plaintiff. How is that different from a debt collector who bought the debt? 3. What if anything should I say regarding a jury trial? 4. The Cardmember Agreement provides for arbitration. What if anything should I say about that? 5. Other thoughts/advice?

I was sued by portfolio recovery associates and served in November 2018. I did not respond within the 30 day period. There is a order to show cause why sanctions should not be issued against plaintiff for failure to file default judgement scheduled for December 2019. As of today 4/29/2019 a default has yet to be issued against me. Is there anything I can do at this point to prevent this default from being issued? Is there no answer that I can send after the 30 day window? Will showing up in court even help me?

Hello! I am a 27 year old female student living in San Francisco, CA and I was served with a summons from Midland's attorney 1 week ago. This is my first time being sued and I need desperate counsel as I have absolutely no idea how to proceed!! I am being sued for $1,500.00 for a credit card I opened in 2010. The original amount of the credit line was $1,000.00. My last payment was made in-store in April of 2011. I stopped paying my credit card because I left the country for 4 months, dropped everything to take care of a terminally ill relative. Upon arrival home, I sank into a deep depression which then led me to be negligent to any/all bills at the time, including my $1,000.00 credit line. I have not been successfully contacted by phone by collectors since 2012. I don't recall any of the conversations at that time, or if at the time Midland was handling my debt. My problem now is that, since receiving the summons, I have called Midland from my new phone number and attempted to negotiate a payoff amount after reading a forum on another website. My initial and logical sense at the time told me to avoid court at all costs. I honestly DID NOT THINK THAT MY CHANCES OF FIGHTING THIS CASE AND WINNING WAS A REALITY, WHICH IS WHY INSTEAD I TRIED TO NEGOTIATE A LUMP SUM AMOUNT. The lowest they were willing to negotiate for was $1,350.00. They also offered me a monthly payment plan with $675 needed down. I do not have the money to pay this, I am a struggling student in my Senior year & I only make $950 a month. I AM IN EXTREME FEAR OF THE COURT GRANTING THE CREDITOR TO GARNISHING MY WAGES! I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE! PLEASE HELP! I am aware that my conversations are being recorded, there has been a total of 3 conversations since last week, all in which I attempt to negotiate a payment amount and have replied with "YES" when asked, "This amount is for your ********** Credit Card, right?". In all my conversations I have seemed very intimidated by the summons/being sued, and I recognize that. Midland knows I am trying to evade going to court and I believe they are using that in their favor! My questions are as follows: 1) Have I already assumed responsibility to the debt since I called myself to negotiate a payoff amount? This was my initially reaction as I was SCARED OUT OF MY MIND AND THE FIRST LOGICAL SOLUTION I COULD THINK OF! 2) Will changing the story now by asking them to prove it be effective? Or will I waste my time off work at the court house for no reason? 3) If I am proven guilty and must pay the debt, will I still be able to make payments on the total amount? Or will they demand it in full? 4) Would anyone recommend that I continue to negotiate now INSTEAD OF CONTINUING WITH THE SUIT? 5) Is threatening with Bankruptcy recommended in the case that I proceed with negotiating? I only have a few more weeks to respond to the court house and I am extremely SCARED/TERRIFIED! I am so lost and this is ALL SO COMPLETELY NEW TO ME! Any insight/assistance will be greatly appreciated! BTW THEY ARE TOTAL ASSHOLES & DONT EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH CORRECTLY! Please help anyone! Signed, Struggling SF Student

I’ve been reading several posts regarding collections from Capital One Bank. And my story is no different. I’m needing advice on what I could do next. First, I was NEVER served my summons by an officer of the courts, I was mailed a few attorney advertisements and attached were the summons. Immediately I got scared, and researched how to file my answer, which I did, as of November 15th. I have no legal representation so I’m defending myself “pro se”. Before this summons came about I was taking steps in repairing my credit, and I sent my first rounds of letters to all three bureaus. Since then, I had the summons in the mail, and I filed the answer, I’ve finally heard back from one of the bureaus which states that Capital One has charged my account off, and it’s states, “Account closed by Credit Grantor Account previously in dispute- Now resolves by data furnished” what I’m assuming now is that my account possibly is no longer owned by Capital One, which means that I might be able to file a Motion To Dismiss because the Party has no legal standing to being this case forward. Will that be accurate? My next thought was that I should request a chain of assignment to see if Capital One Bank does in fact still own this debt. Which is the best option moving forward. There is still no set court date, although I do believe it’s approaching, I found that the plaintiffs attorney had paid the case fee of 165.00 to the courts, so a hearing is coming shortly. I need to get ahead of this and work on proper defense.

Getting sued in Wisconsin by PRA for a Synchrony BP card and just when I thought I had my answer ready to go, I read on here not to include any affirmatve defenses. I've been reading everything I can on how to answer this complaint and most of what I have written has been copy and pasted. Hoping someone can take a look at it and let me know if I should add or delete anything.

Being sued by portfolio recovey. Im in California. The only thing they have attached for evidence is statements from the credit card company dating back to Jan. 2016. Are there any examples of how to answer the suit?

Summons letter was served to my home last week. I wasn’t home so they left it with my mother. It appears that was from a law firm on behalf of Discover bank. The amount owed is a little over $3,000. I am currently unemployed and I have no assets. I rent an apartment and my car is leased. I am in no position to pay a settlement so I would like to figure out a method to either have this dismissed or possibly delayed for as long as possible. My last payment on this account was March 2017 and the account was charged off December 2017. I’ve attached the papers that were given to my mother on 5/8/18 and I believe I have 20 days to answer. Any help on how I answer this summons?? Do I have any ground to stand on? Can I request them to prove anything? Ive noticed it says something about Dated: 2/22/18 but I’m not sure what that’s referring to. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Am lost in law, but oh so thankful to have found this forum. I have been searching for near a month trying to figure out what to do, none of it made any sense. Then I found this oasis; whew I there's a light at the end of the tunnel after all. I've read around the forum and found the questions needed for any insights (I have added questions of mine about areas of the papers) so here we go....... Who is the named plaintiff in the suit?Discover 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Moore group 3. How much are you being sued for?$6600.00 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) N/A 5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) Yes 6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door)personal service 7. Was the service legal as required by your state? as far as I know. Process Service Requirements by State - Summons Complaint 8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued? none 9. What state and county do you live in? California Sn Juaquin 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) Not sure, however their claim is "common counts" and that is 2 years if my research is correct, 11. When did you open the account (looking to establish what card agreement may be applicable)? maybe 2008/09 12. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: Statute of Limitations on Debts 13. What is the status of your case? Suit served? Motions filed? You can find this by a) calling the court or looking it up online (many states have this information posted - when you find the online court site, search by case number or your name). yes Summons served. ( I have been struggling trying to find information that made sense. THEN I found this great forum, I'm feeling relieved and ready to put up a good fight.) 14. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) no 15. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request before being sued, it likely won't help create FDCPA violations, but could be useful to show the court that you dispute the debt ('account stated' vs. 'breach of contract') . no 16. How long do you have to respond to the suit? (This should be in your paperwork). If you don't respond to the lawsuit notice you will lose automatically. In 99% of the cases, they will require you to answer the summons, and each point they are claiming. We need to know what the "charges" are. Please post what they are claiming. Did you receive an interrogatory (questionnaire) regarding the lawsuit? three working days tops. I have already freaked out. I now stand with the clock ticking rather close the courts are open today and tomorrow till four. I could push it till Monday. I read that time starts day after service; however, I am not certain if it was the 14 or 15 papers are 1) summons 2)notice of case assignment 3) civil case cover sheet; limited; rule 3.740 collections (09); not complex 4)instruction 4 cover 3 pages) complaint contract 6600.00 + cost of suit post judgment & interest #1 on the complaint.discover. is this the first claim I need to answer? First cause of action within 4 years checked plus both (1) on an open account for money and (2) an account was stated in writing between P and D (then) within 4 yrs (it states the same as 1 and 2) plus other; This C.O.A. relates to card account ending xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx yadda yadda yadda (7 pgs total) 17. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits.no-thing at all (as a matter of fact I think that they did not give put all of the papers for the summons. It is in the rule that they were to add a blank assignment case pamphlet. Plus I didn't see a court date on here anywhere. I read that the answer did not have to be filled out on one of their forms as long as it answered each of the complaints; is this true? What other paperwork should I add to the answer, I am not sure where to go from here. Thank you for taking my post into consideration, I will be posting updates and accepting "idea handouts" here till the end and beyond.. I have wanted to learn more about law; this makes ahellofa reason to start. any feedback, ideas etc. will not be taken as legal advice. However they will be appreciated deeply. {=love and light =}

Greetings, I received a summons from AMEX Legal including two plaintiffs. One (FSB) is claiming an amount of $11,000 owed, and the other (Centurion) is claiming $5,000 owed. I also owe two other creditors similar amounts. I'm unemployed. I have no attachable income or own any assets such as a home or land. My car is worth $1200 according to KBB and I don't own more than $4000 in other personal property (I believe, that's the amount FL Debtors' rights allow you to exempt.) In short I believe myself to be "Judgement Proof". I understand that this does not excuse my debt. I can still get a judgment ruled against me and that this ruling can be effective for as long as 20 years. For this reason, and the fact that I want to be employed again in the future, I'm most likely going to proceed with Chapter 7. I'm posting this in the Collections forum because I need to know how to proceed with the summons from AMEX legal. I considered answering and agreeing to all the statements (I understand it's difficult to fight against original creditors). But would this effectively be the same as not replying at all and receiving a default judgement? To be honest I'd rather save the money on the filing fees and postage. Thanks. Smith.

Hi everyone. Long story short, I am completely lost. I have no idea what to do and can't afford to pay Amex anymore. I was young and got into a lot of trouble financially and ended up using their card a lot more than i should have. I have tried to pay it off over time but the interest makes it impossible to pay off any portion of the actual debt . I was advised to not pay them anything anymore and hope that they move the debt to a collection agency where I could dispute it. That never happened. I received word that Amex filed a summons against me. The summons went unserved because I moved to a different state but I am terrified that they are suing me and have absolutely no idea what to do. I verified this online in the Broward County clerk of courts. I currently have a waitressing job but I’m not making enough money to even pay my bills let alone pay Amex. I’m losing sleep and have lost weight as a result of the stress. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I found a packet of papers in my mailbox 2 days ago, not in an envelope, mixed in with the other mail. It looks like a summons, but every stamp and signature on it is clearly computer generated. The "Return of Service of Summons" at the bottom of the page isn't filled out at all. There appears to be a case number at the top of the page, so my next move is to go online and attempt to find out if this is even real. If this IS a summons that has been filed, I plan to answer the summons. It is my understanding that the summons was NOT served the way it should be in my state. How do I work that into a written response? 1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? - Cavalry SPV 1, LLC 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Lloyd and McDaniel, PC 3. How much are you being sued for? $1300 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) Citibank 5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) Found what looks to be a summons in my mailbox, not in an envelope, mixed in with the other mail, 2 days ago. 6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) In mailbox 2 days ago. 7. Was the service legal as required by your state? Not as I understand it. In addition, the "Return of Service of Summons" portion at the bottom of the summons is not filled out. Process Service Requirements by State - Summons Complaint 8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued? - none 9. What state and county do you live in? - Indiana, Hendricks- although one page in the packet says that I live in Hamilton county. 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) 2016 11. When did you open the account (looking to establish what card agreement may be applicable)? 2014 12. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 10 Years Statute of Limitations on Debts 13. What is the status of your case? Suit served? Motions filed? You can find this by a) calling the court or looking it up online (many states have this information posted - when you find the online court site, search by case number or your name). Going to attempt to find it online. 14. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?)No 15. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request before being sued, it likely won't help create FDCPA violations, but could be useful to show the court that you dispute the debt ('account stated' vs. 'breach of contract'). No 16. How long do you have to respond to the suit? (This should be in your paperwork). If you don't respond to the lawsuit notice you will lose automatically. In 99% of the cases, they will require you to answer the summons, and each point they are claiming. We need to know what the "charges" are. Please post what they are claiming. Did you receive an interrogatory (questionnaire) regarding the lawsuit? Summons says it was filed on 1/30. Also says I have 20 days to respond after I receive the summons, or 23 days if received by mail. Here is an example of what the summons/complaint may look like: Sued by a Debt Collector - Learn How to Fight Debt Lawsuits 17. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. Three copies of the complaint, an affidavit of debt that appears to have been filed in NY state, a DoD status report that says I'm not in the military, a bill of sale of the above debt, screenshots of a Citibank account with my info, and something labeled "Odyssey File and Serve-Envelope Summary" that says the case is located in Hamilton County.

I am being sued by LVNV Funding in Bernalillo County, NM. I need to file a response this week. I've read posts that has been very helpful, but I'm a little confused as to how to go about filing a response. The complaint was unverified and I want to go about using the General Denial form. If I use this, do I still have to go through the complaint paragraph by paragraph admitting or denying each allegation? Or is the General Denial form good enough? Do I send this by certified mail to LVNV's attorneys? And then file with the clerk, or vice versa? I think the attorney violate a NM statute, which I can't find at the moment. It says you can't produce a debt collection bill on stationery unless you are in face a debt collector. But this attorney included a letter to call his office to settle the account or pay online (attached). There are other discrepencies in their claim vs. "the 2017 contract," though my contract would have been in 2014. The contract reads the case would be settled by an arbitrator, not a Metropolitan Court judge. The trail of receipts does not name me or the original lender. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP AND ANY INSIGHTS! PDF ATTACHED. 1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? > LVNV FUNDING LLC 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) > MACHOL AND JOHANNESS LLLP 3. How much are you being sued for? > $1097.49 + ATTORNEY FEES 4. Who is the original creditor? > CREDIT ONE BANK, N.A. 5. How do you know you are being sued? > RECEIVED SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT 6. How were you served? > IN PERSON BY PROCESS SERVER 7. Was the service legal as required by your state? > AS FAR AS I KNOW. 8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued? NONE THAT I KNOW OF. NEVER HEARD OF LVNV BEFORE. 9. What state and county do you live in? > BERNALILLO COUNTY, NM 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? 2015 or 2016 11. What is the SOL on the debt? 4 YEARS? 6 YEARS? Unsure 12. What is the status of your case? SUIT SERVED 13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) NO 14. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? NO 15. How long do you have to respond to the suit? 20 DAYS, NOW ENTERING 2nd WEEK - SORRY! 16. What evidence did they send with the summons? BILL OF SALE AND ASSIGNMENT; REDACTED XLS SPREADSHEET, COPY of 2017 (vs. 2014) CONTRACT redacted.pdf

Hello all, I've been combing the forums for about 5 hours now and I was hoping to get some help specific to my situation. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and hopefully responding. 1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Myself. 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Blatt, Hasenmiller, Leibsker, & Moore, LLC (representing Capital One) 3. How much are you being sued for? $5454.23 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) Capital One Bank (USA), N.A. 5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) Summons 6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) Notice on door 7. Was the service legal as required by your state? Yes 8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued? None 9. What state and county do you live in? St. Joseph County, Indiana 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) 12/11/2015 11. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 6 years 12. What is the status of your case? Suit served? Motions filed? Suit served 13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) No 14. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? No 15. How long do you have to respond to the suit? 20 days - August 10th is the final day to respond. 16. What evidence did they send with the summons? Copy of credit card agreement (no signatures) and Affidavit of Debt I'm not sure what my chances are of actually getting this suit dismissed, I just know that I do not have the funds right now to try and settle out of court, or have this suit automatically ruled against me. Basically I want to delay the final judgment as long as possible at the very least while I try and find some options. Here are the complaints listed for reference: Plaintiff alleges: 1. That the defendant(s) is (are) indebted to plaintiff for purchases of merchandise sold and delivered, services rendered, or cash advanced at request of defendant(s) and paid for by plaintiff arising out of the use of a credit card pursuant to a certain credit card agreement entered into by the plaintiff and defendant(s); that a copy of said agreement is attached hereto, made a part hereof and marked Exhibit "A". 2. That thereafter plaintiff performed all the conditions thereof on its part to be performed. 3. That defendant(s) have failed and refused to pay pursuant to the terms of said instrument and are in default thereon. 4. That there is due and owing plaintiff thereon the sum of $5454.23 and costs. Plaintiff is not seeking attorney fees. WHEREFORE, plaintiff asks for judgment for $5454.23 and costs. This is the answer I have so far: Defendant, appearing pro se, for its reply to the Complaint naming CAPITAL ONE BANK (USA), N.A. Plaintiff as follows: All answers correspond to the numbered paragraphs of the Complaint(s). All allegations of the Complaint(s) are denied unless expressly admitted herein. 1. The Defendant is at this time without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegation contained therein, and on that basis generally and specifically denies the allegation contained therein, and leaves the Plaintiff to provide proof. Defendant demands strict proof thereof. 2. The Defendant is at this time without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegation contained therein, and on that basis generally and specifically denies the allegation contained therein, and leaves the Plaintiff to provide proof. Defendant demands strict proof thereof. 3. The Defendant is at this time without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegation contained therein, and on that basis generally and specifically denies the allegation contained therein, and leaves the Plaintiff to provide proof. Defendant demands strict proof thereof. 4. The Defendant is at this time without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegation contained therein, and on that basis generally and specifically denies the allegation contained therein, and leaves the Plaintiff to provide proof. Defendant demands strict proof thereof. FURTHERMORE, Defendant DENIES every other allegation not previously admitted, denied or controverted. AS AND FOR AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES 1. Plaintiff's Complaint violates the Statute of Frauds as the purported contract or agreement falls within a class of contracts or agreements required to be in writing. The purported contract or agreement alleged in the Complaint is not in writing and signed by the Defendant or by some other person authorized by the Defendant and who was to answer for the alleged debt, default or miscarriage of another person. 2. Plaintiff failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Plaintiff's Complaint and each cause of action therein fail to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against the Defendant for which relief can be granted. 3. Defendant alleges that Plaintiff's actions are precluded, whereas Plaintiff's demands for interest are usurious and violate state and federal laws. 4. Defendant alleges that the granting of the Plaintiff's demand in the Complaint would result in Unjust Enrichment, as the Plaintiff would receive more money than plaintiff is entitled to receive. 5. Defendant reserves the right to plead other affirmative defenses that may become applicable and/or available at a later time, (for example, if a real party in interest is established for alleged account). 6. Defendant reserves the right to submit counterclaims that may become applicable and/or available at a later time, (for example, if a real party in interest is established for alleged account) including, but not limited to, violations of the Federal Truth in Lending Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Defendant prays this case be dismissed with prejudice along with any further relief the court deems just and proper. Further the defendant sayeth not. By the Defendant pro se Dated this 8/9/2017 Does this make sense? And do I need to respond to the affidavit in any way? I'm not well versed in this type of thing so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I am being sued by Midland Funding Group in Orange County, CA. I need to file a response within 30 days. I've read posts that has been very helpful, but I'm a little confused as to how to go about filing a response. The complaint was unverified and I want to go about using the General Denial form. If I use this, do I still have to go through the complaint paragraph by paragraph admitting or denying each allegation? Or is the General Denial form good enough? Once I file, how do I send this off? or if I can't send it off, who do I have send this off for me? Can it be my wife (having the same address)? Am I just sending it to the courts and they send it to the plantiff? How exactly does this work? 1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Midland Funding LLC 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Winn Law Group, A Professional Corporation 3. How much are you being sued for? $2,471.48 4. Who is the original creditor? Citibank, N.A., an issuer of Sears Premier Card 5. How do you know you are being sued? Received summons and complaint 6. How were you served? (Mail, in person, Notice on door) Handed to my wife 7. Was the service legal as required by your state? Yes 8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued? Received letters, but did not respond 9. What state and county do you live in? California, Orange County 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? October 8, 2014 11. What is the SOL on the debt? 4 years 12. What is the status of your case? Suit served? Motions filed? Suit served 13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) NO 14. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? NO 15. How long do you have to respond to the suit? 30 days, but since it was given to my wife instead of me 40 days 16. What evidence did they send with the summons? EXHIBIT A - Account Statement for the month of November 2014 Any kind of response would greatly be appreciated as I have never been through this process before...I just want this to go away.

Hi all, I've lurked as hard as I could and I'm still puzzled about my situation. I'm located in San Diego, California. I was served on 4/10/2017 through substitute service (although the summons says 4/11/2017). I did receive a mailed copy a few days later. They never attempted to serve before this. This was a summons regarding a case filed in 12/31/2013. So they took roughly 3 years and 4 months to serve me. No proof of service has been filed yet. The case type is Rule 3.740 Collections. The clock on the debt started in 1/02/2010 (within the SOL by 2 days). I bring this up because according to CRC 3.740: How can a proof of service be submitted more than 3 years after the case was filed? There's no request for alternative service methods that would've warranted them the ability to push out the deadline to 360 days... which would've still been violated. Can they still pursue this case if the stipulation in CRC 3.740 restricts them explicitly? Also, if they never file a proof of a service; and they're just trying to harass me, is me requesting a dismissal or filing an answer (where I generally deny everything) going to allow them leeway against never filing proof of service within the 180 days? They're also asking for 10% per anum on the principal amount, so allowing them 3 years to finally serve me lets them add 3 years of interest. Here's the register of actions for clarity: Case Number: ----------------------- Date Filed: 12/31/2013 Case Title: Persolve LLC vs. ---- [IMAGED] Case Status: Pending Case Category: Civil - Limited Location: Central Case Type: Rule 3.740 Collections Judicial Officer: Case Age: 1202 days Department: C-07 Future Events No future events Register of Actions 08/03/2014 Case reassigned from C-06 to C-07 effective 08/03/2014. 01/02/2014 Case initiation form printed. Notice of Case Assignment - Limited Collections SD 01/02/2014 Case initiation form printed. Notice of Case Assignment - Limited Collections SD 01/02/2014 Case initiation form printed. Notice of Case Assignment - Limited Collections SD 12/31/2013 Case assigned to Department C-06. 01/02/2014 Summons issued. 12/31/2013 Original Summons filed by Persolve LLC. 12/31/2013 Civil Case Cover Sheet filed by Persolve LLC. 12/31/2013 Complaint Demanding Less than $10,000 filed by Persolve LLC. Thanks

Hello, I'm new here. I'm being sued or summoned by PRA in California and I need your help please. I've been having problem after problem with my car, work, and with this lawsuit. Its made my life heavy and miserable. Any help would be greatly appreciated to take this weight off my shoulders. I was planning on ignoring it to be honest cause i dont have the money to hire an attorney. I've answered the questions necessary thats been requested by the admin/moderators. Thanks again ahead of time. *Note: I've left out specific info. If anyone needs more specific info I can message or email you. -Nehv 1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC 3. How much are you being sued for? Less than $5,000 for principal balance, costs of suit and "any such other relief as the court may deem just and proper" 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) Synchrony bank 5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) Not yet. Served with papers left at home while i was out and also got two letters from attorney services. 6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) Papers were dropped off on the floor. 7. Was the service legal as required by your state? I don't know. I'm not sure to be honest. Since the papers were just on the floor. Process Service Requirements by State - Summons Complaint 8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued? No contact what so ever with PRA before or after summons. 9. What state and county do you live in? Los Angeles, California 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) I believe in mid 2015. Never made a payment with the collection account with PRA. 11. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: Statute of Limitations on Debts Well in California it says the most is 4 years. 12. What is the status of your case? Suit served? Motions filed? You can find this by a) calling the court or looking it up online (many states have this information posted - when you find the online court site, search by case number or your name). As if today: Unknown disposition. 13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) No 14. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request, don't bother doing this now - it's too late. No 15. How long do you have to respond to the suit? (This should be in your paperwork). If you don't respond to the lawsuit notice you will lose automatically. In 99% of the cases, they will require you to answer the summons, and each point they are claiming. We need to know what the "charges" are. Please post what they are claiming. Did you receive an interrogatory (questionnaire) regarding the lawsuit? Here is an example of what the summons/complaint may look like: Sued by a Debt Collector - Learn How to Fight Debt Lawsuits I haven't been served yet. Where can I find the charges? I read all the paperwork. Can someone guide me? It says I "expressly or impliedly agreed to pay ... Balance" 16. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. They attached two billing statements of the original account with Synchrony Bank.

Recieved a Civil Summons listing Cap One as Plaintif being represented by Gurstel Chargo. This is for a debt listed at around 5k and was filed in Pinal County. First, I do not live in Pinal County nor have I ever. The summons did not come with ANY supporting documentation at all. There is no account number, contract, statements or anything for that matter. They are suing for breach of contract and didnt supply any documentation at all. Any guidance on how to respond to this summons would be greatly appreciated. This just seems very generic to me as if a JDB is actually suing me and not Cap One? I would assume that Cap One would at least provide some documentation with the summons? If it is a JDB I know its a violation by suing me in a county that I have never resided in. PLEASE HELP!

Hi everyone, Today I filed my answer and response to LVNV Funding LLC after they sent a summons to me via sheriff for an alleged debt of nearly 5K. What i noticed was that I never received an initial communication with them until I got this summons period. Secondly I've disputed this account on my credit report before and the original creditor listed it as disputed and never further pursued any action and they never verified it. Looking at my most current I pulled that account and creditor isn't even listed and from my credit reports from as far back as 2010 it showed the account as being disputed. The collection agency also isn't listed on my credit report. So I have a few questions to make sure I got everything covered: 1. Can they collect on a debt that was removed and never was reported again by the original creditor? 2. If I never received any information before getting a summons aren't they in violation of the FDCPA? 3. Since reporting a debt is considered collection activity is LVNV trying to circumvent the law by sending the summons hoping to get a default judgement because they nor the original creditor which I've disputed isn't reporting the debt? 4. I used Lexington Law and I still have the emails showing the original creditor removing the debt, can I just print this also as evidence especially with them being the company sent emails? Once again this account isn't present on my credit report and help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I got served by a JDB, for a debt of an amount under $3,000 and am working on making my response. Thanks in advance for help!