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Background Moved out on my own about two years back. I had assumed all of my important mail was forwarded to my new address. To my shock, after a visit to my old residence, a member of my family hands me a packet of papers informing me that I'm being sued. This totally sucks... I'm lost and unsure of what steps I need to take to ensure I can resolve this. I've never been sued before so this a bit daunting to me. I have been reading a few forums on here and while it has been helpful I must say the information overload is very real and overwhelming. If anyone one has any advice on how I can proceed with putting this behind me my ears and mind are open. Additional Information 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.) - Cooling & Winters, LLC / Cooling and Winters LLC 3. How much are you being sued for? - $1,200 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) - Synchrony Bank / Amazon.com 5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) - I received papers from a family member. 6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) - A family member was served and I received the papers from them. 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, as far as I know, I had no idea who they were until I did a little bit of googling (more information below) 9. What state and county do you live in? - Georgia, Habersham County 10. When is the last time you paid for this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) - 2012-2014 11. When did you open the account (looking to establish what card agreement may be applicable)? - 04/ 11 /2012 12. What is the SOL on the debt? - 6 years 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). - I was unable to find my case online but it says Suit on Account on paper. I've attached scans of the papers I received below blanking out personal information. 14. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) - No I have not disputed the debt with the credit bureaus both the original and current collectors. 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 I have not requested debt validation. 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? - I was given 30 days to respond. I’m unsure if it’s from the 21st of March or the 23rd. I will include a scanned copy of the paperwork that I received but I’m going to assume the 21st since to be on the safe side. Also, there is an affidavit dated much earlier on the 9th of March would that actually be the deadline? If so I’m totally screwed… I am unsure if I received an interrogatory. What would that be? The “Charges” are: The Plaintiff says the defendant is indebted to the plaintiff as follows: Default on Account. That said claim is in the amount of: SEE ATTACHED COMPLAINT ( Complaint ) 17. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. - The Evidence I was sent are as listed: - An Affidavit - A Statement of Claim - Exhibit 1 A Statement from 11/15/2012. - Exhibit 2 A Statement from 05/15/2012. - Exhibit 3 The Credit Card Agreement. - Exhibit 4 A Bill of Sale between Synchrony and PRA. - And for Reference the first page out of all the others in the packet with the serving date being 03/21/2018 0r 03/23/2018, but I'm going to assume the 21st. ( Serving ) My Questions 1. What actions should I begin to take? I have not filed an answer in fear that I may end up doing something wrong that is irreversible. 2. Please, If you anyone can point me to other threads with a similar situation as mine that can give me some kind of guideline on how I should go about this I'd greatly appreciate. 3. Would it be best for me to just go ahead and pay this off if I currently have the money or would I be better off fighting the case? 4. Is this just a hopeless effort in a losing battle? I'm totally drained. I really am kinda lost right now. If anyone's got any actionable advice I'm all ears. Thank you for taking a look. If any more information is needed on my side to help in understanding my situation please let me know. I work the graveyard shift but will do my best to respond as promptly as possible. Once again thanks for taking a look.