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I have a question about credit reporting. I know I can't remove a charge off but just trying to understand what happened before I pulled my report. Is there a way to get a copy of older credit reports? Brief summary (willing to give more details, just don't want to bore anyone with specifics) Synchrony bank/Care Credit card was charged off for $8200 in 2019 (DOFD in 2018) It was sold to a JDB, Credit Corp Solutions and they used Stillman law to sue me. It was a terrible time, I couldn't pay/panicked so I ignored everything until March 2022 (big lesson learned). I paid Stillman law for less than full balance early March 2022. They told me they do not "report to any bureaus but they do inform Credit Corp solutions that the account was paid". I was worried about what my report would show so I waited until the payment cleared and pulled my credit report on March 31, 2022. At that time, there was no reference to Synchrony Bank/Care Credit OR Credit Corp Solutions/Stillman Law on my credit report. I thought the reference to Synchrony/CC or credit Corp Solutions was removed but, after reading the board here, it seems like maybe it was never on my account? There's no way that Synchrony removed the charge off from my credit report in just a few weeks, right? Now that I know more, I'd love to see what my report looked like before I paid the balance. I ask asking this b/c I have a different charge off w/ Comenity/Crown Asset Management/D&A Services. It's for a measly $350. I'm willing to PIF but am trying to figure out if that's the right move, esp if comenity doesn't remove it. I guess I'm being hopeful that for some reason Synchrony removed the charge off and that might happen w/ the comenity one too. Thanks in advance...feel free to write and tell me I'm a fool

1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? MIDLAND FUNDING LLC BY ITS SERVICING AGENT MIDLAND CREDIT MANAGEMENT INC 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Kohn Law Firm S.C. 3. How much are you being sued for? $1,406.67 plus court costs 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) Comenity Bank - Meijer 5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) I was served. 6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) In person by Sheriff 7. Was the service legal as required by your state? Yes, to the best of my knowledge 8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued? Received mailed notices, sent my landlord a letter verifying residence, spoke with them. 9. What state and county do you live in? Illinois, Winnebago County. 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) 5/5/17 - $60.00 11. When did you open the account (looking to establish what card agreement may be applicable)? 6/23/15 12. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: Time has not expired on the debt for written, oral, and open-ended accounts. 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). Pending: First Return was on 3/5/20. Filed Appearance. Filed Motion for Continuance as I am not able to make the next status date (5/7/20) as I will be out of town for work. 14. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) No I have not. 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 disputing after being sued could be useful to show the court that you dispute the debt ('account stated' vs. 'breach of contract'). No I have not. 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? Appeared in person at first return on 3/5/20, filed Appearance, Filed Continuance. 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. Initial served with the summons, court filing, verification, final billing statement, Exhibit A: Bill of Sale, Affidavit of Lois Rieffer. Attached as Summons.PDF (I redacted personal information). After first return, was mailed additional documents: Meijer Credit Card Account Agreement, Comenity Bank charge off letter, Bill of Sale (They redacted information), Exhibit 1 to Bill of Sale: Asset Schedule (they redacted information), Account data from the bill of sale (database export it looks like), portfolio level affidavit (half of the page is whited out), Certificate of Conformity. Attached as Documentation.PDF (I redacted personal information. Also didn't include all statements, but they only include statements from 8/18/16 (balance at $931.64) - 1/18/18 ). 18. How did you find out about this site? Looking for information of on handling of these suits, found lots of good information out here! Questions: 1. Most of the stuff I've been reading is over a year old, so I wanted to see the best way of moving forward. It seems the invalid documentation/no contract loophole has been closed up as I'm sure the JDBs were sick of losing to this defense. 2. Is MTC Arbitration the best way to go? 3. I filed a continuance as I won't be able to be at the next status date. Can I file a MTC with the Continuance pending? It looks like @fisthardcheese, you are the most knowledgeable on this in IL, any help is appreciated!! documentation.PDF summons.PDF

Hello. I hope I am in the right forum. I am currently unemployed and I REALLY need some help regarding my issue. I am currently located in Dallas, TX (Dallas County). I received two letters in the mail today from two local attorneys. The first letter is from Rausch Sturm and the second letter is from Heston Law Firm LLC. The letter from Rausch Sturm has my name, the Creditor (Portfolio Recovery Associates), case# filed with the Dallas Co. court (precinct 1), account balance ($2,954.47) and account #. The letter from RS is dated September 16, 2019. Briefly, the letter says: "Dear <my name>: If you have any concerns regarding the resolution of your account, please let us know by calling......We want to understand your situation and work with you to agree on a reasonable payment arrangement to resolve your account." The back of the letter has the firm's contact info and the amounts needed to setup a payment arrangement. The letter from Rausch Sturm has my name, a Case # filed with the Dallas Co. court (precinct 1), account balance and account #. The letter is dated September 16, 2019. The second letter from Heston states the following: "We learned from the Dallas County Clerk's office that Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC filed a lawsuit against you on 8/26/2019 for an unpaid debt. We want to help you with the lawsuit. Over 95% of our clients never appear in court......" I called the court this morning and a lawsuit was filed, but I cannot see it online. I logged into credit karma and the original creditor is Comenity Bank, account may have been opened around 2014/2015. The statue of limitations in Texas is 4 years. As of right now, I have not been served. I didn't know a lawsuit was filed in the court until today. I have no info regarding a court date or any other court details. Should I seek free legal aid regarding this issue? As stated, I am currently unemployed and looking for a job. There's an option for a low monthly payment plan in the letter, but funds are VERY tight right now. I would hate to have to borrow money from family members because they have their financial obligations also. But, I haven't been served yet so I wanted to be proactive and figure out what my options are at this point. Any assistance would be helpful. ,

1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? MIDLAND FUNDING 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) It seems to be in-house lawyers for Midland Funding 3. How much are you being sued for? $2496 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) Comenity Bank/HSN 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) In person. 7. Was the service legal as required by your state? Yes. And he was quite nice. 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? I honestly didn't see anything via mail. As far as I know, it was just calls to my cell phone. 9. What state and county do you live in? Florida, Bay County (Fourteenth District) 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) Apparently February 2017 11. When did you open the account (looking to establish what card agreement may be applicable)? November 2014 12. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 4 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). We had a pre-trial conference, where the judge suggested we retire to a room to mediate; however, we were at an impasse. Because of this, a trial date was established for July 24, in judge's chambers. 14. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) No. Once HSN stopped sending letters, I'd forgotten all about it. 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 disputing after being sued 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? No, no questionnaire that I saw. 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. This is what's listed (they sent me a huge packet of documents): * Original Creditor Statements * Assignment/Bill of Sale/Seller Data Sheet * Letters to Defendant Basically, several credit card statements from HSN, along with three letters from Midland Funding that I never received. They also included: * Notice of Filing Documents in Support of Entry of Final Judgment * Plaintiff's Notice of Introducing Documents at Trial and Witness List * Plaintiff's Notice and Motion for Records Custodian Witness to Appear By Telephone at Trial * Plaintiff's Motion to Continue Trial (In the Plaintiff's Motion to Continue Trial, they state that they have opened a "dispute investigation and will be mailing a request for additional information and documentation to the Defendant to support her claim" (my claim was that the balance and date of last payment was incorrect). To date, 3 days before the court date, I've received no such request) 18. How did you find out about this site? I searched for information on being sued by Midland and this seemed to be the most helpful and insightful forum. ❤️ 18. Read these two links: I did, but I'm not sure if my refusal to settle at mediation constituted a waiver of my right to arbitration.

I've been reading through everything in this forum to help me prepare to defend a lawsuit brought on to me by Greene & Cooper (representing Midland Funding). The OC is Comenity Bank, and they sold it to Midland. The debt is $1600. I got served at the end of September, answered the suit denying all allegations, and was prepared to MTC arbitration in court. Well, on my court date, there was a local counsel representing Midland and when we went to mediate I gave her my MTC arbitration, and she was completely confused. She looked at my document for 30 seconds, then looked at the credit card agreement for another minute. She told me to hold on, called someone and spoke to them for 20 minutes out in the hall, then came back and said that they were going to oppose the arbitration. So we go before the judge (this is in Forsyth County, GA). I say that I would like to settle my dispute via arbitration, and here is my MTC, attached with the credit card agreement giving me the right to pursue this option. Then the judge asks the plaintiff, and she says that they oppose the arbitration because Greene & Cooper have no contractual obligations to me, and that if I wanted to arbitrate, that I'd have to take it up with the client - Midland Funding, who she also says has no agreement with me to arbitrate. Well the judge listened to her, then took my MTC and agreement and read it over. He said that I was allowed to pursue arbitration if that was my wish, and that I had that right, but then goes on to say how expensive it's going to be and if I really wanted to do this. Directing it at me. I told him about the clause that said the bank would be responsible for the fees associated with it, and he stops and asks again if I wanted to pursue it because I was the one that brought the MTC. I said yes. Then he said my MTC to compel arbitration was granted. The rep for Greene & Cooper didn't say anything. She just sat there, and said I would have to take it up with Midland and that they were just the attorneys representing them. The judge then says that I have to orally report the status of the arbitration scheduling to the court within 30 days. If I or the other party do not do this, then a status hearing will be scheduled. I'm getting worried because I don't know what to do next. The judge said it was my responsibility to find an arbitrator and schedule the process for it. That's not really what I wanted to happen. I was hoping that Greene & Cooper would file a motion to dismiss after realizing I wanted to arbitrate. HELP! Am I going to be responsible for arbitration fees? Do I need to schedule it? Do I need to send a copy of my MTC to Greene & Cooper or Midland? The rep there didn't take anything, and just left after the judge gave her a copy of the order. I'm so confused. Is there anyone that can help me to figure out what to do in this situation? I feel like the judge was annoyed that I presented an MTC arbitration, and was trying to make me think that I would have to do all the legwork and pay all the fees.

Hi everyone, I am new to the board and this is my first post. I am looking for some advice on how to proceed with two debts being collected on by Portfolio Recovery Associates. The first debt was originally owned by HSBC before they were bought by Capital One and the account balance is $1,900. The last payment was made sometime during 2013 and was later charged off. The other debt was originally owned by Comenity Bank, the last payment was also in 2013 before it was charged off and the balance is $1,400. I was not aware of what the debts were at first so I sent a debt validation letter to PRA. So far they have "validated" only the Comenity Bank debt by sending me copies of 3 credit card statements, one showing the balance that they are requesting. I am now worried sick that they will attempt to sue me for the debt as I am now trying to rebuild. I have been reading a lot about junk debt buyers, settling, and arbitration but I am unsure as to what steps I need to take next or if I do nothing at all and just wait to see what they do. I'm hoping someone can offer advice on what my options are and what I should do to attempt to protect myself from a judgement being placed on my CR. Any advice? Thank you in advance!