chaberek Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 Got a summons letter Oct9.Sued by lawyers from Chicago representing Great Seneca, from Maryland.It's an old Providian acc, charged off about 2 years ago for @$1480. I have sent validation letters right away by cmrr to both of them. Planning on goin to the court on oct26th and deny anything they say.Is this good stragedy?What are the things I could say?Please help.p.s.I'm checking if great seneca is licensed in IL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 Did the summons just say show up, or were there charges that you need to answer before hand? If charges, be sure to reply...If you've just been called to show up, then go armed with a copy of the FDCPA with the portions about debt validation underlined for the judge. You basically want to say...gee, I don't really know if this is mine or not, the attorney hasn't sent me anything to validate... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaberek Posted October 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 ok, thanks.How do I reply to summons(There are charges to reply to)- do I write a letter of explanation?Is there a copy of the form anywhere?Do I serve this reply to the lawyer before a court day?Thank you for your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 Look in the "Is there a Lawyer in House" forum. There are lots of examples there. Read them in detail...but in general, you respond to most of the questions with "Defendant lacks sufficient knowledge to confirm or deny"...in other words, don't anything more than your name.But...like I said...do some more reading over there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaberek Posted October 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 sol is out- it's 10 years in IL and 10 years in IN where I lived before.Please help, I would like to give my written answer to these guys before monday.Thank you all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenrant Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 Hi, I'm near Chicago, too, Dupage County. You may need to compose and file an answer to the summons but, before you do, call your county clerk and see what is required for the court to which you have been summoned. In some Illinois county court systems, your appearance at the first call is considered as your "appearance" and "response" and no paperwork has to be filed - you just show up for your first call. If the principal amount of your suit is under $5,000 you may be in small claims court. The next tier may be court annexed arbitration and, again, you may not have to file your response until after the first call. Filing a response could cost you $125+, and some counties insist that you file a formal appearance before they will let you file a response or other papers so your filing fees could be double that amount (depending on your county and the principal amount of your suit). In anticipation of your court date you may want to spend a bit of time as a spectator in the court to which you have been summoned to see how these types of proceedings are handled and how the judge reacts - you will learn a lot. Here in Dupage (in small claims), you appear and confirm or deny that you owe the plaintiff the money they are seeking. You are not sworn at that time so you can disagree – you might be disagreeing to owing them any money at all or just to the amount they are seeking. If you disagree, then a trial is set – that’s when you get to present your evidence and the OC gets to present theirs. In court annexed arbitration, you appear and confirm or deny, then, if you deny, the next step is to file a response, then it moves to interrogatories (discovery) and then to an arbitration hearing. BTW, Dupage, Cook, Kane and Lake counties all have different rules. It’s been my experience here in Dupage that when a suit is brought by the OC you really don’t have much wiggle room. The judges accept copies of previous account statements as debt validation or they may just look down at you after you are sworn and ask you flat out if it’s your debt. You may not agree with the amount they are seeking and you can move forward through the process to have the OC produce an accounting. However, it’s pretty certain that the plaintiff will make their case for your liability for the debt without too much difficulty and you will get a judgment against you for some amount. The courts are judgment factories for the OCs and their lawyers may have 50+ cases up at one call. These lawyers do this day in and day out. You may observe them to be smarmy but they are definitely effective. A high percentage of defendants don’t bother to show up and the plaintiff is granted a default judgment immediately. You may go through the process by stonewalling but the judge could then be piqued that you have wasted the court's time and be unsympathetic when it comes to setting the terms of your judgment payments. You may want to consult an attorney if your defense is that you have been the victim of identity theft or fraud. Or, you may want to use the process to make the OC prove their accounting. But unless you have a viable defense to your liability for the debt in total, I’d consider beginning settlement discussions with the OC’s lawyers. Hopefully, you will be able to settle at a decent amount and good re-payment terms and avoid a judgment.Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but this is what I have observed and experienced in working my way through four recent lawsuits where the plaintiffs were OCs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaberek Posted October 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2004 thank you for an info, I'm droping my answer on Monday, my question is do I still have to be there on Tue( the court day). I'm assuming I do.Thank you so much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retmar Posted October 24, 2004 Report Share Posted October 24, 2004 Most definitely show up for any and all scheduled appearances. Just make sure you have all of your evidence and answers in hand so you can show the Judge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghacorp Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 For those of you who don't already know, Great Seneca is owned by UNIFUND, an OHIO debt buyer. They typically use Wolpoff & Abramson based in MD then assign to local lawyers in their syndicate. Like Asset Acceptance these folks attempt to sue as often as possible in small claims courts because in those venues it's a hell of a lot easier and less hassle to get a quick default judgment! One way out of the mess may be to swear your identity was stolen and make them prove otherwise. I am not so sure that if you signed an affadavit to that effect even when not true that you would necessarily be at great risk. They would still have to validate some way to prove otherwise and usually debt buyers will then go after easier prey. Any lawyers have an opinion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaberek Posted October 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Went to court today, but they just took my nitice of appearance, $110 and my answer. Have to show up again in @2 weeks.Drooped my answer in Plaintiff's office as well, maybe they will call me(hopefully wit a settlement offer). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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