I received a Summons

[patcat16]

Hello i am new to this board and i need help!! I received a summons in the mail yesterday from Asset Acceptance. I have to appear in court within the next 20 days. I don't know what to do. I have no money to pay the debt. If i don't appear they will place a judgement against me. I have 2 checking accounts--one i share with my mother (i am the primary), which has my mothers unemployment money automatically deposited into it and the other i have my paycheck automatically deposited into my accout (and child support when he feels like paying it), I heard they can't place judgements against that money..is this true?? I was also advised to send a debt validation letter to asset acceptance, but it has been more than thirty days since they have first contacted me, can i still use that? A law firm contacted me and i made a verbal agreement to pay 50 a month because i got scared but i can't do it amongst my other bills. I paid the first month but haven't paid since (that was in august). I dont know what to do. And what is the statute of limitations in new york because this account was opened in '01 and they started contacting me sometime last year. Alson on my credit report it states i opened the account in '05 and i disputed it saying i never opened an account with them. Do you have any advice on what i should do?? Please respond asap!! Thank you.

[ShortBus]

First, welcome to the boards!

Now take a deep breath. You have almost three weeks to figure out your plan. And it's a very good thing that you came here asking for help as quickly as you did.

SOL in NY is six years, which depending on when you first went delinquent on the account would mean that yes, you do have an affirmative defense and could tell Asset to take a long walk off a short pier. But by making that $50 payment in August, you might have reset the SOL. I'm not familiar with NY law on this point. Someone else might have more knowledge regarding that.

To best help you, you'll need to provide us with more information. Please take a moment to read the questions in this thread, and post your answers here.

[patcat16]

1. Who is suing you? Asset Acceptance, LLC

2. For how much? The debt is for $916.15 But it says if i don't appear a judgement will be placed against me for that plus interest from 7/09/07 and the costs of the action.

3. Who is the original creditor? Citibank (they sold it to these jerks)

4. How do you know you are being sued? I received a summons in the mail yesterday. At the top in small print it says "Important: You are being sued!!"

5. How were you served? Were you served? No i wasn't served, they tried but i wasn't home and my dad didn't accept it.

6. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued? I think i spoke to them once or twice but they wanted me to pay it in full but i had no money and they wouldn't accept anything else (they would offer a lower like 650 but i had no money) so i just kept ignoring the calls. I got a couple of letters in the mail.

7. Where do you live? New York

8. When is the last time you paid on this account? Date of status on my credit report says 4/2003 so i think that is it. But i paid the 50 in august.

9. What is the status of your case (if anything has been opened)? You can find this by a) calling the court or looking it up online (many states have this information posted daily).I'll have to call the court later.

10. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?)yes i disputed the collection agency stating that i(me physically) never opened the account with them. I haven't received an answer yet.

11. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? If not, don't bother doing this now.NO

12. Does your summons require a response? (Look hard!) If you don't get a questionnaire with your summons, you are still probably required to answer it in writing. 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?Yes and no questionaire

13. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affadavit? A statement from the OC? Anything else they attached as exhibits? A complaint-I entered into a revolving credit agreement, the assignor performed all conditions on its part, I defaulted and now owe 916.15, my obligation was sold to the plaintiff (asset acceptance). They are demanding judgement of 916.15 plus interests and costs.

14. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 6 years

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebu...itations.shtml

[Recovering Attorney]

You want to avoid a default judgement.

As far as teh two bank accounts, I do not think child support payments, once they hit your account, are exempt.

I would be worried about the other account. While it is true your mom's government checks are exempt, if it is goiong into an account in your name, they will likely be subject to restraint by an unknowing lawyer and an uncaring bank. You may want to rethink that setup.