NellInfo Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 My husband has a HSBC store card ($4k balance) in which he fell delinquent on when he lost his job early last year. The account went to a collections law firm and I sent the law firm a debt validation letter in which then they provided the creditors info and amount and at that point I tried to offer them a settlement of 30% and they never responded to the settlement letter. Couple months went by and I received a letter from a new collections law firm in my state and I did a debt validation letter again and they responded with the current creditors name, original creditor name, amount (which is about $400 more than the balance) and account number. It’s been less than a month that I received the letter back from them and my husband received a summons yesterday that he was being sued and has 20 days to respond to the summons. I don’t have $4k to pay to them right now. Can anyone advise what we should do? What is the likelihood that they follow through with the summons? Is it too late for us to try to send them a settlement letter since we received the summons? What other steps should I take to not be brought to court or prolong the process until I can come up with some additional money? Thanks for all the great advice on this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALVA Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 You need to answer the summons as you have been sued. You can try to get them to drop the suit, but there's really no reason to believe they will do so.Check the court procedures in your area, and try to consult with attorneys if you can to get basic questions answered. Many states have pre-trial settlement conferences etc. so it's not necessarily a slam-dunk on the 4k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NellInfo Posted April 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 So does it make sense to try to offer a settlement at this time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALVA Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 You can try, but tell them you'll only work with them if they drop the suit, and ensure they follow through by getting strict proof.What you don't want is to work out a settlement then have them get a judgment anyway.I personally wouldn't do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NellInfo Posted April 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Ill try that. Thanks for responding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OU812B4 Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Is there a court file number on the summons? Check with the court to see if it has been filed. It is your decision, but I wouldn't offer to settle. They probably won't want to anyway since if you do not respond to the summons, they will get a default judgement and they will get the total amount you owe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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