Getting Sued (probably) My old companys debt.

[evmo]

Hello everyone.

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this question so Mods please feel free to move it.

Over the last year or so I started an LLC and rang up a little less than $2,000 in credit card debt from Chase. Things went bad with our supplier, and as a result the LLC never made any money. As it stands right now I'm a pretty much broke, unemployed, college student living off some minimal saving and the money I get from student loans. The only thing I own worth any money is a ZZR600 (motorcycle) that I paid off earlier in the year and a beat up old Jeep.

I've been ignoring the phone calls as people tend to do, but today I was informed that someone came to the house I used to live in (and also listed as the LLC address) with papers to serve me. They didn't accept them so as of yet I haven’t been served and I don't think they can find me at this address.

I also just found out that they sent a letter saying that they intended to sue me.

My question is...What should I do? I'm a little freaked out by all of this.

EDIT:The card was issued using a company account. The card lists my name and the LLCs name.

Edited December 23, 2010 by evmo

[skippy1960]

Well the good news is you have some additional time to prepare for what is coming. The bad news is that this account sounds as if it could fall under a business debt versus consumer debt.

Consumer Debt offers significant types of protection that business debt doesn't recieve. I would start by gathering up my old papers that you have from the account. Cardmember agreements anything you may have signed and still have a copy of.

You may want to review the letter they sent and see if it has any consumer warnings regarding the FDCPA or Rosenthal Act, this would be a clue as to how they are viewing the account. " It may say you have 30 days to dispute the validity of the debt, blah, blah if you don't we will assume the debt is valid.

Once you can give us a bit more information, then we can be a bit more helpful. Need to know is Chase suing you or is that letter from some other company, don't need the name exactly want to protect your privacy.

You can dodge them for a while, but eventully you will need to address the issue.

[evmo]

Thanks! I'm going to go retrieve that letter tomorrow and I'll update everyone.

[nascar]

How you proceed will depend in large part on how the lawsuit is being captioned. For instance, if the LLC alone is the defendant, your response will be different than if you're being sued as as individual.

[evmo]

Hi everyone. Hope you're all having a Merry Christmas!

The text of the letter they sent is as follows:

Dear John Doe,

We are the in-house council for Chase Bank USA. Due to your failure to pay the balance due on your account, we have been instructed to file suit against you. Additionally, as required by law, you are hereby notified that a negative credit report reflecting your credit record may be submitted to a credit reporting agency if you fail to fulfill the terms of your credit obligations.

Once a judgment is obtained, your income may be garnished and other personal property subject to levy may be seized to satisfy the judgment. If you own real property, liens could be placed thereon.

In addition to the $**** due on your account, the judgment may include costs of the suit, interest and attorney fees at the discretion of the court. You are hereby notified that, if the balance due on your account is less than $5,000, we opt not to use small claims court and you could be liable for additional amounts up to the costs of the suit, and when allowed by law, attorneys' fees. Judgments can remain in your record for up to ten years or longer.

Filing of this lawsuit is unavoidable. However, to avoid the unnecessary progression of the lawsuit to judgment and eventually wage garnishment please contact one of my legal assistants, immediately for repayment options at the number indicated above upon receipt of this letter. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Signed

END OF LETTER

As of now I have still not been served. My old companies name is not mentioned anywhere in the letter, so I assume they're trying to go after me as an individual.

[evmo]

Anyone?