Got served by Citibank. Please help...

[koolbuddy]

I just got served a summon from Citibank Lawyer on 1/14/2012 by a city of Charlotte Police Office. I have 30 days to respond. I'm ill not working and my husband was disable with a terminal illness and currently on SSDI. I have written a letter to the creditor explaining our financial situation, yet they still bring me to court. What should I do?

Sue by Citibank.

Original Creditor Sears MasterCard

Summon served by a Charlotte PD.

SOL in NC is 3 years.

Last payment made in May of 211.

Amount $7000.00

Plaintiff's Attorney: Tonya L. Urps

Bernhardt and Strawser, P.A.

Complaints:

1 - The plaintiff is a National Bank located in the State of South Dakota.

(Is that possible for me to ask for debt validation? since the company

originally sign the contract with was Sears(Sears Master Card).

2 - That Plaintiff is informed and believes and therefore alleges that

Defendant is a citizen and resident of Mecklenburg County, North

Carolina, and of a legal age and under no legal disability.

(What should I respond to this complaint?).

3 - That Defendant owes Plaintiff $7000.00 for charges made by Defendant

to his/her Sears Gold Mastercard credit card account XXXXXXXXX0000

issued by Plaintiff or its predecessor in interest.

4 - That Plaintiff has made demand upon Defendant for payment of said

$7000.00, but no payment has been made.

5 - The credit card agreement provides that the Defendant will be held

liable for the Plaintiff's reasonable attorney fees, and Plaintiff has given

notice to Defendant as required by N.C.G.S 6-21.2.

6 - Based on the foregoing, the Plaintiff is entitled to have and recove of

the Defendant its reasonable attorney fees as provided by

N.C.G.S. 6-221.2.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for Judgment against Defendant in the

amount of $7000.00 interest at the rate of 8% per annum from the date

of entry of Judgment until paid, and the costs of this action, including

reasonable attorney fees as provided by N.C.G.S. 6-21.2.

Please help in how am I going to respond to these complaints.

regards,

bopha

Edited January 27, 2012 by koolbuddy

[usagi555]

You'll get help, but it's too late for any real analysis of what you have going on, at least from me. You should edit your post to make details sufficiently vague. None of us (except for the debt collectors and creditors lurking) care what the exact amount is. $7,000 is precise enough for us. Remove any exact details, including the last four numbers of the card.

One short answer, however, is that you are way beyond the point of debt validation. At this point you need to start learning about discovery. The other thing is that it doesn't matter if you can't pay when it comes to a judgment. The court at this point only cares if you actually owe the debt. Whether or not you can pay it is irrelevant. It's the legal system, not the justice system. Don't forget that. Ever. When whether or not you can actually pay comes into play is when it comes time to collect on a judgment. If and when it gets to that, it looks like you are judgment proof.

[koolbuddy]

Please help point out to me what should I do in Discovery?

thanks,

bopha

[usagi555]

Discovery is a process where parties exchange information upon request. There are rules governing it, which you need to know. Here is a link to NC's rules regarding discovery:

http://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/ByArticle/Chapter_1A/Article_5.pdf

You are also going to need to know the rules of civil procedure, of which discovery is part:

North Carolina General Assembly - General Statutes - Chapter 1A: Rules of Civil Procedure.

And the rules of evidence:

North Carolina General Assembly - General Statutes - Chapter 8C: Evidence Code.

I know, I'm dumping a lot on you here, but those rules are the rule book that civil court goes by. You need to know them. Not every single one as some won't ever kick in in your case, and you won't be able to learn them all at once, but you need to start now. One of the posters on here, Seadragon, believes that people should spend at least 2 hours a day on learning the rules and laws if they really want to win.

With discovery, forget about oral depositions. Those are expensive. Written depositions may be useless. Maybe not. You'll need to get the opinion of people who have actually dealt with them. You'll need to focus on document requests, requests for admissions and interrogatories simply for economic reasons.

Edit: Myself and others will be back with more specific help later. What I posted is like firehosing you, and I apologize for that, but you've been thrown into a tough situation and there's no way around it. Also, with that letter explaining your financial situation, I hope you didn't acknowledge that you owe the debt, or alternatively, I hope that they didn't keep it.

Edited January 27, 2012 by usagi555

[usagi555]

Now that I've had a little more time to think about your situation, you have a few options:

Fight like crazy. It sounds like you would be under a lot of pressure without this, and fighting will put you under pressure. That's your call.

Find out what you have that they can take (Your SSDI is off limits!) and if it is little or nothing, let them get the judgment that is useless for them.

File for BK7. It may seem like a bad idea to many people over $7,000, but it will give you peace of mind, especially if you have other debts that are going to be hitting you in the future. This is always an option after you lose the case should you decide to fight.

All of that being said, it sounds like you might be in a position to get some pro bono help from an attorney. I'd seriously look into that if I were you. Taking care of a terminally ill husband and trying to cram 3 semesters worth of law school education into a few months would be enough to grind most people into dust.

[Guest usctrojanalum]

With the situation you describe that you are in, I would not fight it. They have no assets of yours to take and you have bigger issues to deal with then something like this.

If you do fight it, you are going to have to deal with Court Dates, aggravation, and be under pressures you really do not want to be under over a credit card debt.

If you are truly asset-less are a judgment proof at the moment, the only thing that will really change in your life right now is that there is a judgment against you for whatever amount.

I rarely tell people to not fight a debt, but sometimes one needs to weigh both sides.

[usagi555]

With the situation you describe that you are in, I would not fight it. They have no assets of yours to take and you have bigger issues to deal with then something like this.

If you do fight it, you are going to have to deal with Court Dates, aggravation, and be under pressures you really do not want to be under over a credit card debt.

If you are truly asset-less are a judgment proof at the moment, the only thing that will really change in your life right now is that there is a judgment against you for whatever amount.

I rarely tell people to not fight a debt, but sometimes one needs to weigh both sides.

Yeah, I'm thinking about what it would do to my disabled sister who is on SSDI if her husband all of a sudden was terminally ill and she was getting sued by a CC company. I think it would completely destroy her.

[koolbuddy]

Thank you so much for all the advices. I never have any intention of denying this debt but with our financial situation wouldn't allow me to fulfill the promise I made with them. I just want help in answering to this summon, admit to everything the CA listed.

Again thanks,

bopha

[usagi555]

You are welcome. There's no eloquent way to put your situation. It sounds like life really took a crap on you.

Make sure you know what you have that they can take, if anything, though. If it really is nothing, you can put up a bit of defiance at the end when you tell them to come collect nothing. They don't care who you are, what your situation is, whether or not you can pay or even that you are a human being.

[legaleagle]

Some of this will depend on what you own, etc. Here are some basics for what they can do if they get a judgment:

North Carolina Judgment Enforcement North Carolina judgment collection agency

There are several members here from NC, they will weigh in on this. Normally, I would encourage people to fight Citibank, I hate them and they have several weaknesses. However, your situation is too stressful for you to start studying law and fighting in court. I doubt they can do anything to you. Your age and the manner of your husband's illness could be factors, but usually only if he is a veteran and the illness is service related. You have a homestead exemption in NC. I would also suggest getting a consultation with an attorney. DO NOT pick a debt collection attorney. That would be like going to a dumpster to find a good meal. Pick an estate planner or a bankruptcy attorney.

[racecar]

Bernhardt and Strawser, P.A.

We are members of the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys (NARCA) and we also buy credit card and loan accounts through various sellers of accounts.

[racecar]

LANC-Charlotte Office

1431 Elizabeth Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28204-2506 MAP

704-971-2621; 1-800-738-3868 (toll-free; for clients only)

FAX: 704-971-0180

The staff of Legal Aid of North Carolina - Charlotte Office provides legal assistance in civil matters (non-criminal matters) to eligible, low-income clients who have problems with their basic needs and live in the area surrounding Mecklenburg County .

[koolbuddy]

Does anybody know that Citibank will accept a payment plan?

thanks,

[usagi555]

Does anybody know that Citibank will accept a payment plan?

thanks,

Even if they say they don't, they will if it's the only way they'll get the money. Since you are probably judgment proof, I'm guessing that would be the only way they'd get their money. They're greedy and desperate. Even if they don't and they start harassing you with endless debt collector calls, we'll help you chase those guys off.

[legaleagle]

The payment plan they will accept is the one they sent you every month. It's called a credit card statement. They want all their money, period. They don't care how they get it. If you are judgment proof, they get nothing.

[Seadragon]

I think that if you get a fee waiver and kick the can down the road you would have time to think.

If you can demurrer it would help to give time to talk about settlement and a payment plan. If you do something like demurrer because it is vague and ambigous it will allow you to negotiate with them(ewwww).

If you make an offer of 40% and a payment plan of 50 dollars a month it will go along way to making it easier. but do not sign a stipulated judgement.

These are some good options,