Being sued by PRA in Illinois - Any tips would be appreciated

[DucoNihilum]

1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit?

 

Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC

2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.)

 

Michael Polk Freedman Anselmo Lindberg, LLC

3. How much are you being sued for?

 

$1,000.48

4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff)

 

GE Capital Bank

5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?)

 

Served papers

6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door)

 

In person

7. Was the service legal as required by your state? 

 

Yes

Process Service Requirements by State - Summons Complaint

8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued?

 

They called me several times. I hung up on them. They also sent information to my house. 

9. What state and county do you live in?

 

St Clair County, Illinois

10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations)

 

Last payment on record as far as I can tell: 09/17/2010

11. What is the SOL on the debt? 

 

In Illinois, 5 years.

12. What is the status of your case? Suit served? Motions filed? You can find this by a) calling the court or   looking it up online (many states have this information posted - when you find the online court site, search by case number or your name).

 

Answer filed: Bench trial scheduled for next week

13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?)

 

No

14. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request, don't bother doing this now - it's too late.

 

No

15. How long do you have to respond to the suit? (This should be in your paperwork). 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? 

 

Bench Trial already scheduled

16. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits.

 

Only evidence is signed affidavit, they list "business records", but do not attach any. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alright, so I have a few questions, but the important point for me really is what I should do / ask for when it comes to my trial date. Here's a few key points that are going on in my mind.

 

 

* They only have an affidavit. Is this enough to collect? What other information should I ask for at court. How should I examine this information? 

 

* The original charge off amount was $632, that was after fines and fees with a 500 dollar credit card limit. Now they are asking for over 1000 dollars. Is this legal?

 

* Should I ask for at least the actual physical last statement and proof of my last payment?

 

* GE Capital Bank is headquartered in Virginia, who has a statue of limitations of 3 years. In my home state of Illinois, it is 5 years. I can't use their states SOL can I?

 

* This is a quote from the affidavit "“According to the records transferred to the Account Assignee from the Account Seller, and maintained in the ordinary course of business by the Account Assignee, there was a due and payable from [ME] to the account seller in the sum of $1,000.48

with the respect to account number ending in 9009 as of the date 5/31/2011. " However, the charge off was for $632, and it was charged off on 09/17/2010 according to my credit report. What gives?

 

[debtzapper]

This thread may be useful.  Read the IL statutes and cases, particularly their failure to attach a copy of the instrument.  When you go before the judge, say they have not complied with IL law and their suit should be dismissed.

 

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/community/topic/325008-sued-by-velocity-investments-llc-in-illinois/

[DucoNihilum]

Here is all of the information that I was given.

 

 

I, the undersigned, being duly sworn upon oath  deposes and claims that defendant(s) is/are indebted to the plaintiff(s) in the sum of $958.61 as of April 18, 2014 for breach of agreement for credit opened on or dated May 1, 2 008 and that the plaintiff(s) [PRA] has/have demanded payment of said sum; that the defendant(s) [ My name] reside(s) at [ my address]; that the plaintiff(s) [PRA] reside(s) at 140 Corporate Boulevard, Norfolk, VA 23502. Plaintiff acquired on or about February 14, 2012 for a valuable consideration, all right, title and interest in the account heretofore stated originally owed by defendant(s) to [u.S. BANK]. Plaintiff seeks judgement for the amount claimed above plus costs of this action.

 

Affidavit

 

State of Virginia

City of Northfolk ss.

 

I, the undersigned, Donna Dangerfield, Custodian of Records for PRA, LLC hereby depose, affirm, and state as follows:

 

1. I am competent to testify to the matters contained herein.

 

2. I am an authorized employee of PRA, (“Account Assignee”) which is doing business at Riverside Commerce Center, 120 Corporate Boulevard, Norfolk, Virginia, and I am authorized to make the statements, representations and averments herein, and do so based upon a review of the business records of the account Assignee and those records transferred to the Account Assignee from US BANK (“Account Seller”), which have become a part of and have integrated into the Account Assignee’s business records, in the ordinary course of business.

 

3. According to the business records, which are maintained in the ordinary course of business, the account, and all proceeds of the account are now owned by the Account Assignee, all of the Account Seller's interest in such account having been sold, assigned, and transferred by the Account Seller on 2/14/2012. Further, the Account Assignee has been assigned all of the Account Seller’s power and authority to do and perform all acts necessary for the settlement, satisfaction, compromise, collection or adjustment of said account, and the Account Seller has retained no further interest in said account or the proceeds thereof, for any purpose whatsoever.

 

4. According to the records transferred to the Account Assignee from the Account Seller, and maintained in the ordinary course of business by the Account Assignee, there was a due and payable from [MY NAME] (“Debtor and Co-Debtor”) to the Account Seller the sum of $1,000.48 with the respect to account number ending in 9009 as of the date of 5/31/2011 with there being no known un-credited payments, counterclaims, or offsets against the said debt as of the date of the sale.

 

5. According to the accounts records of said Account Assignee, after all known payments, counterclaims, and/or setoffs occurring subsequent to the date of sale, Account Assignee claims the sum of $1,000.48 as due and owing as of the date of this affidavit.

 

6. Plaintiff believes that the defendant is not a minor or an incompetent individual, and declared that the Defendant is not on active military service of the United States.

[LouiePark]

I recently got a PRA lawsuit against me in IL dismissed because at the trail they could not prove I owed anything, it was a different attorney and the amount was about the same. You won't believe how simple it is!

Read my posting From today: "being used by JDB in IL. Read this"

[DucoNihilum]

For a clarification question, what exactly is the "instrument" 

[gwheelock915]

1. I am competent to testify...

Objection: Says who? (Unsubstantiated statement of fact)

 

2. I am an account assignee...

Objection: Affiant's position as ______, without description, does not establish that the affiant has personal knowledge or is competent to testify as to the Defendant's alleged account.

 

3. Phoney Balogna

Objection: Check out In re: DeLarco and Corrigan v Cole Taylor Bank

 

And so on and so forth.

 

Do you see what you need to do? You need to attack the affidavit. There will be no one there to back up the claims,