Jphilli Posted July 27, 2019 Report Share Posted July 27, 2019 Hello! Today, I had received a summons taped on my door from Midland funding LLC, stating that I had to answer a complaint due to unpaid credit card bills. I'm not sure what I should do because I have never been in this position before. (They didn't even knock on my door to serve me with the summons, as I was home all day, they literally just taped them to the door.) They were dated for may and June, but I had just received them today so I'm not even sure that I can send in an answer since it says I have 20 days to do so. I'm really worried about having a judgement placed on me, as I'm in nursing school right now and also have two children, so it's not like I have a ton of money to have garnished from my wages. I'm also getting married in two weeks and don't want my debts to fall on my fiance from my mistakes. I'm not sure what to do, and any advice would be appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wernda1234 Posted July 27, 2019 Report Share Posted July 27, 2019 Welcome to the board! Please answer the questions in this link so we can help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clydesmom Posted July 27, 2019 Report Share Posted July 27, 2019 9 hours ago, Jphilli said: They didn't even knock on my door to serve me with the summons, as I was home all day, they literally just taped them to the door. This is known as "tack and nail" service and is legal in NY. 9 hours ago, Jphilli said: They were dated for may and June, but I had just received them today so I'm not even sure that I can send in an answer since it says I have 20 days to do so. You have 20 days from when you found it on the door to answer the suit. 9 hours ago, Jphilli said: I'm really worried about having a judgement placed on me, as I'm in nursing school right now and also have two children, so it's not like I have a ton of money to have garnished from my wages. Unfortunately NY is not a state that prohibits wage garnishment for civil debts and Midland will not care if garnishing does not leave you with enough money to pay your other bills. The two most important pieces of information needed right now is WHO did Midland buy the account from and how much (rounded off) are they suing you for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jphilli Posted July 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2019 They purchased both accounts from Synchrony, one is for 1,734.42 and the other 1,069.54 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jphilli Posted July 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2019 1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Midland Funding llc 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Stephen Einstein and Associates 3. How much are you being sued for? 1,735 for one, and 1,070 for the other 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) Synchrony 5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) Yes 6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) Taped to my door 7. Was the service legal as required by your state? I believe so 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? I don't think any 9. What state and county do you live in? Chautauqua county, new york 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) according to the summons, 1/26/18 11. When did you open the account (looking to establish what card agreement may be applicable)? I think 2016? 12. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 6 years I beliece Statute of Limitations on Debts 13. 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). 14. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) No, I have not 15. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request before being sued, it likely won't help create FDCPA violations, but disputing after being sued could be useful to show the court that you dispute the debt ('account stated' vs. 'breach of contract'). No 16. 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? 20 days. It says: 1. Plaintiff is an active foreign entity conducting business in the state of CA 2. Upon information and belief, defendant resides or is employed in the state of New York, county of Chautauqua or that the defendants transacted business with within the jurisdiction and venue where this action is brought in person or through an agent and that the instant cause of action arose out of said transaction. 3 upon information and belief the defendant hereto entered into a retail charge account agreement with plaintiffs predecessor, in interest, synchrony bank bearing account # ________ wherein defendant agreed to pay synchrony bank all amounts charged to said account by the authorized use thereof 4. Upon information and belief, the agreement containing the terms and conditions governing use of the credit account, including terms of payment were delivered to the defendant 5. Plaintiff, as purchaser and asignee of the account herein, owns and retains all beneficial rights and interests therein and plantiff has complete authority to settle, adjust, compromise and satisfy the same and that the assignor has no further interest in said account for any purpose. 6. Upon information and belief this obligation originated with synchrony bank with a chain of title as follows: Synchrony Bank Midland Funding LLC 7. Upon information and belief, defendant incurred charges by use of the said charge account, less and credits, in the sun of $1,734.42, no part of which has been paid, although duly demanded 8. Upon information and belief the date of last payment to said account was 1/26/2018 and the cause of action asserted herin is not outside the applicable statue of limitations for enforcing the debt Wherefore, plantiff demands judgement against defendant in the sum of $1,734.42 plus costs and dispursements in this action. Both say basically the same but different amounts due to different accounts Here is an example of what the summons/complaint may look like: Sued by a Debt Collector - Learn How to Fight Debt Lawsuits 17. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. Just the summons 18. How did you find out about this site? Google Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Seaward Posted July 28, 2019 Report Share Posted July 28, 2019 Because synchrony was the OC, arbitration is your best chance of getting this lawsuit dismissed. Read the first few posts of this thread. https://www.creditinfocenter.com/community/topic/329436-arbitration-overview-and-strategy-2018-most-up-to-date-info/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jphilli Posted July 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2019 So, essentially I should answer by denying everything and then file for arbitration? I apologize because I literally have zero experience with court, and I have zero knowledge what so ever, so I'm a bit nervous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby8900 Posted July 28, 2019 Report Share Posted July 28, 2019 4 hours ago, Jphilli said: So, essentially I should answer by denying everything and then file for arbitration? I apologize because I literally have zero experience with court, and I have zero knowledge what so ever, so I'm a bit nervous Here is a sample answer/affirmative defenses that you can get an idea from. SAMPLE ANSWER.pdfSAMPLE ANSWER.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brotherskeeper Posted July 28, 2019 Report Share Posted July 28, 2019 @Jphilli This recent thread is NY, Suffolk County, same debt buyer plaintiff, and Synchrony (PayPal) agreement. I realize this is frightening and stressful. Take your time to read up and ask questions. You have to submit an answer by the deadline, which gives some time to learn before you need to do anything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BackFromTheDebt Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 19 hours ago, Brotherskeeper said: @Jphilli This recent thread is NY, Suffolk County, same debt buyer plaintiff, and Synchrony (PayPal) agreement. I realize this is frightening and stressful. Take your time to read up and ask questions. You have to submit an answer by the deadline, which gives some time to learn before you need to do anything. I just wanted to jump on the bandwagon to emphasize the very good advice here. The people who have had the most success have usually been the ones who saw how others won a case, and did the same thing. There used to be a poster from my state who would look up cases in which the people suing him had lost. He would then drive sometimes a few hours to whatever courthouse and copy the records. Then he would file exactly the same thing and win. The OP doesn’t have to drive a few hours. Read the thread. See how someone in the same situation beat the same people. Then do the same thing and win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brotherskeeper Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 51 minutes ago, BackFromTheDebt said: There used to be a poster from my state who would look up cases in which the people suing him had lost. He would then drive sometimes a few hours to whatever courthouse and copy the records. Then he would file exactly the same thing and win. Excellent advice--as long as the fact pattern fits your case. If you have access to online filings you can save yourself the drive. 53 minutes ago, BackFromTheDebt said: Read the thread. See how someone in the same situation beat the same people. Then do the same thing and win. In Shelly7's case, she hasn't won quite yet. NY courts seem to take a very long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.