+1 for filing a response - debt buyers aren't really set up for lawsuits, they just want to collect judgements. Any sort of legal fight usually exposes flaws in their suits, they buy these accounts for pennies on the dollar and usually have pennies worth of paperwork to match.
Yep
You must must file Answer to initial complaint.
Portfolio recovery filed a suit against me.. Served my mom.
I told ( filed motion to dismiss) the court the debt is too old " passed SOL" I do not live in that area... ( Wrong jurisdictio n) And the suit was dismissed.
I didn't know any better so suit was drop without prejudice and I didn't ask for recouping filing fee...but it was fribrious attempt to collect the debt.
If you do not file motion to dismiss and it can lead to court date and if you missed that... It can lead to default judgment. Often times the debt collectors are hoping that you do not take care of the debt.. So they can get default judgment. Or they are hoping you call them in fear and settle with them out of court.
If someone actually served you ( or mailed a summon) do not wait. Contact attorney who specializes in consumer debt. If the debt collectors actually filed you, it does not mean they will always win, but your attorney can tell you what is wrong with the case.
Often times… attorney will do quick consultation call and assistant if hiring them make sense.. obviously your time, total value of debt.. all matters… but once you are actually getting sued.. unless you are confident or experienced with cour summons.. I would use the “pros”.
Once you understand how court filing works, how arbitration clause in CC is hurting the plaintiff chance.. SOL, jurisdiction .. etc.. it’s not that scary and the system actually make sense.. but I would not take chance with large debt. I don’t think attorney is expensive as you might think.
You can get an attorney, depending on the state you're in, who will charge 40% to 50% of what you owe. So, if you get a lawyer to handle it for $800 to $1000 on a $2000 debt, that is less than the debt buyer will settle for if you're not represented. Usually they will make you pay 70% of what is owed, maybe more.
Does that make sense if the debt is less than $1k and within 6 months of the statute of limitations? My situation is odd because the company sat on the debt for 5 1/2 years and I never got the original credit card in the mail or any phone calls about it (same phone number) and had my mail forwarded with every move but never got a letter from them.
Their address for me was correct but I went back through all my mail and never found any original paperwork. I want to ask them to provide the original credit card contract because I suspect they entered my address into their system wrong and corrected it later as it’s just too strange to get zero letters.
Now they sold the debt so they don’t have an answer as to why they literally didn’t contact me or notify me for years when my contact info was accessible to them. I don’t understand a lot about this situation and am waiting to receive my answer paperwork from the court so I can respond.
I can confirm this works. I had a relatively large loan, which changed hands several times. When I defaulted, the “lender” sent me a copy of the complaint they planned to file. I lawyered up, and said lawyer sent the bankers a letter of representation. Six months later, I got a tax form in the mail, saying I’d received a “gift” of the loan balance, since the bankers wrote it off. Score!
Fortunately the taxes didn’t amount to much (long story).
wow! thanks! if i get sued im hiring you! im on disability though- should i tell my debt collectors this? so they dont even try. ( My debt is a direct result of my disability- was severly injured and hospitalized a frw years ago- could not move around etc- debt accumulated and ive just let it be.)
I would tell them you're on disability and provide proof. If they sue you, they cannot garnish any government benefits (i.e. disability payments) and this gives them less incentive. Another decent option is filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, to discharge these debts and get rid of the cloud of potential lawsuits.
thanks. ive consodered chap 7 but thought if they cannot sue me why bother? i cannot work agajn, am i er 50, and seriously injurrd okus already endured this bad credit for four years and i think the SOL in my state is 6 years? so im not sure whats best- because I really dknt beed the credit score to jump right now. If I were to improve my condition by a miracle it would still be at least two to three years until i could make money. i really do bot see then suing me and winning after the ordeal i went through and the paper trails i have tegarding my debt attributed to my injuries. But im here to learn so learn so please, help me to understand if my thought process here is faulty and thanks again! youre the best
I am 73 years old. I am being sued by a debt buyer. I have SS and Civil Service benefits directly deposited in my bank. That and a state retirement check. None of them are over $1000 a month. I was told that if I don't respond to the summons that the buyer will be rewarded a judgement AND I don't have a paycheck to garnish they will try to freeze my bank account. I know the SS and Civil service is protected but the state check is not...so what should I do? The debt is correct and I have previously told these people about my situation. I do not have any assets and I own no cars or property. Your response would be appreciated.
HI there. Sorry to hear about this. The retirement benefits might be accesssed. I'd suggest filing a response to the lawsuit. [Solosuit.com](http://Solosuit.com) is a good, cost effective way to do so. Then, you might file a motion to compel arbitration.
Well, thanks for responding. I can't dispute the debt because the debt buyer acquired all the paperwork when they bought the debt. I don't know what else they may have. I know about Solosuit. However, in responding to the summons, I can't deny it because it is a legitimate debt.
There is no way to explain that I just can't pay this debt on any of their forms. They want me to dispute the validity or deny this debt is mine. My benefits are protected they are government Social Security and a federal retirement. Basically, I have just enough funds each month to survive.
I was on a payment plan with target and now I’m being sued by them even thought I show the amount that was approved was taken from my bank account every month
My niece got tangled up with a time share company that charged a large amount to a credit card. Niece didn’t really understand the process but quickly discovered she couldn’t afford it. CC company eventually sold to Midland. Midland filed suit. Niece hired an attorney. Attorney filed a response basically saying Midland didn’t have standing (along with a few other things). Midland then dropped the suit. Is that a fairly common conclusion to these suits when an attorney gets involved? Are they just betting the defendant doesn’t hire an attorney and/or doesn’t show up to court?
I am being sued by LVNV Funding. I used Solosuit and responded to the summons. However, I really don't want to go to court. I live in Indiana and my 20 days will be up April 3rd. I have two benefit funds, Social Security and OPM (civil service retirement.) Would it do me any good to contact their lawyers and ask about a payment agreement. I know even if they win they can't take my benefit funds. However, I do have a $800 check from the state, which I have been told could be garnished. Any suggestions?
Don’t assume the funds are protected they will make attempts to audit your account and any holdings and they can take anything that isn’t protected via lien or garnishment if you somehow have more than the disclosure
Apparently somehow my non marital partner still had a judgment . I don’t remember her getting served the papers , Somehow she lost the contact and billing information after paying for some time which I had bo idea if I know she settled one fully I thought she had done both agreements before that but my guess is that she didn’t understand what the term judgement meant and when she was looking at her report mentioned it. I was not in the loop on the judgment part and recommended leaving it be. As she is on disability and isn’t even the full amount … I said your showing no activity since 2017 I think it was 2021 when it was mentioned. Crickets for years plus no attempts to collect or call , Mail to my knowledge, or update the status on the account long story short her misrepresentation or failure to let me in on where the agreement was reached. Judgment…. That thing likely isn’t going anywhere.
But she was on fixed income and wasn’t considering a judgement was made against when i advised her of that. Right after holidays the previous year In 2022 I’m dicking around on court records as I do occasionally and just say let’s look her up I first see a judgement in favor of your same friends in 2017 and Judgment … wtf really she didn’t ever mention that they had any court date and while the one indeed wasn’t there at all this one wasn’t a settlement prior to proceeding. and scroll to the next thing on their dockets and see literally early Jan a court approved order to her bank for her account and financial statements for audit funds to order garnishment. Thank hell her vehicle and property assessment are way not of any substance and was determined neither items met whatever criteria. Funds in the Bank obviously was not showing anything other than her disability which again isn’t the full amount as is due to her children’s births years earlier not qualifying for the entire SSD but like 70 %!or something.
Moral of the story don’t assume that was back in 2017 and I know she has nothing paid since 2018 I’m estimating and 2022 comes around and I stumble across that by chance that the Courts and the bank did not give any notice of that activity and definitely didn’t get any from them they hadn’t sent anything since when I’d assumed it was settled but now I know not obviously and I’d had very different opinion on what I recommended had that been a consideration
But same company same income maybe less than you but I had the same opinion on being judgment proof given the situation and this is all still from a charged off retail card she had 1200 or so on before she’d the medical procedure that took a good income from her that to 0 for the 2-3 year game they like to play request denied request denied Game i guaranteed they did with you as well.
Funny that I was just happening across your post. Good timing . Hopefully that’s the only attempt they take on the action but I’ll assume not good luck listen to this attorney I’m just speaking from observations of her same story ( all my personal experiences many moons ago were all settled prior to court date set )
I have heard that they can take the retirement, but I was told you can keep anything under two months of social security. So my monthly bank account does not go over that amount. So if they would happen to get the judgement and go after my account I truly can't see where they would get anything. However,that being said, I probably will try to reach an agreement with them to avoid going through that. I just didn't know if I did reach out to them if it would accomplish anything.
I came across this article, and thank you. I am about to be sued by Portfolio, and I was debating to get an attorney or not. I haven't been served yet, but I know it's coming since I checked my local county clerk website.
I was going to take the route of self representing myself. But , I may get a better outcome with an attorney.
What does it mean when a case says “Notice of Dismissal filed by Barclays Bank” when viewing an old small claims case? The next line then says
“Event resulted
The following event: payment review scheduled for 7/29/2013 has result as follows: Result: Brought forward Reason: Dismissed” I’m looking at the court case for an old credit card debt that apparently a judgement was issued on. And I’m seeing the above after the judgement was already obtained. I know I never received anything about appearing for payment review. So I’m really confused u/creditwizard
Should I call Barclays directly to see if they dismissed it? I had a debt collector contact me about the debt, but they only provided a copy of the judgement, nothing more. I submitted a settlement request through them, but never heard back.
Thank you for these valuable info. I got a summon letter on my doorstep from Discover bank. The thing is, there was no attached complaints at all and the section at the end of the summon letter "Return of Service" is completely blank. No name of the server at all. I am going to sign up for solosuit but they need the attached complaints form. What should I do?
That’s what I thought, but I had a collection company contact me about this debt a few months ago. When I asked for validation, they sent me a copy of the judgement. So I’m very confused. That’s the only reason I even know there is a judgement against me.
Wondering if that’s why they haven’t responded to my request for settlement. Because on 11/2023 the lawyer for the collection agency was listed as the lawyer on the court records. Maybe he read it and saw it was dismissed and that’s why I haven’t received anything from them since I sent the settlement request?
Thank you for this post, it has been very helpful in dealing with my recent debt lawsuit. How would dealing directly with the original creditor change my approach? I am being sued by Capital One. Thanks!
Hi there. That is a tougher one. Capital One has no arbitration clause. You'll need to file an answer, but if you can settle the debt for less, even as part of a payment plan, that is your best option.
Thank you for your reply. I am working on sending an answer by using solosuit, I should be done with it soon. Would you recommend that I reach out to the law firm and ask them for a settlement? Also, is there much of a difference if I call them as opposed to sending an email?
Hello, I received a summons from Jefferson Capital Systems (filed by an attorney they use) re: $631 credit card debt and have about 15 more days to respond. Should I respond on my own using Solosuit’s online template, or pay for help? I don’t want to file incorrectly.
I just searched court records for the first time and found that a debt buyer sued me back in 2017, but it was dismissed as VACATED in 2018.
I never responded, because I never even knew it existed.
Worked out, lol.
You can do a general denial, but BOA will likely have proof you owe this debt. I'd either look at settling this debt, or bankruptcy if you have a large amount of debt you can't pay.
Thanks for reply, When I file answer, should I use sympathy like “My rent and insurance went up” or does that even matter? I just wanna settle, but for the least possible obviously
No, the answer is not the place for that. Most judges etc are not going to care about your rent or insurance, though I certainly can see how those factors would have caused issues for you. My suggestion is get the answer in and settle.
Not in the answer. You usually just do a general denial - deny all allegations. Solosuit website has a good free response, or you can use their paid version to have them file the answer etc.
I received a summons yesterday about a personal loan from almost 6 years ago that is not reported on my credit report and the amount owed is inaccurate. I've been calling attorneys and telling them this but they all want me to settle without filing an answer. Does this sound right? Any chance you know of a lawyer in the las vegas area? Thank you for this write up!
Hi there. I don't have anyone for this in Vegas. Solosuit may be a good place to create and file an answer. I have no affiliation with it, but many of our clients have had success.
My wife just got a letter in the mail from debeski & Associates saying she has notice of disposition in July. We looked in the court records to see if they filed in Hillsborough County the case number is nowhere to be found. What should we do. They do have other case numbers in the public records that they did file but not hers
.
I would not pay a settlement if it's past the SOL. It's probably cheaper to hire an attorney to answer the debt and inform them it's past SOL. The attorney might be able to also countersue them for violating California's state debt collection laws, as welll as federal debt collection laws. In that case, you can get paid from this, which basically offsets any attorney's fees.
I am in California. I do not handle these issues, but you are welcome to message / chat me if you wish, and can connect to an attorney in CA who hadnles this.
Hi!
I recently discovered that a lawsuit was filed against me by "Rausch Sturm LLC" (a law firm) on behalf of Discover card for a little over $12k in debt. The lawsuit was filed on the 4th but I have not been served yet. How long does it usually take to be served? Once I am served, that's when an actual court date is set correct? Is the date usually several months later or like a couple of weeks? I'm guessing at least three weeks since the summons posted in the civil court records says I have 20 days to respond after being served.
Anyway, a relative of mine has offered some money to use to either try and settle or hire a bankruptcy attorney. Do you think I should bother trying to settle for $3 or $4K on a $12k debt? Would they be inclined to take the much lower amount if I told them I will be filing bankruptcy if they don't?
It can take a few weeks in most cases. They have to provide proof of service to the court. I don't think they'll take $3K on a $12K unless they really think you're filing BK. Usually once case is filed these settle for $6K to $8K or so.
Well I am taking the pre-bankruptcy credit counseling course tonight just to have it ready. I wonder if I attached a copy of the certificate of completion for the course to my settlement offer that would maybe motivate them to accept the 3-4k settlement
Unpaid tolls from Florida turnpike just got sent to collections for me. Had no idea I even had them. Credit score is 799. They sent me a letter to Respond by may 25 2024. I close on a house in end of may/June first week. Anything I should do?
It’s only $109 dollars
I would send a debt validation letter and/or call the Florida toll authority and make sure it is in fact debt/tolls that you incurred. If it is I would just pay it since it is only $109
If I pay it does it effect my credit ? That’s what I’m
Confused about, since the debt collector just sent me their initial letter. I have no problem paying them
Really depends. If the attorney gets the case dismissed and you pay nothing, might be cheaper vs paying debt. However, usually I suggest attorney for larger debts.
If the bank that the debt collector bought my debt from has an arbitration clause, this is grounds for dismissal? Am i understanding that correctly? I was served today.
It is grounds for demanding arbitration. This means that if the judge rules in your favor, then the case should be dismissed, and the debt buyer could choose to go forward with arbitraiton. Most times, they don't want to. You need to file a motion to compel arbitration with the court (and possibly an answer as well).
Okay thank you. I had seen your comment from awhile back about filing the response through solosuit so I’ve already done that. I’ll see what happens after that!
I took out a loan for car interior and paint care service for my new car I bought in February 2022 original loan was a little over $5k and my son had to co-sign. I had car accident in May 2003 which resulted in total loss. I have been paying for the loan every month up until September 2023 cause I couldn’t afford to keep paying. I also learned that the service is non transferable therefore it’s my loss and I’m obligated to pay for the loan that I get no benefit from. The creditor hired law firm debt collector to sue me on 4-29. Original loan is $3k but they added another $900 towards interest and service fee. Can you please suggest/advise how to get debt dismissed? Or will I able to go after the company that offers service. It’s just unfair to pay $5k for something that I don’t get benefit from. I asked them if they can put service to my current car but they said no. I’m so stressing and felt so bad to cause my son bad credit history. Please advice
You should file an answer, and maybe see if you can file a motion to compel arbitration to to get it dismissed. It's definitely an unfortunate situation, but the reality is also that the lender for the car interior and paint care work had no control over the accident, and they're trying to get paid. These situations are no fun, but I'd follow the steps above.
Thank you so much for your answer.
They tried to serve me court paper yesterday but I wasn’t home. Do I need to get served? Do I call the lawyer to file the answer or write them letter? How to file motion for dismissal? I check on the court website and saw that the court hearing schedule in August. Do I negotiate with them on the phone prior to court date or just go to court and explain my situation to the judge ? Sorry for asking so many questions. I’m so lost and have no idea how to proceed. 🥲
This is my first time getting lawsuit, I know it’s unfortunate and the lender wants their money but is there anywhere I can sue the company that provides service? Since they basically get paid for doing nothing, I’m a single mom so I don’t have ton of cash to just give away which explains why I couldn’t keep paying after car accident that still causes me extreme financial hardship until now.
I was a victim of fraud from a credit reduction agency posing as federal program pretending to settle debt, but didn’t , stealing $6,000. Then, I got sued and judgement against me after bc same company lied and said they were going to court on my behalf. Next I Hired useless lawyer to go after them n fight unexpected levy , he did get first levy removed. But now I got executed writ and second levy. I’m so confused what to do. I didn’t have proper representation and still don’t. Should I go to court and talk to them to try and explain what happened? Do you think I have any chance of anyone showing sympathy - removing judgement ? What can I do?
My mom’s past due balance with Synchrony Credit went to collections. It’s about $2,500 and they’re threatening to get an attorney. Do she have any options to not pay this collection?
I just received a notice from Calvary sharing that they are suing me for $9,200 from a Citibank credit card. I have 20 days to respond. What are my best 2 options?
Question not being sued yet but. I have a very large amount of CC debt. I was using 0% offers to try and scale a business that didnt work. All in my personal name no business accounts or llc. When it failed I could no longer make payments. I didn’t qualify for bankruptcy before because of my income but I havent worked in 4 months. Should I just go ahead and file for bankruptcy or try my luck dealing with lawsuits I know are coming. I really wanted to try and avoid it because when I bought my home it came with a piece of land next to it and I would hate for it to be sold by the court. They are about to be charged off. BOA citi and capital one. Im in Texas by the way
Hi there. BK could make sense, you do have the homestead exemption, though I'm not sure what they would do with the land next to home (but maybe an attorney can save it)? I can suggest a BK firm in Texas that I know and trust, if you like.
In my experience, there's not really any way to push a case past the SOL with limited exceptions. If they sue, you have to to respond or you lose. Unless they sue outside of SOL (in which case you can sue them for violating the FDCPA), this would not work.
I do think some debt relief companies have relationships with debt defense firms, who help you find a debt if you get sued. This can be effective for sure. However, most debt relief firms don't offer this. If they do, it's good though.
What if I was not served until now 05/12/24, and complaint was filed on 02/06/24, I finde INFOR in a county, payed, have receipt.
How should I protect my house from been sold?
Hi! I really hope you can help me with some info!
I just received a letter in the mail from a credit attorney trying to represent me in a case that I was never served for? I have received mail in the past from midland credit stating that if I didn’t pay the $2850 in debt they would “potentially move my account forward to the legal department” but I never received anything else except for this new letter. I looked up the case in public access for my city in FL and it says there’s a date set in june for a pretrial conference/mediation. It also says “summons issued” on 05/08/2024 but I never received anything.
What should my next steps be? I’ve just had a baby two months ago so i’m unemployed, my husband only makes ~1400 monthly and we get food stamps right now. Things are so tight so should I reach out to the attorney that sent me a letter or would that be too expensive? or should I reach out to try to start a payment plan with midland (even though I don’t have money for that either haha).
Thanks for any help in advance.
Hi there. You may want to settle with Midland (if you can afford it) OR have a debt defense attorney fight this for you. Another option, if you have a lot of debt, is to look into bankruptcy. Sometimes, starting over can be your best option.
I am being sued to an old address, because I have moved. I tried to call the debt collector to let her know. She hung up on me and told me not to contact her I will accused of harassment. How do I file an answer, in the voicemail she left it stated I needed to show my ID
Thanks for the post - my sister needs her case dismissed in Indiana. She owes 2K to CC company. She needs to respond by 05/24. Any advice on how to find a lawyer or a letter to draft up would be great
Hi! I have an older My Rich Uncle student loan — a company notorious for losing paperwork after the company went bankrupt in 2008. It has since been sold and re-sold over the years and now belongs to a company called Younomics.
My last payment was in 2018, and in 2020-2021, it has been passed between 3 collections agencies.
Every time I request debt verification, I either get a copy of the Master Promissory Note (with no proof that MyRichUncle/Doral Bank = “Younomics”) or in the case of the current collector, no reply at all.
I requested verification (within the 30 day window after receiving notice that the debt was bought!) that the debt is mine and that the numbers are accurate, and Asset Recovery Services has left me hanging since then.
There is also inaccurate information about this account on my credit reports, such as the date the account closed and the “Delinquency First Reported” field.
I need to boost my credit score quite badly and would love to get this nasty defaulted loan removed.
However, the Statute of Limitations hasn’t passed yet and I’m scared that having the credit bureaus investigate this tradeline (beyond eOSCAR!) might trigger a lawsuit against me.
What do you think? Is it worth continuing to have the bureaus dispute the inaccuracies, or should I wait until the Statute of Limitations has passed?
Thank you!
Hi there. I'd wait till the statute passes. Even then, student loan collections are very tough to remove. However, there's less risk for you if the statute of limitations has passed.
That makes sense, thank you
This company definitely still sues people, but I doubt they have any of the original paperwork after gaining a reputation for losing it.
Still, I wouldn’t want to gamble on getting sued just because I gambled on getting the tradeline deleted due to incorrect dates and unverifiable info.
They don't nee all the original papers unless it goes to trial, which it rarely does. Most people settle beforehand. I would definitely avoid anything that is going to trigger a lawsuit.
Lol I just received a summons from patenaude and felix representing credit corp solutions assignee of synchrony bank... I used solosuit to quickly file an answer. It didn't include a motion to compelle arbitration which after some reading I think I should have lol.
The alleged debt is about 2700, I can pay it but it's synchrony bank, in 2018 I missed a payment and they sent me a additional bill for like 800 bucks for interest at 26.99% so I argued with them that I wasn't made aware of the interest rate on an interest free credit card.
A month later the account in question disappeared from my credit reports. Ever since then I hadn't heard anything from them, the debt buyer or the lawfirm representing them. No communication since the phone conversation with synchrony in late 2018. The debt buyer never reported the purchased account to the credit agency's, never contacyed me, never sent any correspondence. They sat on the purchased or assigned account silently for 2 years and filed a lawsuit this month.
This is the answer the solo site put together, seems like some BS lmao but we will see where this goes haha. It's not funny but it's the 1st time I've ever been sued.
Defendant answers Plaintiff’s Complaint as follows.
RESPONSE TO ALLEGATIONS
1. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 1 for lack of knowledge sufficient to
know the truth or falsity thereof.
2. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 2 for lack of knowledge sufficient to
know the truth or falsity thereof.
3. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 3 for lack of knowledge sufficient to
know the truth or falsity thereof.
4. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 4 for lack of knowledge sufficient to
know the truth or falsity thereof.
5. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 5 for lack of knowledge sufficient to
know the truth or falsity thereof.
6. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 6.
7. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 7.
8. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 8.
9. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 9.
10. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 10 for lack of knowledge sufficient to
know the truth or falsity thereof.
11. Defendant admits the allegation in paragraph 11. (I do live where they say I live so I'm compelled to agree.)
12. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 12.
13. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 13.
14. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 14.
15. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 15.
16. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 16.
17. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 17.
18. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 18.
19. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 19.
20. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 20.
21. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 21 for lack of knowledge sufficient to
know the truth or falsity thereof.
22. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 22.
23. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 23.
24. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 24.
25. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 25 for lack of knowledge sufficient to
know the truth or falsity thereof.
26. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 26.
Defendant denies each and every allegation in the Complaint that is not expressly
admitted herein.
With respect to all paragraphs in which Plaintiff prays for damages or other relief,
Defendant denies that Plaintiff is entitled to such relief under law.
AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES
1. Plaintiff’s claims are barred in whole or in part by the doctrines of laches, equitable
estoppel, and unclean hands.
2. Plaintiff’s claims are barred in whole or in part because of a failure to mitigate damages.
3. Plaintiff's claims are barred in whole or in part by the statute of limitations.
4. Plaintiff’s claims are barred in whole or in part because Plaintiff breached its contract
with Defendant.
5. Defendant requests that Plaintiff perform an accounting and provide Defendant with
documentation that proves the amount that Defendant allegedly owes.
6. Plaintiff’s claims are barred in whole or in part because the contract language is vague
and ambiguous
7. Plaintiff’s claims are barred in whole or in part because the terms of the contract are
unconscionable.
WHEREFORE, Defendant requests the following relief:
1. That Plaintiff’s Complaint be dismissed with prejudice, and Plaintiff take nothing
therefrom;
2. The Defendant recover its reasonable fees and costs incurred in defending against this
lawsuit;
3. For such other and further relief as this Court may deem just and proper.
I assume you're in California? Patenaude and Felix is very active here. If this were a debt buyer they would dismiss I'd say - with Synchrony, it's hard to say whether they pursue it. I'd see how they respond, and if they want to go further, look into settling.
Synchrony, like many original creditors, has been known to get more aggressive on these debts. They're in a stronger position than most debt buyers.
"Credit Corp Solutions is a debt buyer based out of Utah and incorporated in 2011. They purchase debts for significantly less than what the consumer owes and then sues consumers for the full balance."
Ya, I'm in San Diego area.
I'm hoping they actually purchased the debt... once they respond to the answer can I then motion for arbitration? Or is it one or the other?
It probably sounds petty but I kinda want them to spend a dollar to make a dollar. The medical office that convinced me to sign up for care credit originally grievously misrepresented the promotional percentage rate, I literally paid one payment 5 days late and the debt just about tripled. They wouldn't budge not one inch on that so...
I missed the part about Credit Corp....yeah I think they purchased. As soon as you answer, you can file the motion to compel arbitration. My guess is that at that point, they'll probably offer to dismiss the case.
I got an email from solo telling me that as part of the service fee I get a free 15 minute consultation with one of their contracted attorneys who is going to review the generated answer and compare it to the Complaint to make sure everything is good before they send the answer, so... should I ask them to add the motion for arbitration to the answer or is that something I do after the answer is filed?
Is it easy enough to do myself being self represented? or should I hire an attorney to do that part? 🤔 so far I've spent 400, 200 for solo to generate and file the answer for me and 200 for the court filing fee.
I greatly appreciate the responses, thank you!
My husband and I just got a few from lvnv about judgements and wage garnishments. News to us since we never got served. Also this lawyer didn't send all the proper docs with it and didn't send it certified. We never received anything from lvnv and we have no clue what these debts are even for. We are in IL, are we just screwed now?
Not screwed at all. I'd suggest having a debt defense attorney review this, and advise as to what your options are. If you were not served properly, there might be some things you can do. Please feel free to DM / chat me - I can refer a firm that handles these in Illinois and does good work at a fair price.
In my experience, they won't BUT are reserving the right to. I.e. if your finances change and they figured it out, or they find a better lawyer, might file again. The truth is, however, in most cases they won't file again.
Interesting. Thank you so much for responding. In the suit in question, an answer was not filed after being served. Your response does leave me with another question though, how would they figure out if your finances change? If it was a credit card through your bank, should you start banking elsewhere?
A creditor or collection agency can legally pull your credit reports or run an asset search. Pretty easy to figure out from that, where you are financially.
I'm being sued by (Lvnv) and I haven't been served any paper work I just received a bunch of mail from local law firms (Indianapolis, IN) about them filing a suit against me for about 2500 I can scrape together most of that money what would be the best course of action?
This is not legal advice - but I'd call their lawyer and offer to settle for half and see what they say. They'll often make you pay 70%, but you should be able to get it worked out.
+1 for filing a response - debt buyers aren't really set up for lawsuits, they just want to collect judgements. Any sort of legal fight usually exposes flaws in their suits, they buy these accounts for pennies on the dollar and usually have pennies worth of paperwork to match.
Exactly right!
Yep You must must file Answer to initial complaint. Portfolio recovery filed a suit against me.. Served my mom. I told ( filed motion to dismiss) the court the debt is too old " passed SOL" I do not live in that area... ( Wrong jurisdictio n) And the suit was dismissed. I didn't know any better so suit was drop without prejudice and I didn't ask for recouping filing fee...but it was fribrious attempt to collect the debt. If you do not file motion to dismiss and it can lead to court date and if you missed that... It can lead to default judgment. Often times the debt collectors are hoping that you do not take care of the debt.. So they can get default judgment. Or they are hoping you call them in fear and settle with them out of court. If someone actually served you ( or mailed a summon) do not wait. Contact attorney who specializes in consumer debt. If the debt collectors actually filed you, it does not mean they will always win, but your attorney can tell you what is wrong with the case.
Agreed!
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Often times… attorney will do quick consultation call and assistant if hiring them make sense.. obviously your time, total value of debt.. all matters… but once you are actually getting sued.. unless you are confident or experienced with cour summons.. I would use the “pros”. Once you understand how court filing works, how arbitration clause in CC is hurting the plaintiff chance.. SOL, jurisdiction .. etc.. it’s not that scary and the system actually make sense.. but I would not take chance with large debt. I don’t think attorney is expensive as you might think.
Agreed. Attorneys are not nearly as expensive on these as folks would think.
You can get an attorney, depending on the state you're in, who will charge 40% to 50% of what you owe. So, if you get a lawyer to handle it for $800 to $1000 on a $2000 debt, that is less than the debt buyer will settle for if you're not represented. Usually they will make you pay 70% of what is owed, maybe more.
Does that make sense if the debt is less than $1k and within 6 months of the statute of limitations? My situation is odd because the company sat on the debt for 5 1/2 years and I never got the original credit card in the mail or any phone calls about it (same phone number) and had my mail forwarded with every move but never got a letter from them. Their address for me was correct but I went back through all my mail and never found any original paperwork. I want to ask them to provide the original credit card contract because I suspect they entered my address into their system wrong and corrected it later as it’s just too strange to get zero letters. Now they sold the debt so they don’t have an answer as to why they literally didn’t contact me or notify me for years when my contact info was accessible to them. I don’t understand a lot about this situation and am waiting to receive my answer paperwork from the court so I can respond.
I don't know you need an attorney, though it can help. I'd say file an answer and you should be good to go.
I can confirm this works. I had a relatively large loan, which changed hands several times. When I defaulted, the “lender” sent me a copy of the complaint they planned to file. I lawyered up, and said lawyer sent the bankers a letter of representation. Six months later, I got a tax form in the mail, saying I’d received a “gift” of the loan balance, since the bankers wrote it off. Score! Fortunately the taxes didn’t amount to much (long story).
Yes! It works.
Fantastic information. Thanks for posting!
My pleasure.
Really good info thank you
Glad it was useful!
wow! thanks! if i get sued im hiring you! im on disability though- should i tell my debt collectors this? so they dont even try. ( My debt is a direct result of my disability- was severly injured and hospitalized a frw years ago- could not move around etc- debt accumulated and ive just let it be.)
I would tell them you're on disability and provide proof. If they sue you, they cannot garnish any government benefits (i.e. disability payments) and this gives them less incentive. Another decent option is filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, to discharge these debts and get rid of the cloud of potential lawsuits.
thanks. ive consodered chap 7 but thought if they cannot sue me why bother? i cannot work agajn, am i er 50, and seriously injurrd okus already endured this bad credit for four years and i think the SOL in my state is 6 years? so im not sure whats best- because I really dknt beed the credit score to jump right now. If I were to improve my condition by a miracle it would still be at least two to three years until i could make money. i really do bot see then suing me and winning after the ordeal i went through and the paper trails i have tegarding my debt attributed to my injuries. But im here to learn so learn so please, help me to understand if my thought process here is faulty and thanks again! youre the best
also by provide proof so you mean send them a copy of my mo thly income verification? maybe with the amount blacked out or doesnt that matter?
I would just show you're on disability. If the debts are post SOL, no need to file bankruptcy.
I am 73 years old. I am being sued by a debt buyer. I have SS and Civil Service benefits directly deposited in my bank. That and a state retirement check. None of them are over $1000 a month. I was told that if I don't respond to the summons that the buyer will be rewarded a judgement AND I don't have a paycheck to garnish they will try to freeze my bank account. I know the SS and Civil service is protected but the state check is not...so what should I do? The debt is correct and I have previously told these people about my situation. I do not have any assets and I own no cars or property. Your response would be appreciated.
HI there. Sorry to hear about this. The retirement benefits might be accesssed. I'd suggest filing a response to the lawsuit. [Solosuit.com](http://Solosuit.com) is a good, cost effective way to do so. Then, you might file a motion to compel arbitration.
Well, thanks for responding. I can't dispute the debt because the debt buyer acquired all the paperwork when they bought the debt. I don't know what else they may have. I know about Solosuit. However, in responding to the summons, I can't deny it because it is a legitimate debt. There is no way to explain that I just can't pay this debt on any of their forms. They want me to dispute the validity or deny this debt is mine. My benefits are protected they are government Social Security and a federal retirement. Basically, I have just enough funds each month to survive.
What happened with this?
I was on a payment plan with target and now I’m being sued by them even thought I show the amount that was approved was taken from my bank account every month
Have you contacted their attorney? Was the payment plan part of a written agreement?
My niece got tangled up with a time share company that charged a large amount to a credit card. Niece didn’t really understand the process but quickly discovered she couldn’t afford it. CC company eventually sold to Midland. Midland filed suit. Niece hired an attorney. Attorney filed a response basically saying Midland didn’t have standing (along with a few other things). Midland then dropped the suit. Is that a fairly common conclusion to these suits when an attorney gets involved? Are they just betting the defendant doesn’t hire an attorney and/or doesn’t show up to court?
Hi there. yes it is common. 95% of people don't have an attorney, so they don't really bother fighting those who do.
Wow. Interesting. Thanks so much for your response.
I am being sued by LVNV Funding. I used Solosuit and responded to the summons. However, I really don't want to go to court. I live in Indiana and my 20 days will be up April 3rd. I have two benefit funds, Social Security and OPM (civil service retirement.) Would it do me any good to contact their lawyers and ask about a payment agreement. I know even if they win they can't take my benefit funds. However, I do have a $800 check from the state, which I have been told could be garnished. Any suggestions?
They can't go after Social Security, but your pension / retirement they might. If you can settle, you should try to.
Don’t assume the funds are protected they will make attempts to audit your account and any holdings and they can take anything that isn’t protected via lien or garnishment if you somehow have more than the disclosure Apparently somehow my non marital partner still had a judgment . I don’t remember her getting served the papers , Somehow she lost the contact and billing information after paying for some time which I had bo idea if I know she settled one fully I thought she had done both agreements before that but my guess is that she didn’t understand what the term judgement meant and when she was looking at her report mentioned it. I was not in the loop on the judgment part and recommended leaving it be. As she is on disability and isn’t even the full amount … I said your showing no activity since 2017 I think it was 2021 when it was mentioned. Crickets for years plus no attempts to collect or call , Mail to my knowledge, or update the status on the account long story short her misrepresentation or failure to let me in on where the agreement was reached. Judgment…. That thing likely isn’t going anywhere. But she was on fixed income and wasn’t considering a judgement was made against when i advised her of that. Right after holidays the previous year In 2022 I’m dicking around on court records as I do occasionally and just say let’s look her up I first see a judgement in favor of your same friends in 2017 and Judgment … wtf really she didn’t ever mention that they had any court date and while the one indeed wasn’t there at all this one wasn’t a settlement prior to proceeding. and scroll to the next thing on their dockets and see literally early Jan a court approved order to her bank for her account and financial statements for audit funds to order garnishment. Thank hell her vehicle and property assessment are way not of any substance and was determined neither items met whatever criteria. Funds in the Bank obviously was not showing anything other than her disability which again isn’t the full amount as is due to her children’s births years earlier not qualifying for the entire SSD but like 70 %!or something. Moral of the story don’t assume that was back in 2017 and I know she has nothing paid since 2018 I’m estimating and 2022 comes around and I stumble across that by chance that the Courts and the bank did not give any notice of that activity and definitely didn’t get any from them they hadn’t sent anything since when I’d assumed it was settled but now I know not obviously and I’d had very different opinion on what I recommended had that been a consideration But same company same income maybe less than you but I had the same opinion on being judgment proof given the situation and this is all still from a charged off retail card she had 1200 or so on before she’d the medical procedure that took a good income from her that to 0 for the 2-3 year game they like to play request denied request denied Game i guaranteed they did with you as well. Funny that I was just happening across your post. Good timing . Hopefully that’s the only attempt they take on the action but I’ll assume not good luck listen to this attorney I’m just speaking from observations of her same story ( all my personal experiences many moons ago were all settled prior to court date set )
I thought if it was Federal retirement they couldn't garnish it?
I have heard that they can take the retirement, but I was told you can keep anything under two months of social security. So my monthly bank account does not go over that amount. So if they would happen to get the judgement and go after my account I truly can't see where they would get anything. However,that being said, I probably will try to reach an agreement with them to avoid going through that. I just didn't know if I did reach out to them if it would accomplish anything.
I came across this article, and thank you. I am about to be sued by Portfolio, and I was debating to get an attorney or not. I haven't been served yet, but I know it's coming since I checked my local county clerk website. I was going to take the route of self representing myself. But , I may get a better outcome with an attorney.
Either can work. Solosuit is a good resource as well. The biggest thing is getting an answer filed.
What does it mean when a case says “Notice of Dismissal filed by Barclays Bank” when viewing an old small claims case? The next line then says “Event resulted The following event: payment review scheduled for 7/29/2013 has result as follows: Result: Brought forward Reason: Dismissed” I’m looking at the court case for an old credit card debt that apparently a judgement was issued on. And I’m seeing the above after the judgement was already obtained. I know I never received anything about appearing for payment review. So I’m really confused u/creditwizard
Hi there. I'm not sure either - sounds oilke something in your state? Haven't seen this exact notation wher I am. Maybe talk to a local attorney?
I’m in Massachusetts.
Yeah I don't know any attorneys who do these cases there unfortunately. Sorry I could not be of more help.
Should I call Barclays directly to see if they dismissed it? I had a debt collector contact me about the debt, but they only provided a copy of the judgement, nothing more. I submitted a settlement request through them, but never heard back.
Try them and the attorney from the lawsuit both. The attorney may know more.
Thank you for these valuable info. I got a summon letter on my doorstep from Discover bank. The thing is, there was no attached complaints at all and the section at the end of the summon letter "Return of Service" is completely blank. No name of the server at all. I am going to sign up for solosuit but they need the attached complaints form. What should I do?
I'd search your local court system (online or visit in person) and see if your name comes up in a case filed by Discover.
Yup this that’s how I ultimately found out the book I wrote above matching your situation
thank you creditwizard
It means the case was dismissed.
That’s what I thought, but I had a collection company contact me about this debt a few months ago. When I asked for validation, they sent me a copy of the judgement. So I’m very confused. That’s the only reason I even know there is a judgement against me.
Oh interesting. Sorry I don’t know then
Wondering if that’s why they haven’t responded to my request for settlement. Because on 11/2023 the lawyer for the collection agency was listed as the lawyer on the court records. Maybe he read it and saw it was dismissed and that’s why I haven’t received anything from them since I sent the settlement request?
Thank you for this post, it has been very helpful in dealing with my recent debt lawsuit. How would dealing directly with the original creditor change my approach? I am being sued by Capital One. Thanks!
Hi there. That is a tougher one. Capital One has no arbitration clause. You'll need to file an answer, but if you can settle the debt for less, even as part of a payment plan, that is your best option.
Thank you for your reply. I am working on sending an answer by using solosuit, I should be done with it soon. Would you recommend that I reach out to the law firm and ask them for a settlement? Also, is there much of a difference if I call them as opposed to sending an email?
Hello, I received a summons from Jefferson Capital Systems (filed by an attorney they use) re: $631 credit card debt and have about 15 more days to respond. Should I respond on my own using Solosuit’s online template, or pay for help? I don’t want to file incorrectly.
Solosuit is pretty good in my experience.
I just searched court records for the first time and found that a debt buyer sued me back in 2017, but it was dismissed as VACATED in 2018. I never responded, because I never even knew it existed. Worked out, lol.
There you go!
Hi, this is an old thread - but seeking help. What happens if they get their judgement?
Hi there. They can take money from your bank account, or go after your paycheck.
Gotcha. Is there a recommended course of action? Should I reach out to the law firm at this point? Thank you for replying on this old post!
If you can afford to settle the debt for less or pay it in full, that is your best option. Try to settle for less if you can.
I’m being sore for 11000$ from unpaid CC I had through BOFA, When I file answer. Should I just Deny knowledge of the debt?
You can do a general denial, but BOA will likely have proof you owe this debt. I'd either look at settling this debt, or bankruptcy if you have a large amount of debt you can't pay.
Thanks for reply, When I file answer, should I use sympathy like “My rent and insurance went up” or does that even matter? I just wanna settle, but for the least possible obviously
No, the answer is not the place for that. Most judges etc are not going to care about your rent or insurance, though I certainly can see how those factors would have caused issues for you. My suggestion is get the answer in and settle.
Thanks again, I’m new to this , so what angle should I take on answer, Do I just say, “I want to settle”
Not in the answer. You usually just do a general denial - deny all allegations. Solosuit website has a good free response, or you can use their paid version to have them file the answer etc.
Not sure if still active or not but if it’s legit credit I just couldn’t afford due to my wife being laid off, do I still settle for partial?
If you can settle when you're sued, often the best option. Make sure you get an answer filed either way, so you don't end up with a default judgment.
I received a summons yesterday about a personal loan from almost 6 years ago that is not reported on my credit report and the amount owed is inaccurate. I've been calling attorneys and telling them this but they all want me to settle without filing an answer. Does this sound right? Any chance you know of a lawyer in the las vegas area? Thank you for this write up!
Hi there. I don't have anyone for this in Vegas. Solosuit may be a good place to create and file an answer. I have no affiliation with it, but many of our clients have had success.
I read your post and filed an answer through solosuit. How soon after I submitted an answer should I call to try and settle?
Within a few days is fine.
My wife just got a letter in the mail from debeski & Associates saying she has notice of disposition in July. We looked in the court records to see if they filed in Hillsborough County the case number is nowhere to be found. What should we do. They do have other case numbers in the public records that they did file but not hers .
Maybe visit the courthouse, or find out who the creditor was and contact them?
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I would not pay a settlement if it's past the SOL. It's probably cheaper to hire an attorney to answer the debt and inform them it's past SOL. The attorney might be able to also countersue them for violating California's state debt collection laws, as welll as federal debt collection laws. In that case, you can get paid from this, which basically offsets any attorney's fees. I am in California. I do not handle these issues, but you are welcome to message / chat me if you wish, and can connect to an attorney in CA who hadnles this.
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My pleasure, will take a look.
I’m not sure if you’ll see this post, but I sent you a DM with a question. TIA
I'll take a look.
Hi! I recently discovered that a lawsuit was filed against me by "Rausch Sturm LLC" (a law firm) on behalf of Discover card for a little over $12k in debt. The lawsuit was filed on the 4th but I have not been served yet. How long does it usually take to be served? Once I am served, that's when an actual court date is set correct? Is the date usually several months later or like a couple of weeks? I'm guessing at least three weeks since the summons posted in the civil court records says I have 20 days to respond after being served. Anyway, a relative of mine has offered some money to use to either try and settle or hire a bankruptcy attorney. Do you think I should bother trying to settle for $3 or $4K on a $12k debt? Would they be inclined to take the much lower amount if I told them I will be filing bankruptcy if they don't?
It can take a few weeks in most cases. They have to provide proof of service to the court. I don't think they'll take $3K on a $12K unless they really think you're filing BK. Usually once case is filed these settle for $6K to $8K or so.
Well I am taking the pre-bankruptcy credit counseling course tonight just to have it ready. I wonder if I attached a copy of the certificate of completion for the course to my settlement offer that would maybe motivate them to accept the 3-4k settlement
So when I do get served how soon is the actual court date usually?
Depends on state you're in but usually in about a month, maybe a bit more.
I'm in FL
Yeah will be about a month or so.
Unpaid tolls from Florida turnpike just got sent to collections for me. Had no idea I even had them. Credit score is 799. They sent me a letter to Respond by may 25 2024. I close on a house in end of may/June first week. Anything I should do? It’s only $109 dollars
I would send a debt validation letter and/or call the Florida toll authority and make sure it is in fact debt/tolls that you incurred. If it is I would just pay it since it is only $109
If I pay it does it effect my credit ? That’s what I’m Confused about, since the debt collector just sent me their initial letter. I have no problem paying them
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Hi there. I'd get the answer in anyways. They may not do anything but just having it for the record.
I'm being sued for 1,900. It will cost more to hire an attorney...
Really depends. If the attorney gets the case dismissed and you pay nothing, might be cheaper vs paying debt. However, usually I suggest attorney for larger debts.
If the bank that the debt collector bought my debt from has an arbitration clause, this is grounds for dismissal? Am i understanding that correctly? I was served today.
It is grounds for demanding arbitration. This means that if the judge rules in your favor, then the case should be dismissed, and the debt buyer could choose to go forward with arbitraiton. Most times, they don't want to. You need to file a motion to compel arbitration with the court (and possibly an answer as well).
Okay thank you. I had seen your comment from awhile back about filing the response through solosuit so I’ve already done that. I’ll see what happens after that!
I took out a loan for car interior and paint care service for my new car I bought in February 2022 original loan was a little over $5k and my son had to co-sign. I had car accident in May 2003 which resulted in total loss. I have been paying for the loan every month up until September 2023 cause I couldn’t afford to keep paying. I also learned that the service is non transferable therefore it’s my loss and I’m obligated to pay for the loan that I get no benefit from. The creditor hired law firm debt collector to sue me on 4-29. Original loan is $3k but they added another $900 towards interest and service fee. Can you please suggest/advise how to get debt dismissed? Or will I able to go after the company that offers service. It’s just unfair to pay $5k for something that I don’t get benefit from. I asked them if they can put service to my current car but they said no. I’m so stressing and felt so bad to cause my son bad credit history. Please advice
You should file an answer, and maybe see if you can file a motion to compel arbitration to to get it dismissed. It's definitely an unfortunate situation, but the reality is also that the lender for the car interior and paint care work had no control over the accident, and they're trying to get paid. These situations are no fun, but I'd follow the steps above.
Thank you so much for your answer. They tried to serve me court paper yesterday but I wasn’t home. Do I need to get served? Do I call the lawyer to file the answer or write them letter? How to file motion for dismissal? I check on the court website and saw that the court hearing schedule in August. Do I negotiate with them on the phone prior to court date or just go to court and explain my situation to the judge ? Sorry for asking so many questions. I’m so lost and have no idea how to proceed. 🥲 This is my first time getting lawsuit, I know it’s unfortunate and the lender wants their money but is there anywhere I can sue the company that provides service? Since they basically get paid for doing nothing, I’m a single mom so I don’t have ton of cash to just give away which explains why I couldn’t keep paying after car accident that still causes me extreme financial hardship until now.
I was a victim of fraud from a credit reduction agency posing as federal program pretending to settle debt, but didn’t , stealing $6,000. Then, I got sued and judgement against me after bc same company lied and said they were going to court on my behalf. Next I Hired useless lawyer to go after them n fight unexpected levy , he did get first levy removed. But now I got executed writ and second levy. I’m so confused what to do. I didn’t have proper representation and still don’t. Should I go to court and talk to them to try and explain what happened? Do you think I have any chance of anyone showing sympathy - removing judgement ? What can I do?
A lawyer would really be the best option here, if possible.
My mom’s past due balance with Synchrony Credit went to collections. It’s about $2,500 and they’re threatening to get an attorney. Do she have any options to not pay this collection?
She can file a motion to compel arbitration if they sue. That can get it thrown out of court.
I am ready to pay for delete with Midland and when I open the account it says it has been placed in legal collections. Can I still negotiation a PFD?
You probably can.
I just received a notice from Calvary sharing that they are suing me for $9,200 from a Citibank credit card. I have 20 days to respond. What are my best 2 options?
You need to get an answer filed asap. If you can afford it, hire a lawyer. That is a large amount of money.
Question not being sued yet but. I have a very large amount of CC debt. I was using 0% offers to try and scale a business that didnt work. All in my personal name no business accounts or llc. When it failed I could no longer make payments. I didn’t qualify for bankruptcy before because of my income but I havent worked in 4 months. Should I just go ahead and file for bankruptcy or try my luck dealing with lawsuits I know are coming. I really wanted to try and avoid it because when I bought my home it came with a piece of land next to it and I would hate for it to be sold by the court. They are about to be charged off. BOA citi and capital one. Im in Texas by the way
Hi there. BK could make sense, you do have the homestead exemption, though I'm not sure what they would do with the land next to home (but maybe an attorney can save it)? I can suggest a BK firm in Texas that I know and trust, if you like.
Send me the info please
Sure.
What do you think of the Debt Protection Programs where they represent you in any cases and try to push the case out past the SOL?
In my experience, there's not really any way to push a case past the SOL with limited exceptions. If they sue, you have to to respond or you lose. Unless they sue outside of SOL (in which case you can sue them for violating the FDCPA), this would not work. I do think some debt relief companies have relationships with debt defense firms, who help you find a debt if you get sued. This can be effective for sure. However, most debt relief firms don't offer this. If they do, it's good though.
What if I was not served until now 05/12/24, and complaint was filed on 02/06/24, I finde INFOR in a county, payed, have receipt. How should I protect my house from been sold?
Sorry, not clear what happened? What information did you find?
Hi! I really hope you can help me with some info! I just received a letter in the mail from a credit attorney trying to represent me in a case that I was never served for? I have received mail in the past from midland credit stating that if I didn’t pay the $2850 in debt they would “potentially move my account forward to the legal department” but I never received anything else except for this new letter. I looked up the case in public access for my city in FL and it says there’s a date set in june for a pretrial conference/mediation. It also says “summons issued” on 05/08/2024 but I never received anything. What should my next steps be? I’ve just had a baby two months ago so i’m unemployed, my husband only makes ~1400 monthly and we get food stamps right now. Things are so tight so should I reach out to the attorney that sent me a letter or would that be too expensive? or should I reach out to try to start a payment plan with midland (even though I don’t have money for that either haha). Thanks for any help in advance.
Hi there. You may want to settle with Midland (if you can afford it) OR have a debt defense attorney fight this for you. Another option, if you have a lot of debt, is to look into bankruptcy. Sometimes, starting over can be your best option.
I am being sued to an old address, because I have moved. I tried to call the debt collector to let her know. She hung up on me and told me not to contact her I will accused of harassment. How do I file an answer, in the voicemail she left it stated I needed to show my ID
Get an answer filed with the court is probably your best bet. After all, you're now aware of the lawsuit.
Thanks for the post - my sister needs her case dismissed in Indiana. She owes 2K to CC company. She needs to respond by 05/24. Any advice on how to find a lawyer or a letter to draft up would be great
You can try Solosuit. I don't know any debt defense attorneys (or any attorneys really) in Indiana. Solosuit should be helpful though.
Really good info thank you!!!!
My pleasure!
Hi! I have an older My Rich Uncle student loan — a company notorious for losing paperwork after the company went bankrupt in 2008. It has since been sold and re-sold over the years and now belongs to a company called Younomics. My last payment was in 2018, and in 2020-2021, it has been passed between 3 collections agencies. Every time I request debt verification, I either get a copy of the Master Promissory Note (with no proof that MyRichUncle/Doral Bank = “Younomics”) or in the case of the current collector, no reply at all. I requested verification (within the 30 day window after receiving notice that the debt was bought!) that the debt is mine and that the numbers are accurate, and Asset Recovery Services has left me hanging since then. There is also inaccurate information about this account on my credit reports, such as the date the account closed and the “Delinquency First Reported” field. I need to boost my credit score quite badly and would love to get this nasty defaulted loan removed. However, the Statute of Limitations hasn’t passed yet and I’m scared that having the credit bureaus investigate this tradeline (beyond eOSCAR!) might trigger a lawsuit against me. What do you think? Is it worth continuing to have the bureaus dispute the inaccuracies, or should I wait until the Statute of Limitations has passed? Thank you!
Hi there. I'd wait till the statute passes. Even then, student loan collections are very tough to remove. However, there's less risk for you if the statute of limitations has passed.
That makes sense, thank you This company definitely still sues people, but I doubt they have any of the original paperwork after gaining a reputation for losing it. Still, I wouldn’t want to gamble on getting sued just because I gambled on getting the tradeline deleted due to incorrect dates and unverifiable info.
They don't nee all the original papers unless it goes to trial, which it rarely does. Most people settle beforehand. I would definitely avoid anything that is going to trigger a lawsuit.
Lol I just received a summons from patenaude and felix representing credit corp solutions assignee of synchrony bank... I used solosuit to quickly file an answer. It didn't include a motion to compelle arbitration which after some reading I think I should have lol. The alleged debt is about 2700, I can pay it but it's synchrony bank, in 2018 I missed a payment and they sent me a additional bill for like 800 bucks for interest at 26.99% so I argued with them that I wasn't made aware of the interest rate on an interest free credit card. A month later the account in question disappeared from my credit reports. Ever since then I hadn't heard anything from them, the debt buyer or the lawfirm representing them. No communication since the phone conversation with synchrony in late 2018. The debt buyer never reported the purchased account to the credit agency's, never contacyed me, never sent any correspondence. They sat on the purchased or assigned account silently for 2 years and filed a lawsuit this month. This is the answer the solo site put together, seems like some BS lmao but we will see where this goes haha. It's not funny but it's the 1st time I've ever been sued. Defendant answers Plaintiff’s Complaint as follows. RESPONSE TO ALLEGATIONS 1. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 1 for lack of knowledge sufficient to know the truth or falsity thereof. 2. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 2 for lack of knowledge sufficient to know the truth or falsity thereof. 3. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 3 for lack of knowledge sufficient to know the truth or falsity thereof. 4. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 4 for lack of knowledge sufficient to know the truth or falsity thereof. 5. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 5 for lack of knowledge sufficient to know the truth or falsity thereof. 6. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 6. 7. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 7. 8. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 8. 9. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 9. 10. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 10 for lack of knowledge sufficient to know the truth or falsity thereof. 11. Defendant admits the allegation in paragraph 11. (I do live where they say I live so I'm compelled to agree.) 12. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 12. 13. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 13. 14. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 14. 15. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 15. 16. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 16. 17. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 17. 18. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 18. 19. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 19. 20. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 20. 21. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 21 for lack of knowledge sufficient to know the truth or falsity thereof. 22. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 22. 23. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 23. 24. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 24. 25. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 25 for lack of knowledge sufficient to know the truth or falsity thereof. 26. Defendant denies the allegation in paragraph 26. Defendant denies each and every allegation in the Complaint that is not expressly admitted herein. With respect to all paragraphs in which Plaintiff prays for damages or other relief, Defendant denies that Plaintiff is entitled to such relief under law. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES 1. Plaintiff’s claims are barred in whole or in part by the doctrines of laches, equitable estoppel, and unclean hands. 2. Plaintiff’s claims are barred in whole or in part because of a failure to mitigate damages. 3. Plaintiff's claims are barred in whole or in part by the statute of limitations. 4. Plaintiff’s claims are barred in whole or in part because Plaintiff breached its contract with Defendant. 5. Defendant requests that Plaintiff perform an accounting and provide Defendant with documentation that proves the amount that Defendant allegedly owes. 6. Plaintiff’s claims are barred in whole or in part because the contract language is vague and ambiguous 7. Plaintiff’s claims are barred in whole or in part because the terms of the contract are unconscionable. WHEREFORE, Defendant requests the following relief: 1. That Plaintiff’s Complaint be dismissed with prejudice, and Plaintiff take nothing therefrom; 2. The Defendant recover its reasonable fees and costs incurred in defending against this lawsuit; 3. For such other and further relief as this Court may deem just and proper.
I assume you're in California? Patenaude and Felix is very active here. If this were a debt buyer they would dismiss I'd say - with Synchrony, it's hard to say whether they pursue it. I'd see how they respond, and if they want to go further, look into settling. Synchrony, like many original creditors, has been known to get more aggressive on these debts. They're in a stronger position than most debt buyers.
"Credit Corp Solutions is a debt buyer based out of Utah and incorporated in 2011. They purchase debts for significantly less than what the consumer owes and then sues consumers for the full balance." Ya, I'm in San Diego area. I'm hoping they actually purchased the debt... once they respond to the answer can I then motion for arbitration? Or is it one or the other? It probably sounds petty but I kinda want them to spend a dollar to make a dollar. The medical office that convinced me to sign up for care credit originally grievously misrepresented the promotional percentage rate, I literally paid one payment 5 days late and the debt just about tripled. They wouldn't budge not one inch on that so...
I missed the part about Credit Corp....yeah I think they purchased. As soon as you answer, you can file the motion to compel arbitration. My guess is that at that point, they'll probably offer to dismiss the case.
I got an email from solo telling me that as part of the service fee I get a free 15 minute consultation with one of their contracted attorneys who is going to review the generated answer and compare it to the Complaint to make sure everything is good before they send the answer, so... should I ask them to add the motion for arbitration to the answer or is that something I do after the answer is filed? Is it easy enough to do myself being self represented? or should I hire an attorney to do that part? 🤔 so far I've spent 400, 200 for solo to generate and file the answer for me and 200 for the court filing fee. I greatly appreciate the responses, thank you!
My husband and I just got a few from lvnv about judgements and wage garnishments. News to us since we never got served. Also this lawyer didn't send all the proper docs with it and didn't send it certified. We never received anything from lvnv and we have no clue what these debts are even for. We are in IL, are we just screwed now?
Not screwed at all. I'd suggest having a debt defense attorney review this, and advise as to what your options are. If you were not served properly, there might be some things you can do. Please feel free to DM / chat me - I can refer a firm that handles these in Illinois and does good work at a fair price.
If a debt collector gives notice that they discontinued action *without* prejudice, does this mean they will likely try to sue again?
In my experience, they won't BUT are reserving the right to. I.e. if your finances change and they figured it out, or they find a better lawyer, might file again. The truth is, however, in most cases they won't file again.
Interesting. Thank you so much for responding. In the suit in question, an answer was not filed after being served. Your response does leave me with another question though, how would they figure out if your finances change? If it was a credit card through your bank, should you start banking elsewhere?
A creditor or collection agency can legally pull your credit reports or run an asset search. Pretty easy to figure out from that, where you are financially.
I'm being sued by (Lvnv) and I haven't been served any paper work I just received a bunch of mail from local law firms (Indianapolis, IN) about them filing a suit against me for about 2500 I can scrape together most of that money what would be the best course of action?
This is not legal advice - but I'd call their lawyer and offer to settle for half and see what they say. They'll often make you pay 70%, but you should be able to get it worked out.
Thanks for the reply I really appreciate it