I receive e-mails every week from people who have had the misfortune of receiving a summons notice on their doorstep or the joy of having a stranger sidle up to them and say, "You've been served."
Not fun. Oftentimes, these same people tell me that the first thing they did was to pick up the phone, call the collection agent or collection attorney in many cases and try to work out a payment plan or settlement agreement. This is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.
Once you have been served a summons, this means that the collection agency is SUING YOU. You are being sued and the collection agency is now the Plaintiff and you are the Defendant. Any and ALL communication with the Plaintiff should be done via written correspondence only.
It's too late for "I'll send you buck a month, I promise." Way too late. Now is the time to take responsibility for your financial future and face your fears (debt) head on. Even if the collector was to agree to a payment plan, they cannot be trusted. While you are "working it out" they could be in the process of putting a lien on your property and searching for your bank account information in order to seize your assets.
Here's what you need to do. First of all, DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED. This is difficult, after all I'm sure you feel badly about the debt in the first place and it's probably been haunting you for years. The sad truth is that many of these debt lawsuits are brought about on out-of-statute debt and the collection agencies and debt attorneys are notorious for re-aging the DOLA or Date of Last Activity on your credit report. It's in your best interest to dig up any old credit reports and bank statements to prove the the date of the last payment you made on the defaulted account. If that date is past your state's statute of limitations on open credit card debt, they have the right to try and collect, but they cannot sue you and must drop the lawsuit.
Additionally, very rarely is a debtor sued for the actual amount they owe...penalties, interest, and other assorted fees are generally tacked on to the balance. Make them prove their case!
There are many other defenses that can be raised against one of these collectors. The key is that you need to communicate with them through the court system. They don't expect you to fight back, over 96% of debt lawsuits end in default judgment. The chances of them backing off and dropping the lawsuit are HUGE if you take the time to properly format what is called a Notice of Appearance, Answer, and Certificate of Service.
It takes some time and research to properly file these documents, but it's your financial future at stake. A default judgment can not only freeze your bank account or garnish your wages but it will also ruin your credit for a minimum of 7 years. A few states offer basic templates for the forms you will need to file with the court, a simple Google search should offer up some resources. You can purchase Word templates (w/ affirmative defenses for third-party debt collectors) for the "Answer to Complaint" document and more at www.IHaveBeenServed.Info and alternatively there are very helpful people on several internet "debt" message boards who can offer up advice when drafting your own documents.
Additionally, you should fax and mail (certified, return receipt) a Cease & Desist Letter to the creditor informing them that they must communicate you with via written correspondence only and now that they know how to communicate with you they must refrain from contacting any of your neighbors, friends, relatives or employees in an attempt to collect their debt. If they violate your request, you can threaten to sue them for an infraction of the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) which allows ,000 for each violation.
Now is the time to action. If you do nothing, the creditors will find your assets and take them. Bottom line. File your Answer and other supporting documents and wait and see. The best that can happen? They won't want to fight you in court and drop the lawsuit (they rarely have the supporting documentation to back up their claims) or you'll receive a courtdate and you'll be given the chance to work out a settlement agreement at that time. Either way you will have avoided a default judgement which is looked upon as poorly as bankruptcy in many cases.
Fight back! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
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Jay Johnson is a credit repair blogger and debtor advocate. More information, including Jay's Pro Se Answer Templates, can be found at http://www.HowToAnswerACreditCardDebtLawsuit.com
