Help! I 've read some posts about Asset Acceptance before I am posting this for desparate help.

Although I know I owed some credit card debts a few years ago from Texas, now I am in California and suddently received a court summon from an attorney's office representing Asset Acceptance for 2 accounts totalling some $13,xxx. I am not sure which 2 accounts they are for. I think they maybe legit. I know I received some collection letters before, but can't remember which company and I threw tham away. Yes call me stupid, I did not know the best way to handle collection company until I am reading the posts on this useful website. What can I do now at this point? I just got the summon served this past Sunday.

Thank you for your help out there for any input.

Welcome to the Community Let me get this straight, you were actually served by a process server in person? If so, you have to respond in the time they give you to respond, otherwise they will issue a judgement if you don't respond and show up. I would still send a request for debt validation to the attorney,asap, couldn't hurt, might help..Have you contacted the attorney for any info on this, dates opened, etc? You need to find out when the last payment was paind on these accounts, to make sure it isn't out of the SOL period. If you have any questions, please ask..KAren

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As long as you are alive, there's always hope

I was able to contact the plaintiff's attorney's office. They said they were for 2 Citibank accounts. I have some memory of them but they have been such a long time that now none of the 3 credit bureaus shows any entry from Citibank, and certainly nothing from Asset Acceptance. I called Citibank, they said both account numbers are "invalid" on their system, might have been "inactive" for too long and they don't know much other than that. Where do I go from now? Should I still seek help from attorney myself since it's more than $10k?

And on top of that, I was only able to contact TransUnion and they said they did not receive any report of those 2 accounts on that bureau at all. And I had been circling around the answer machines from the other 2 bureaus the rest of this morning. I have a feeling those 2 accounts were very very old and should be out of SOL?

Maybe this debt is already past the statutes of Texas. When did you last pay on the account?

The attorney should be able to validate the debt before taking any legal actions. Send a DV letter through certified mail with return receipt requested. If they take you to the court, you should be able to show the copy to the judge. The judge will question the company for the details. You can't be sued if the statutes have already expired. You need to write a dispute letter to the attorney's address mentioning the expiry of the SOL, once they have validated the debt.

When is the hearing date? Make sure that you take all papers to the court and explain your part to the judge. I am sure the decision is going to be in your favor if you got the legal base.

I am sure it is at least 5 years ago, and since they're not showing on any of my credit report, possibly more than 7 years. I remember those 2 accounts, but I have no paperwork on any of thos two accounts at all. I know in Texas the SOL is 4 years. And if I ever touch those two accounts it'd definitly much longer than that period of time. I found a couple of sample DV in this forum, maybe I should send one out and see.
BTW, they filed it on Jan. 9, but my parents got the paper this past Sunday and I have 30 days... from the day they filed? Or the day they received the summon?

solo! you have mail!

Sorry Texas I did not receive your email... can you resend? BTW, all the unsecured debts occured when I was in Texas, just moved to SoCal a little over a year ago. Can't believed they hunt me down already.

As far as this Asset Acceptance goes, I consulted a lawyer specialized in this field, and he said my chances of winning is pretty absolute. BUT, it could take up to a year to resolve and will set me back $4000. My goodness.... but I will be starting a new job in the next two weeks and I cannot afford to miss work so often to attend those hearings and trials...

Any suggestion to low cost lawyers in L.A. area? =)

You have 30 days from the date on the notice. Send a debt validation letter to attorney, if it's out of the SOL period, you will know from the DV. If they don't validate, take tose papers to court with you too. I would contact Legal Aid in your area if you think you need more help..Karen

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As long as you are alive, there's always hope

I don't know court room procedures but even if this does go to court, you may not have to appear. Perhaps your attorney can represent you without you being present. It appears though that the SOL has expired and since the accounts in question can't be verified by the credit reporting agencies, this may all be a mute point.

I ordered all 3 Bureaus' reports, didn't even show the accounts that they claim they are suing, seems like an account from long long time ago. I even call Citibank, they said the accounts were too old to be on their system. So how can I prove to my attorney (If I am getting one) that the SOL is out? Many thanks!

Here's the other senerio: Those two accounts that AA is suing, they were opened in Texas and closed many, many years ago. So long that neiher the 3-Bureau's reports nor I called Citibank can verify those two accounts as they were too old. Now I moved to California last year, which SOL will it go by? Texas's or Cali's? Either way those accounts were more than 6 or 7 years old that credit reports are not showing anymore.

Also, the SOL starts when the last payment was made? What if the account got sold to those collection agencies? When will the SOL start counting? Thanks again everyone!

Texas SOL is 4 yrs from the date of last payment made by you. The SOL will only restart if you make a payment on the accounts.

If the SOL has run, a lawyer should be able to put an end to this suit against you very quickly. The answer to the lawsuit only needs to plead the Statute of limitations has expired. That will effictively end the lawsuit once a lawyer gets evidence of last payment. If you can find violations in their prosecution of you (maybe malicious prosecution) you may have some good counter claims, and you could possibly turn this to your advantage.

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Leaving for a while. Need help in Texas, contact some other good attorneys at www.helpingtexas.com

I just received a call from these jokers about an account they have of mine that is over 4 years old. They wanted me to set up a payment today and I told the lady that I know they are supposed to send something in writing within 5 days from the initial contact. They said they did back in Nov. They sent it to an address where I do not live. I know I owe this debt, but I told the lady that I am not discussing any type of payment on this account until I receive something in writing about this account so I will know that they are actually the ones collecting on it. She kept asking about setting up a payment today, and I just hung up

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BROWNSUGAR!!