summons by mail

I have had a summons, you have to answer it to the court that it is set up in, make sure that you file a copy there at the clerk of courts and then you send a copy to them. You have a certain time frame that this has to be done or you will lose by not answering by default, make sure that you do this or they will win.

Hi Perry--

Let me ask, exactly how did they validate the debt? Did they send you anything in the mail? If so, do you still have it? If they did not properly validate the debt, then they are not allowed by federal law to sue you over that debt.

if you still have the validation they sent you, please get back to me and let me know what they actually sent. Validation MUST come from the original creditor, and not internally from the collection agency. A lot of these CA's send you a statement that they prepared in their office, from their computer system, and call it good enough--it isnt.

Anyways, we can get you a lot more details on this once you reply. Please, reply before you answer the summons, because what they sent you will affect how you can best answer it.

Yes, sign your Notice to Defend and take to court for filing. What happend in my case and everyone who was there that day, they had people at the court pull you in a seperate room to discuss making arrangements/or an actual court date to fight charges. Make sure you file your own papers, it does not take long and it is stamped the day you do so.

but before you do that, you need to know if this CA has followed the law. If they have not, there is a chance that this lawsuit needs to simply be thrown out. You most definitely need to file your answer, but you need to file ti correctly, and if they screwed up you need to know now so you can act accordingly.

+1 to skydivr7673's advice!