Need help filling out papers

Found this out too!

Please excuse.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

It sounds like you are being sued by a Junk Debt Buyer, not Citibank. So if you are aggressive you might make them go away. JDBs are easier to defeat than OCs. Research the Internet on JDBs and answering a lawsuit, there are examples. You basically deny their allegations and raise your own affirmative defenses.

And they can't touch your Social Security disability. It sounds like you are judgment-proof, but it's better to fight them anyway.

Thank you for your answer. I found this and was wondering if these are the correct words to put into an answer.

Complaint number #XXXXXXX
1 Plaintiff vs. YOU Defendant
Defendant's Answer to Complaint
Allegation 1: Admit
Allegation 2: Admit
Allegation 3: Denied: Responding Party objects to this request on the ground that it is vague, ambiguous and unintelligible in that Responding Party has to speculate as to the meaning of "the credit card" and "the account."
Allegation 4: Denied: This request calls for admission of matter defendant has denied and thus it is improper.
Allegation 5: Denied: This request calls for admission of matter defendant has denied and thus it is improper.
FUTHERMORE, Defendant DENIES every other allegation not previously admitted, denied or controverted.
AS AND FOR AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES
1. Plaintiff fails to state a cause of action against the defendant.
2. Plaintiff, as the defendant is informed and believes, lacks the legal standing to bring and maintain this action.
3. The action is barred by the Statute of Frauds.
4. The action is barred by the Statute of Limitations.
5. The court would unjustly enrich the plaintiff by granting the relief sought herein.
6. The plaintiff has not proven the debt is valid or the amount of the debt is accurate. The plaintiff must prove that the principal, interest, collection costs, and attorneys fees are all correct, agreed to in your contract, and lawfully charged. Defendant also insists that the plaintiff come up with the contract, account statements and purchase receipts to prove the amount of the debt.
WHEREFORE, the defendant asks the Court for judgment:
a. dismissing the complaint herein with prejudice.

If you're uncertain, then use terminology such as:
Defendant can not confirm or deny due to lack of documentation.
I am going to forward this post to skydvr, he is very knowledgeable in this area. I'm not sure when he will be available but rest assured when he is, he will reply.

hiya--

it would help me out if you could post what the paperwork says, or you could always scan it and email it to me if it is easier. my email is the same as my user name here, at yahoo. That way, we can help you to put down the best answer for the way they worded each claim against you. Thanks!

Thank you so much!

hiya--

OK, the truth about this affidavit is that it is only worth about as much as any other toilet paper. In other words, it is not admissable in court. You must object to this affidavit on the grounds that it is hearsay, and therefore inadmissable. There is case law all over the place to support that. This is a very common trick that is used by debt collectors when they dont have real proof of their claims.

Could you maybe email me a scan of the summons and complaint? I am interested in exactly the specific claims they made that you must answer. That way, I can help you to put down the best answer for each one. At this point, they have absolutely nothing. Keep this in mind, in court the plaintiff has the responsibility to prove their case, but ONLY as much as the defendant forces them to. In other words, if you said nothing about this affidavit, the court would allow it to be used as evidence against you. But if you object to it using the hearsay rule, it should be thrown out as inadmissable. If you keep pushing them to prove their claims, they will either be forced to do so or they will LOSE their case against you.

Please let me know if you can send the numbered statements that you must answer, thats the real info we need to respond to. At least at this point, it appears that you stand a good chance of getting this case dismissed. Dont quote me on that as absolute truth, but in my experience, a debt collector doesnt bother with these retarded and useless affidavits unless they dont have any real proof.

Thank you so much! I hope I did it right! I sent them as 3 separate emails as the images were so large. Also, I didn't send the service paper as you hadn't mentioned that, but let me know if you need that too.

Almost forgot! You asked for the numbered statements that I am to answer - only they didn't come with the summons. Apparently I have to go down and answer them in person with a clerk or something. That's one thing making me very nervous as I've never seen a statement for a summons, so I don't know how to prepare to answer.

Well, it would seem that they did come with the summons....the first page you sent me with the three numbered statements on it. Here's my advice on this one.

1--where it says that the court is the proper jurisdiction, that you live in that county, I am guessing that it is in fact where you live. If so, your answer would be:

1) Defendant hereby affirms the statements made by plaintiff in paragraph 1.

DO NOT ADMIT TO ANYTHING ELSE. Do NOT admit to any account, to owing any amount of money, or anything else. You are being sued--this means that the plaintiff must be forced to prove their case against you. If this affidavit is representative of the documentation they have on this account, then you have nothing to worry about because it means they have nothing at all to prove their claims.

For #'s 2 and 3 in their complaint, I would state:
2) Defendant has no knowledge of the alleged obligation and so cannot affirm nor deny the statements made by plaintiff in paragraph 2.

Of course, make the same statement for #3. The idea here is to go to court and force the plaintiff to provide proper proof of their claims against you. You will want to object to pretty much anything they provide unless it is a proper signed contract bearing your handwriting and signature. The affidavit is pure hearsay and I laugh every time I see a debt collector try to use it. The fact is this--no matter what the CA's employee claims he knows, he couldnt possibly have been there when the account was first created, or when the card was used, so at the end of the day he knows nothing. And the law requires that a defendant be given the right to question EVERYONE that presents ANY claim against them in court, so by allowing this affidavit, the court would be denying you your constitutional right to due process. We'll get to the wording of that once we get into some more details.

OK, now, how old is this debt? In GA, the SOL is 6 years for written contracts. If it's been more than 6 years since the debt first went delinquent, then you can use SOL as your defense. Please let me know.

Thank you!

Is that all I'm to say on this first round? Or will I get another chance to ask for them to bring the witness to the affidavit (and if so, I don't know how to word that either). Also, do I ask for the case to be dismissed with prejudice when I go this first time to answer or is that something I do at another point? And when I read about demanding they validate the debt . . . is that basically what I have done when I state this part - "Defendant has no knowledge of the alleged obligation and so cannot affirm nor deny the statements made by plaintiff in paragraph 2."

Again may I say how much I appreciate this help. I have indeed slept a little better the last couple of nights feeling that I'm beginning to understand all of this just a little. ;)

If you have a credit card terms of agreement from them, which is just a basic agreement they send out, unsigned, they usually say that the agreement is governed by that states laws only.

The problem is I think that citibank does in fact use New York which is a 6 year SOL......that would put this in statute, just like your state.....read the last line here:


https://www.citibank.com/us/cards/disclaim.htm

There could be a good chance they send something with a lower SOL when you request production of documents...if it does, then you could motion to dismiss at that point, but for now the SOL is not a defense.

Thank you, Pokertramp for the information.

I'm bumping the thread looking for skydivr. Hope you see this as I have to file the answers this week and don't know what to put on the paper beyond the statements of 1,2 & 3. Please see my post above (#15) and you'll see where I'm now lost. Also, do I ask for a motion for discovery or is just denying in 2 & 3 all I have to do to get them to prove the debt. Thank you so much! :D

A few more questions about answering the complaint.

After I admit/deny the statements, do I have any affirmative defenses that I can use? I know I can't use the sol as it is within the time allowed. Is this where and when I ask for debt validation or a copy of the original contract, etc.? Or what other things can I use for this part if any?

Also, when I file the answer, do I need to also file a "notice of appearance"?

And do I put on the answer page or somewhere else that my only income is social security disability and is exempt from garnishment?