Served a Summons
Date: Fri, 09/24/2010 - 14:28
Thanks
Have you looked at the online court docket to find out when your
Have you looked at the online court docket to find out when your court date is??
Yes and no court date has been set. Just says "Pending"
Yes and no court date has been set. Just says "Pending"
The thing with Summons and Complaint is that this is the first s
The thing with Summons and Complaint is that this is the first step to you being sued for a debt that has been ignored and not paid for X amount of years. Usually this is done when the company being owed has used up all its resources on their own or through a collection company and turn to a law firm to seek payment from consumer. I work for a law firm that handles collections. My advice would be: A. contact the law firm to see if you can make some type of payment arrangement B. offer a settlement offer to get rid of this debt or C. dispute the claim (if you really feel you do not owe the money/already paid the bill, etc, because ignoring it will only lead to a Court officer being assigned to contact your bank and collect ALL FUNDS associated with your name! So if you've ever paid any bill with the company you owe with a bank check, they can obtain funds that way. I've witnessed many debtors accounts being $0 because of this method.
If you choose option A. what many law firms do next is write up a Stipulation of Settlement which simply means, debtor has agreed to pay X amount per month (or however you set up the payment plan) and you have from 3-10 days (depending on firm and client's approval) to send in payment or else the Stipulation goes into default. At least with the Stipulation of Settlement, once all is paid, you can contact the law firm and request proof from the Court that all is paid in full aka Warrant to Satisfy Judgment. Otherwise, if you keep ignoring this, you will receive a Judgment against your name which simply means, for the next 20 years, it is attached to your name so whether you try to buy a house or open a business, you will have to pay that Judgment prior to any loans being approved.
These are all just steps from firms to assure their clients that they will get their money back from you either now or sometime in the future. Depending on the amount and how ruthless the company you owe is, you can suggest a reasonable settlement and most likely, the company will want to close out the account (as will the attorney) and you can get this matter closed when payment is sent in.