No collections notices; suddenly a summons to court for a debt

So they haven't actually filed in court, there is no case number? Check with the county clerk to be sure....but if there is no case filed yet you should immediately send a DV...I would pay to send it next day just so they can't hurry and file, and make sure you have some sort of receipt proof so you have concrete proof of when they got it.

IF they have filed then simply send in your answer denying their claims. The summons should list a set of statements..you want to agree/deny or answer without sufficient information to agree or deny.

Then during discovery you can demand all the documented proof such as a signed contract/agreement, final statement and something that proves they are the legal entity to collect from you. Since they obviously have bought the debt, they better be able to prove it....and watch out for something that just lists they bought a bunch of accounts from Chase...if it doesn't have your name or the account number, than it is not proof at all. Also watch out for affidavits. You can object to these as hearsay.

Yes, I have dealt with Arrow Financial on claims such as these before. They tried to show me that a general letter stating they bought a bunch of debts from Bank of America was validation that they owned my debt. Arrow Financial lost and dismissed the case with predjudice. The summons Ferrell & Seldin served me had no case number and therefore tells me they have not even filed yet; I'll check to be sure with the courts first. I have asked a clerk of court how they can do this, she stated that often law firms will draw up the paperwork, try to scare you with a summons when all along they haven't even filed it yet, just trying to save themselves the money. Arrow did this with me. They served me, I filed my answer before they actually filed it with the court. When they realized I filed my responses they proceeded to call my bluff. In the end they lost though, because JDB's simply cannot come up with adequate paperwork proving they really own the debt; usually they don't. I've already created my DV and added that this was the first I've heard of this debt and am entitled to a validation process. Going to send it now. We'll see if they are as stupid as Arrow Financial...thanks Goldenblast.

Great! You seem to be on top of this!

Hi Goldenblast,

So I checked with the courts the same day we communicated on the 3/7/2011 and found that the law firm had in fact NOT filed their summons that was served to me on 3/6/2011.

I sent my DV certified mail with a return receipt on 3/7/2011. I received the return receipt card stating that it was received and signed for on 3/8/2011. I hadn't heard anything from them, so I called the clerk of courts this morning. Ferrell and Seldin went ahead and filed the summons on 3/16/2011; 1 week after they received my DV!

Do I have any recourse? I was told that technically their actions could be construed as violating the FDCPA regulations and could potentially file suit against them. Personally, I don't have the funds to go hiring attorney's or I wouldn't be dealing with this situation via the forums. Since they filed, do I still need to file my response to the summons? What steps would you suggest I take? If I have to, I have used an attorney in the past, but he usually requires $600 up front and I just had to give basically all my savings to keep my son in school so I am SOL in that department for now.

Any help you could provide would be great! Thanks!
kdestef

You dont need funds to hire an NACA attorney...they will work on contingency. http://www.naca.net/

Yes as Soaplady said, NACA are good for this. If for some reason you can't find a lawyer to represent you you can represent yourself Pro se. YES file your answer! You can also in your answers and affirmative defenses add in a counter suit for violations.

Thanks Soaplady and Goldenblast, I've found a NACA attorney in Denver, so I'm going to contact them to see what can be done. Their filing despite my DV almost seems like a retalitory action rather than fair collection practices. It's not that I'm unwilling to work with them, just give me what I ask for and I will work with you. Amazing.

kdestef

Yes this is a classic tactic. Let us know how it turns out.

I certainly will. Thank you both for your suggestions!

kdestef

What does DV mean? My husband was served yesterday 3/27and we are really stunned since we too never received previous notice of collections from this company. Any advice on how to proceed would be GREATLY appreciated. We have no idea what any of these legal terms are. We dont want to agree verbally to anything and we dont want to "not resspond" to the summons either. HELP!!!

DV stands for Debt Validation. Per the FDCPA, you as a consumer are entitled to request validation of the debt. Usually this is done via a letter. Go to the DIY tab at the top of this forums page and a drop down will appear, there you will see examples of debt validation letters.

Does the summons have a case number at the top? If no, first, you need to call your local county courthouse right away and ask them if the attorney has filed the summons with the court. What I have discovered is that a law firm or collections will prepare the summons and have it served. They are hoping to scare you into contacting them and save themselves money by not filing right away. If they have not filed the summons and complaint yet, immediately create a debt validation letter making sure you send it possibly overnight (just to ensure it gets there quickly; if it's in town I would send it regular mail), BUT make sure you send it certified mail with a return receipt so you know exactly when they receive the letter. This is important proof showing that they received the debt validation letter before they actually filed the summons. If they have already filed it, it does make it a little more difficult to fight it, but it can be done.

If you find they did not file the summons with the courts, send the letter. If you do not receive a response from them in about a week, contact your local county courts again to see if they filed the summons yet. Keep checking back with them to ensure that they have or haven't filed the response because this will be important whether or not you need to file your answer. Be sure you pay attention to the date they gave you in the summons as to when you would need to reply by (only important if they actually filed). If or when they do file, be sure that you answer the questions denying the claims. Do not give more information than necessary, the simpler the better. If you send the debt validation letter before they file and they go ahead and file anyway without validating the debt for you, it may be within your rights to file a counter claim that they violated your rights and did not provide validation.

Don't be too freaked out. This happened to me awhile back. I actually went to court with a collections law firm and won. So as long as you play your cards right and handle it quickly and professionally, you can get what you are asking for. If they do attempt validate the claim of debt, make sure it's not too generic. For example, one of the questions in a DV letter asks them to provide documentation proving they own the debt or have the right to collect on this debt. The collection agency that sued me provided me with a letter, but it was generic and was not specific to my account. In others words, I argued it was not proof that they owned my account.

Hope this helps, check out the below links for other helpful info to your questions and please feel free to contact me or any of the experts on this forum. They have always been wonderful and have saved me from some uneccessary stress.

[URL="http://www.naca.net/"]www.naca.net[/URL]

[URL="http://www.ftc.gov/"]www.ftc.gov[/URL]

This is also a good resource on the specifics of the FDCPA (Federal Debt Collection Practices Act)

"http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf"

Hi group I am getting ready for court in a couple of weeks with this firm they are very shady and like to play games to try to scare people to pay is right. I hired a lawyer to handle my case he was ( I had to fire him ) just as bad if not worst so I am in a little jam the two reps thought it was ok to go ahead and have a pretrial hearing in dec 2010 without my presents or knowlegde i just 3 28 11 got the disclusre from the plaintiff and it is incomplete I had no idea that this took place until around jan 18 2011 my rep thoought a genic letter was proof of ownership this debt had insurance policy and was charged off claimed as a loss so they have been paid at least twice on the account and he let the only witness for them do a phone in testimoney so I have subpeano for all the paper work including right to arbitration and what are the terms of transfer, my credit report says 81 payments made as promissed then boom charge off so they dont report to the credit reporting properly any body got any ideas to help please let me know I would luv to find a way so that both of the attorneys loose the right to practice law at least in colorado

Sounds like your lawyer knew diddly squat about collection laws. First a 'letter' would not have been enough unless the letter was on the original creditors letterhead. If you give us the basic details of the suit we may be able to help ya out.

the oc is hfc they sold it to ace and took it back two days after i made a payment then told me to pay another 1700.00 so they dont charge it off i did not have the money so it was charged off no ferrall and seldin say they represent hfc according to my credit report it says charge off and claim as a losthfc would have settled for 3800 but i did not have 3800 at the time now ferrall and seldin want the full amount i dont have i am sending a summons today for full disclosere as staed in fair lending act any ideas?

goldenbast could you and dragon please give me a call 7202981513 thanks beerhunter

can dragon orgoldenblast personal information removed

OOOOOOHHHh boyyyy have I got em now lol lol they hfc has filed forged paper in court yep in court I cant wait to go to trail and point out to the judge the forged documents that they are trying to sue me with so the next step is to file a cross complaint the best part is it is all on there web site for me anyways I will be sure to tell you all how and what happened in a couple of weeks I cant do it here I want to do it in court

anyone having a issue with a lender check out this video in case you missed it on 60 minutes it shows what is giong on with the banksters http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-20049744-10391709.html?tag=contentBody;listingLeadStories

Ok that just really gets my knickers in a twist! FAKE documents??? I am so not surprised! It has already been proven in court that some debt collectors have made fake affidavits and used them in court proceedings. It is despicable.

ok check this out just got back from court today it was supposed to be a trail I show up and their is 5 lawyers from ferrall and seldin just hammering people like the where trash evryone had a number but me so once they asked who I was and found out they told me to wait a minute finnly I get my turn I ask what in the world is going on ?? well the judge cant make it today and I was not notified? are you kidding me ? he had many trails set for today and then all the suden training is more important then trails???? no fricken way at least notify the people involved dam it !!! so then they tried to make a offer and i told then no you broke the contract and wow did they back peddle so no they need two months two try to come up with the orignal note and fullfill the subpeona i wrote lol this will be a slam dunk they with malice break evy law that they can and now im going to put a counter claim for five hundred thousand dollars for all the laws they broke it is a list as long as my arm!!and I am not a lawyer I have a 8th grade education and even I know that they are breaking the laws DO NOT LET THEM SCARE YOU FOR A JUNK DEBT they have been paid a hundred times !!! remember the bailouts and insurance scam of AIG ???? people like this are what have caused the finacial melt down and the houseing bubble dont take my word for it do your own research and open your eyes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

just a quick update I WON !!!!!!!!!!!!! case was dismissed today!! by the attorny for HFC

Yay! Did you ever file any counterclaims? If they violated you should turn around and sue them.

nope no counter claim the court it was filed in is small claims and I am going for big money this could run into hundreds of thousands in a higher court witch by the way is my next step they will be served this week!!

Good good! Please remember to keep us updated!

Who does the DV get mailed to? The only info on the summons(not filed) is the address of the lawfirm.

DV gets mailed to the lawfirm (whoever is listed on the summons). They are the ones representing the Plaintiff. But if they've already served you and it has been filed with the courts (might want to check this out first with the courts) your DV will do no good. You will have to file a response or show up in court to defend yourself (unless you hire an attorney).

rasterx, sorry just saw your note in parentheses "(not filed)". So you can send it to the attorney listed on the summons. In my case however, they turned around and filed anyway AFTER they received my DV. I filed my response and according to the county clerk had until May 16th (today) to set a trial date. I called this morning to ask what the status was of the case and they still haven't set a date. According to this county clerk I spoke with, she claims that technically it's up to the judge whether or not they can still set the trial date after May 16! Wth? Apparently they can do as they please....

Yea, I got a summons in mid-december. No case number - supposed to go to court on Thursday but I got a letter a week ago telling me they aren't filing. And I should contact them to find out why. Well as many of you have said I never got a letter from them before this in order to send a DV letter. I think I'll be sending one out tomorrow.