Should I file motion to dismiss?

Law suits must be filed in the county you live in

Hi--

First thing's first. They did file in the wrong place. Now, when you say "debt collector", I am guessing that the people who are suing you are not the same people that you originally had credit with. This makes them a third party debt collector, and if that is the case then they have definitely sued you in the wrong place. I would deny everything in the summons/complaint except anything that truthfully refers to where you live. I would then list something like this:

AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES
Defendant hereby requests that this Honorable Court dismiss plaintiff's claim due to improper venue. Defendant is a resident of _______ County, Montana, and has never been a resident of (county where they filed suit), Montana. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act(FDCPA) requires that any debt collector wishing to file suit in the course of attempting to collect a debt must do so either where the defendant resides, or where the alleged debt is supposed to have been originated. Since the defendant has never been a resident of this county and has never conducted business here, Plaintiff is in violation of the FDCPA by filing the suit in this jurisdiction.

Also, if you could provide more details, we could give you more information about how to address their claims.

Thank you skydivr7673!

How do I go about denying this, is there a proper form? Where would I get one?
You are correct, they are a third party debt collector. I am somewhat surprised that the original creditors continued to take payments from me after they had sold this account to Northwest Collectors, the payments are not reflected in the amount owing in the complaint.
Sorry if I am repeating myself...
I am happy to give any details, I am just not sure what you need?
Again, thank you for your help.

OK, well, first, dont assume that the account was sold to this debt collector. It happens all the time, even though it is illegal--that is why we must make them prove their legal right to collect on any debt.

The first step would be to check the court clerks office where they filed. Make sure it is even a legitimate lawsuit--debt collectors have done that before too. If it is, then I would contact the original creditor. I would ask them if they still own this debt, and if not, who they sold it to. Inform them that you have been paying THEM this whole time, and that they have kept taking your payments without any notice, so you have the right to know who it was sold to and when that sale took place so that you can be properly credited for all of your payments. Also, who is the original creditor and what kind of debt is this?

There are a ton of details to go over on this one. For one thing, you said that they "tacked on" over $200 because of "collection of debt". That is not legal unless the provision for them to add on fees is listed in the contract you signed when you originated this debt.

If you like, you could send me a scan of the summons and complaint to my email and I would be happy to go over it line by line with you. If you make a copy of it, you can blank out your personal info--I dont do anything with other people's info but that is my usual recommendation to protect yourself. Your answers will be different depending on the type of debt, how old it is, and what we find out about this debt collector. If you want to have me look this over, my email is the same as my screen name here, at yahoo.

I will scan and email the summons and complaint as soon as get home, along with some additional information.
Thank you so very much for your time.

I am having problems with an outfit called P. Scott Lowery. Anyone with info about them?

hi Debra,

If you do a search on this forum for "P. Scott Lowery", you will find a bit of info.