Legal action in another state - possible?

RSR-welcome to the forums! Please sign up here,it's free,and you will find many others who have experienced your problems. Also, there is free credit counseling when you sign up,they will be able to sort through your debt issues. I may be wrong,but the way it was explained to me by an attorney in my stste was-My credit cards are out of state,they were sold to a collection agency,also out of state,if they want to get a judgement,they will send someone from here,where I live locally,to serve me and go to court. BUT the attorney said since this isn't the original creditor,they will have to go to Disrtict Court,which will cost them more money than small claims,etc. She said they may still do this,depending on amount owed. I have tried to set up payments and be responsible to pay the debt,but have had no success-Best of luck to you-keep us posted...Karen

Hmmm. From what your saying a local server might get me. But how can they enforce Rhode Island`s SOL in an Arizona court, district or otherwise? BTW, one of the creditors is the notorious MCM of San Diego, the other some jabrones from Springfield,IL.

They wont be enforcing it in Arizona's court. The account was open subject to the jurisdiction of Rhode Island, they will be enforcing the SOL through the Rhode Island Court.

Most states allow small claims filings to be served through the mail. If they go to a higher court, they can still file in Rhode Island and have an Arizona constable serve the complaint. This is simply a matter of paying a fee and happens in all types of cases. If they get a judgment, it can usually be enforced in Arizona because of the effect of the "full faith and credit clause" of the constitution. There are some limited exceptions to the right to enforce a "foreign" judgment that you should ask an attorney about.

Alternative, they could send the file to local counsel in Arizona and sue in an Arizona court.

Of course, all I am saying is that is can be done. Whether they will do so is a business decision to be made by whoever owns the debt. If they think they can get a judgment cheaply, they'll do it. If not, they'll probably just sell the debt and move on to the next customer.

Well that`s some discouraging news. I guess I won`t be signing for any registered letters, or answering the door to any strangers! Luckily they don`t know where I work, or have my phone number. I haven`t applied for any type of credit in years, and my current bank and credit cards all use an old disconnected phone number. All 3 of my credit reports show my current address but, job and phone info is at least 5 years old. If they wern`t trying to collect $3300 from an original debt of $900 maybe I`d be more receptive to their letters. The original creditors were FCNB and Emerge. It`s all I could get after my bankruptcy in 2000. I stopped paying them when they raised my interest rate (for no reason, they were paid ontime every month) to 34.99% in June 2003! MCM has owned the Emerge account since 12/2003. Until I received the "we will be sending your account to our attorney", the worst I ever received was the standard "pay up" letter. They must have found out I own my home, and might try to get a lien place on it through a lawsuit.

whether you sign for or or not, they can still go to court and get a judgment in default. Essentially, by failing to respond, you are saying the debt is valid, and have no intention of paying it or working out a deal on it.

But I couldn't read the messages - the menu bar that used to be on the left pops up on the right covering up a good bit of the screen, which is 800*600.

Clay, why the doomsday scenerio for my issue? How can I be found in default if I`m not legally served notice of a court hearing? I understand unemployment renders a person "judgement proof". Since I mostly work out of my home, and my "real" job is part time, quitting would easily be an option for me. I`m a person who pays all of my other obligations on time every month, and have so for 20+ years. The bankruptcy was from an extended hospital stay that my HMO wouldn`t cover. These collection agencies, and subprime credit lenders are thieves. What did the CA pay for my account, $20, $30?

It is so easy to find your personal information just by useing your social security number, that you used when you signed up for the credit cards,.

In a matter of minutes they can have a CBR, which does report your employer sometimes, your phone numbers or numbers you might have used in the past and an updated address. There are also many other tools.

If you don't want to be found I suggest you stop working (well you could find some cash under the table jobs), never sign up for any type of credit, rent a home or an apartment, and by all means do not buy a home. inform all of your relatives that creditors could be looking for you and to not give them any information, never get a replacement social security card, never change your address, don't buy a car either. Also you might want to go without utilities as well. You also might want to disconnect your cell and home phone.

These are just some of the tidbits that can be used to find out where you live and al by useing the information that you provided when you signed up for a credit card.

Well, I don't mean to be so negative, but it is how the system works. Maybe you can go back later and ask to the the judgment set aside for improper service, but either way you will have to face up to it eventually. If they have fore sight enough to put a legal notice in the paper I think that also can serve as proper legal notices ( yeah, I know, no one reads those). There are some lawyers in the community, hopefully they will help to answer your question with more competent understanding of the laws.

It seems to me you are getting worked up over something that may not even happen. It also seems your credit other wise is in decent shape, it would be a waste to let it get damaged by hiding from a lawsuit where the worst case senario is a judgment in default. If the SOL governing these bills is Rhode Island, then thats the rules you have to play by. You could try to offer some kind of payment arrangement , document all contact to show you have made the effort to resolve it, basically build a case for the CA's being uncooperative and unreasonable. IF they do take it to court, go to the court date, lay out your case for the judge and present your documentation, at least you may avoid the judgment and get a payment plan you could live with. You could also ask the case be dismissed since you no longer live in that jurisdiction. I don't know for sure I am not a lawyer.

I contacted a prominent Phoenix bankruptcy lawyer and was told the following: "Lawsuits are based upon the state the debtor was RESIDING in when he/she defaulted. If anyone has had a lawsuit filed against them under different circumstances, bring proof of your residency at the time of default, a copy of your credit report showing the date of default, and a copy said states SOL. If you`ve had a judgement ruled against you, and you can prove you did not live in that state at the time of default, you should contact a lawyer and file for a reversal. IT WILL BE REVERSED with all the proper documents." He also clarified the default date that many people get wrong. Look at your credit report, it will show the date of last payment. Let`s say it`s 05/03. That means your next payment was due sometime in June. Look for an old statement to get the exact date, or at the last resort contact the creditor for the information without admitting you owe the debt. If the date was 6/20/03, your default date is 6/21/03. Apply your states SOL to that date. It`s not the date of the first major deliquency, or when the collection agency took over the account. After you have cleared that hurdle the next step comes at 7 years. Take your default date and add 7 yrs plus 180 days. This is the date to have any adverse entries related to the account removed from all 3 of your credit files. This includes the original creditor, and any collection agencies. Most of the time they won`t remove them automatically unless they are disputed with the the 3 bureaus. You credit score can improve up to 150 points when ALL of these type of entries are removed!

If they serve you with papers, just respond to them, they can't win judgement on something that is out of the SOL. The judge will probably drop their case. If they are smart, they know this and won't try to take you to court. They are trying to scare you into paying.