Summons and Complaint from Suttell & Associates
Date: Fri, 03/20/2009 - 12:19
A while back I had a credit card with BOA. I stopped paying because I couldn't financially. FIA Card Services, N.A. started harrassing me so I sent them one of those cease communication letters. Everything stopped. 11/08 I receve 2 letters from Suttell & Associates. I did not respond...still broke.
Present day...3/16 to be exact. My aunt is served papers from Suttell & Associates in King County. Where she lives...I no longer live there..haven't for 6 years. I picked up the paperwork on 3/18..noticed the paperwork is dated 3/5..nice.
I got legal advice from the Washington Legal help line called CLEAR. Spoke with someone about my situation and she told me that I shouldn't answer the summons simply because I have no defense. She says there's no point to respond because I have no defense..she says if I respond court/attorney fees will go up and I will end up paying more for a case I may lose to. I am not trying to hide from this debt...I am willing to make payments but I just can't pay 4500 up front. She suggests I call S&A which I did and offer my payment proposal. The woman was unwilling..she kept saying they will file the lawsuit. She told me I could make payments and they will credit the account but they will still file..weird.
So I tried to call FIA directly..I was able to speak to the attorney there. S&A is an affiliate of their law offices supposedly. The gentleman was very kind and understanding. I again explained my situation to him.. unfortunately, once the file is in S&A's hands they would be the one to deal with. Great.
So I am trying again...I sent 2 proposals to S&A one for 100.00 a month..then I changed it to 100.00/m for this month and the next 4 months..after that I should be able to pay 200.00/m till paid off. Ill be done with school and hopefully get into this company I am working part time for.
Anyway..do you think I am doing the right thing here? I am confused about the "do not respond" to the summons advice. Does judgement go on your credit report?...how does this affect my credit report?..help!
Oh yea, there is no file number or court date on the summons and complaint
I was recently served a summons for an old MBNA card. Everythin
I was recently served a summons for an old MBNA card. Everything I've read on here and elsewhere has indicated that it is best to answer a summons. If you don't answer or show up, I am under the impression that they automatically win by default, at which time you would get a judgement against you, which doesn't sound like fun. In my case, I filed an answer with the court, and sent a copy to the attorney who had the summons sent to me, Richard Daniels. As of now, I have a case management meeting set up for the 12th of June. I am not a legal expert by any means, but you might want to get some more info before deciding wheter or not to answer the summons. By the way, my summons was dated Feb. 25th, and I did not receive it until 4 p.m. on March 13th, a friday, which basically left me one day in which to answer. It seems like they were hoping I wouldn't answer so that they would win by default.
Yes that is what I was thinking. They purposely wait a while af
Yes that is what I was thinking. They purposely wait a while after they write the paper work to serve you...scandalous. I thought I would try to settle with S&A before I answer. I would rather lose trying then not trying at all..If they do not respond or answer my proposal I may respond to the summons..Its just that I cant afford more court/attorney fees..if I lost.
the offer i gave them is way more than what they would get from garnishing my wages that's forsure. i think my offer is in their favor really. but who knows we'll see what they say..i'm giving them till monday to respond. summons answer has to be in by the 25th.
If they accept should I still respond with an answer to the judge to show the plaintiff and I settled..just incase they try to do something fishy?
Do you live in kings county? If not, then you need to respond f
Do you live in kings county? If not, then you need to respond for improper service.
hi ^ no i do not. i use a postal box as my mailing address tho,
hi ^ no i do not. i use a postal box as my mailing address tho, i do not use the address at which i live at the request of the people who own it. i've read if i reply with that the judge can just have it moved to my county is that true? also, do you know if the 20 days is after the day the summons is received or the date of the summon itself?
ANSWER the summons. It is 20 days from date of service. H
ANSWER the summons. It is 20 days from date of service.
Have the case dismissed for improper venue. A king County judge cannot transfer the case to another county. It has to be refiled. Send S&A a Debit Validation on the debt. And when they refile the case and you get served go to the court and get the documents from that subpenoas proof of the debt.
You want to be sure that they are legally able to collect the debt. If you go to court and loose the judge will set up reasonable payments. More than likely S&A will become more willing to settle when you show them that you are not rolling over.
^^ do i do this even if i faxed them payment proposal letters? t
^^ do i do this even if i faxed them payment proposal letters? they never responded but i have proof i sent them.
what am i looking for when checking to see if suttell & associates is license to collect in WA? they have a business license but not a collection agency license am i right?
http://www.secstate.wa.gov/corps/search_detail.aspx?ubi=602312491
https://fortress.wa.gov/dol/dolprod/bpdLicenseQuery/lqsSearchResults.aspx?SessID=7513
Suttell and Associates Process Servers (Scammers)
The first thing you need to do is to send them a certified letter saying that the debt is in dispute.
In the Federal Guide for Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you will find part 809, paragraph 5, section b which states that once a debt is declared disputed, the collection agency has to stop collection activities.
Also, you can tell the collectors that you wish to deal with the original creditor concerning the debt. They cannot legally refuse.
If you see anything that the collectors are doing which violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, report them to the FTC and the State Attorney General where you live.
You can find the FDCPA pamphlet and electronic the FTC complaint form at FTC.gov and you can contact your Attorney General by looking their Website up on any search engine.
Best wishes to you.
Suttell and Associates have conveniently lost my letter replying to their illegal summons and have declared I have defaulted. They have set a court date for September 9th on the matter. The good thing is that I have the irrefutable proof that they received my letter and that I did not default. According to the FDCPA I am able to get up to $1,000 in damages from Suttell and Associates because they have broken the law by filing the court case after they were told to prove I owed the debt.
I will also be filing a counter suit to stop them from selling the debt to any other debt collector. I'm hoping that will work out. After all, if they know they can't produce proof that it's a valid debt, I think it would be fraudulent to sell it to someone else with the understanding that there was any chance of collecting.
Take care!