Just served a civil summons

When you're already been served, you need to file an answer at the court of law. Otherwise, the creditor will get a default judgement against you. Find out the last date to the file an answer form the clerk at the court. Just hang tight, more help are on their way.

From what I can tell I have 30 days to answer to the ocmplaint. The only date I am seeing is the 5-1-08 beside the lawyers name on the front. The only reason that I am thinking they are willing to work with me is b/c if within 5 days of being served if I pay them then they will not "seek to enforce those provisions, nor pursue further legal remedies against said defendant". Problem is I don't have the money right now, but would be willing to work out a payment plan. Just not sure what to do. I do want to pay them, just wished they would have contacted me first before going this route.

Thanks by the way for the kindness shown so far.

Melissa

My question here may sound stupid but couldn't help to ask, has they ever validated the debt in a proper way? i.e. through DV letter, stating the proper division of the charges, amount paid so far, amount still owed. Or, it's just that you think that you owe to them. Well, am not denying your moral obligation, just curious to know.

However, you might call them up and suggest your proposal, IMO it's worth trying.

I believe that if the debt is yours, you should pay it. However I don't believe that they should abuse the legal system as the industry has recently. Let's see if there is a way to throw this out. If you could please answer the following questions for me I may be able to further assist you.

1. I assume from your post that you live in NC, is this correct?
2. When was the last time you paid on this debt?
3. What type of debt was it?
4. You said Unifund sued you, does it say who is representing Unifund?
5. Have you called your court clerk's office to check if the docket number is real?

1. I assume from your post that you live in NC, is this correct? Yes, this is correct

2. When was the last time you paid on this debt?
around 2 years ago

3. What type of debt was it? this is a cc debt

4. You said Unifund sued you, does it say who is representing Unifund? it is Pedro Zabala, II of the lawfirm Sessoms & Rogers. It says they are in Durham, NC

5. Have you called your court clerk's office to check if the docket number is real?
No, haven't called the clerk, but I had this hand delivered from the Franklin County Sheriff's Dept., so pretty sure it's real.

Thanks for all the help you guys. It is nice just to try and talk to someone.

Melissa
_________________

You are in statute for that debt as the three years have not lapsed. Call to confirm docket information and then you are going to have to answer this summons.

heres some information for you if you need it.


3326 Chapel Hill Boulevard, Suite A-200
Durham, North Carolina 27707
Telephone: 919-688-1000
Fax: 919-688-9000

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 52508, Durham, NC, 27717

Sessoms & Rogers, P.A. practices in the following areas of law:
Collections, Civil Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Banking Law, Traffic Violations, Foreclosures, Creditors Rights.

Firm Size: 2

Representative Clients:
Branch Banking & Trust Co.; portfolio recovery associates; Collect America; Unifund CCR Partners.

Pedro J. Zabala, II practices in the following areas of law: Creditors Rights; Collections; Banking Law.

Lee C. Rogers (Partner) born Syracuse, New York, March 1, 1955; admitted to bar, 1982, North Carolina. Education: Duke University (B.A., 1977); North Carolina Central University (J.D., 1982). Member: Durham County Bar Association; North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers; National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. Practice Areas: Consumer Bankruptcy; Traffic Violations; Collections.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Pedro J. Zabala, II (Associate) born St. Petersburg, Florida, March 13, 1972; admitted to bar, 2000, North Carolina. Education: University of Florida (B.A., with honors, 1995); University of Florida, Frederick C. Levin College of Law (J.D., 1999). Member: North Carolina State Bar; North Carolina Bar Association (Member, Sections on: Litigation; Business Law; Constitutional Law); National Association of Retail Collections Attorneys (Member, Board of Directors, 2005????????). Languages: Spanish and Portuguese. Practice Areas: Creditors Rights; Collections; Banking Law. Email: Pedro J. Zabala, II

Thanks again for the help.

If I am able to negotiate some type of payment arraingment, do I still send in the summons, and if so do I just list the payment aggreament on that. Hoping that takes care of everything, and that I don't have to go to court over this matter. I did look up a local lawyers name on NACA.net just in case I need to go further with this.

Unifund Ccr IS licensed to collect debt in your state.

I don't know if they have to be but Sessoms & Rogers IS NOT licensed to collect debt in your state. According to NC laws, they DO need to be licensed unless:
???? 58-70-15. Definition of collection agency and collection agency business.

(8)Attorneys-at-law handling claims and collections in their own name and not operating a collection agency under the management of a layman.

You can make payment arrangements if you desire.I would answer the complaint with the court though to avoid a default judgment.

cajunbulldog, I just got off the phone with the people and set up a payment plan. How do you suggest that I word the summons. They said they would send out paperwork to get it all started.

Thanks, Melissa

You would have to remove personal info and upload here to look at it as I am unaware of your state's laws. If you do pay them make sure they dismiss their action from the courts.

Fight them! They are a paper tiger.

I'm a consumer lawyer in NC and I've defended three different cases against Unifund CCR Partners. In all three cases, once they saw it would not go easily for them, Unifund voluntarily dismissed it. Case #1 was three years ago and Unifund never refiled. Sessoms & Rogers represented Unifund in the last two cases. In case #2, after I drove 150 miles on an overnight trip, I got to court and found that S&R had continued the case without telling me--well, actually they had faxed me at 8:00 the night before, knowing full well I would have already left, so they were just screwing with me. A couple weeks later, they gave up.

Case #3 was supposed to have been today, but after two 400-mile round trips just to appear in court and finally get a date set, I was on my way to another overnight stay yesterday when S&R called, at 4:00, to say they'd dismissed the case again, and acted like they were doing me some huge favor to call me and tell me.

The problem with Unifund is, they are a general partnership and they're supposed to file certain information with the register of deeds in any county where they do business. They haven't. Also they have not registered their "doing business as" name with the Secretary of State. Better yet, they don't correctly allege in their boilerplate lawsuits that they have the capacity to sue in NC, in fact, the first thing they allege is that Unifund CCR Partners is a New York partnership, which is baloney because you can't find any such partnership in the New York Secretary of State records.

The client in case #3 is hopping mad, because we were looking forward to beating them in court this morning. To make ourselves feel better, we're beginning a statewide class action against Sessoms and Rogers, and all their Santa's helper law firms they hire to make local appearances, for this very shady Unifund crew. I mean, it would have taken 30 seconds to fix their complaint form, and very little time and money to register in each county where they sue, but Sessoms and Rogers imagine themselves on a holy mission to take peoples' money away and give it to junk debt buyers that paid less than a penny on the dollar--with nothing going to the poor stiffed original creditor. Let's see how much profit they make now.

You can totally fight Unifund and do it yourself. They have no documentation to back up their claim AND if you do not have a court date on your summons the chances of them just "going away" is HUGE if you file an Answer properly. They're just out for default judgements. You can get info on Pro Se (DIY) representation for fighting a debt lawsuit at ihavebeenserved.info

Good luck!

Chris L in NC
please contact me, I may need your assistance with unifund in NC.
dabatboyaolcom

I am having a time with these guys....collecting for LVNV. Sent them a DV, they never validated but had me served with a Civil Summons...I called them and the guy tells me, yes, we did receive your letter, we just don't know where it is right now. He then says that he'll get me the validation I'm requesting and mail it out, but could take 120 days....what do I do in the meantime, they already sent the summons and I know I have to answer it. I thought they we're violating my rights since I mailed them a DV but they just went ahead and filed suit against me anyway, am I right?? Need help!

did you send the DV letter certified mail return receipt?do you have the green slip showing they signed for it?if so you can get this thrown out.first i would go to naca.net find a consumer lawyer in your area.have him go to court with you.then file a suit for the fdcpa violation of filing suit after a DV letter was received and the debt was not validated.that is if you sent the letter cmrrr and have the green slip.

yes, I have the slip, it was signed on 11-10-08. they filed the paperwork with the court on 12-04-08 and I was served on 12-22-08 (yesterday). even though, the guy tells me on the phone that he'll get me my validation, but could take up to 120 days....so this can still get thrown out? just wondering how much a lawyer is gonna cost me.

Called a couple of attorney's...they are either too busy or they won't take my case b/c they don't think I have a counter suit....Now what, I have 16 days to answer?

Chris L who posted on this thread, if your around maybe you can help, the attorney's office is Sessoms & Rogers as stated above.

Thanks!

You can countersue for continued collection activity while under a DV.

Make sure you take the DV letter and a copy of the return receipt with you to court. Then during discovery you ask for all those validating documents. If they don't produce them, then you file a motion to compel. If they don't or can't produce them, you immediately motion to dismiss with prejudice since they can't prove you owe them any monies.

I just spoke with an attorney who said I don't have much of a case (read above) and 2 other attorneys have told me their too busy to help right now...I need to file my answer in the next 16 days, I don't know what to do. Help?

Chris L from NC mentioned above are you still floating around?

Does there have to be a case number for the summons before the court will allow you to answer to the complaint?

what is the correct way to answer civil summons? if the last time you made a payment on the debt in question is over 3 allmost four years and originated in another state how does that work?

You have to check your state SOL.

To answer the summons you should have a set of numbered statements. You need to agree, disagree or use: Not enough documentation to agree or disagree. You want to use that last one, or disagree with anything that even remotely says that you owe anything.

There will be a discovery part and in that you ask for everything you asked for in the DV. You can also countersue for the continued collection activity..you just file the countersuit.

I answerd the summons requesting a validation of debt that's it. all so i was wondering do the sol laws apply where the debt originated or where it is being filed"where I now reside"?
If i receive a court date and they don't show am i off the hook? and do i have to declair or file somthing at that time ,as of now i have no council?

Did you answer any of the statements? You don't answer with a DV, it will be ignored. You have to wait for the discovery part and then you send your request for them to produce those documents. The SOL applies where you currently reside.

If they don't show you motion to dismiss the case. You don't need representation, though if you can get it, it is better.

i received no statements ,just a summons that was blank just had atty's name and name of who they represent.two days later received a consent of jugement,and on a seperate paper a payment arrangement the consent said i would start off owing way more than the original amount of debt when defaulted and had an accuring 8%interest . The sol is 3 yrs where i live and it has been much longer THAN THAT DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW I ADDRESS THAT MATTER IS THERE SOMTHING SPECIAL I FILE OR JUST BRING THAT FACT UP IN COURT TO THE JUDGE ?

because i answerd them bolth with a dv does thaat mean like i never responded and they automaticaly get judgement cause i still have a couple of days and could respond to bolth with a not enough documetation to agree or dis agree

should i answer summons again and say not enough documentation to agree or disagree? and send to atty's office
rrr

Well, you said the summons was blank...did it have -anything- on it? There should be statements like where you reside, that you took out the card on such and such date, that you defaulted on it on such and such date.

You should contact your county clerk and ask about it, make sure that you file a proper response. DO NOT accept that consent judgement..it means they get to automatically win. You don't want that! Also ask the clerk the proper was to deny the consent judgment, if you formally file an objection to it or if you should just ignore it. I have heard that you have to agree to it and file it with the court for it to take effect so if that is the case just ignore it..by ignoring it you turn it down, but check first!!!

A court date will be set and before that court date will be the discovery phase, this is where you send the lawyer a sheet of questions (must like on the DV) and also ask for specific documents such as the last statement, the contract, proof the CA is legally able to collect in your state.

Since your SOL is 3 years, if they do provide the documentation then you motion to dismiss based on it being a time barred debt, using the documentation they provided. If they don't produce any documentation, then you motion to dismiss based on lack of evidence on their part to show proof that you owe this debt.

my name and address and atty's name and address and lvnv
and thats it no amount no orig inal creditors name or nothing.
tomorow i go over to clerk and file papper saying not enough to agree or disagree. discovery comes before court? how will i know when that is ?and lets say it is time barred do i file time barred debt with clerk before court date ? or bring it up in court. why would somone even show up if it's timebarred. the other thing if it is being reported on my credit incorrectly like reaged and they cant provide proof of payment do i automatically win and is that illegal for them . i dont know if thats afact yett ,but i hear lvnv is famous for that and iam trying to get a copy of cr to see if thats whats going on.

Just received a summons from Unifund to appear in 30 days. The same day the summons was received, also received a letter from Tom, Hamilton & Associates stating they could help with this situation. However, they want to charge $600 to help and they are not attorneys it appears that they are parallegals. Have you heard of this company?

Well the 'agree or disagree' is generally for the questions, if you have no set of questions, there is nothing to agree or disagree with. There is also no amount listed? It doesn't say how much you are being sued for??? that is odd. Call the court and make sure the summons is real.

Is the paper just telling you when to appear or is it asking for an answer to something?

You don't want to put in that it is a time barred debt unless you have proof of when your last payment was. If you do not have that, you ask THEM for that information in the discovery (like to provide proof that the debt is still within the statute of limitation, the last statement, signed contract, etc. Ask your court how to go about filing for discovery, they should help you. Also, they will likely send you their own discovery..you can use that as a template to create your own.

If they reaged it you will not auto win, but you could counter sue them and demand to see proof of this payment they say you made.

Please contact me asap. Sessoms & Rogers in Durham, NC representing CACH, LLc is trying to take my mothr in law houses that me & my husband live in with our 3 small children over $3,000.00. PLease I really need help ad I have no idea what to do.

I received my letter from a law firm requesting production of documents stating the GA codes, when I send my request for them to produce will I use the same GA codes or will their be different ones that I have to use?

should I include my request for document in the same envelope that I am returning theirs in or should I mail mine seperate?

I also recently received a civil summons, from Daniels Law Office of Quincy, MA for an old MBNA cc debt. I sent two certified letters asking for validation, and what I got back was a copy of an arbitration award from National Arbitration Forum, who I have read is very tight with MBNA. The award is adressed to Wolpof and Abrams, not Daniels Law Office. It seems that Wolpof and Abrams are also very close with the Forum. I answered the summons, now have a case management meeting set for two months from now. I was also told by an attorney that I didn't have much of a case, and that he was too busy. I wondering what will happen at the meeting, if the CA never produced the documents I asked for, and I have certified receipts that I sent two validation requests. My main concern was that the amount allegedly owed seemed really high, and I wanted to know where they came up with it. I also wanted proof, which they failed to provide, that they were legally entitled to collect this debt. Anyone have experience with case management meetings?

My husband was served with a civil summons which has no court date on it only saying that we have 30 days. this is from arrow financial service,llc in virginia beach,va on behalf of wells fargo which he had is truck financed through and we had called 8 times or so to get them to refinance the truck and they refused we couldn't make the payments and one night they came and got it we din't know. the man who came and got it said if they auctions it and someone buys it we didn't have to pay that's a lie now arrow financial is doing there dirty work for them and they are only a cllections agency. what do we do please help

Hi,

Here is a great article by a law firm that describes the lawsuit process in great detail, including the case management meeting. "http://www.gianelli-law.com/article9-NTL-whathappens.html"

And secondly, get another attorney STAT. Having a bad attorney is as bad as appearing pro se, possibly worse because there is so much information online as to what happens, what could happen, and how to respond. Go to "www.naca.net" and find a good consumer advocate attorney who specializes in FDCPA issues.

Avoid arbitration or mediation if at all possible. Go here for more info : "http://www.arbitrationjustice.com/"

Hope this helps.

Call your county court house and verify the court date. File your response as soon as possible, the instructions will be on your local county civil court website or at the courthouse itself.

We don't have the money to even pay for it. They waited 2 years before they did anything not even to a letter about this matter.what happens if we don't do anything about it?Don't have any money even for a lawyer.There is no court date on the papers for it.

Call your county court house and verify if it is a real summons. If it is, you HAVE to appear and defend yourself, otherwise they will get a default judgment for everything they want and you will find it very difficult to get out from under that. With a judgement they can garnish your wages and seize your tax returns.

You do not need an attorney, you can appear pro se, but it is advisable as these creditors have slick attorneys whose only goal is to take from you the maximum they can.

Either that or file bankruptcy, which you can also do yourself. Start here: http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/ccde/index.htm

Bring all your income and expense info to show the courts that you cannot afford to pay.

anyone ever heard of advantage assets,inc. fir Sessoms and Rogers in Durham,N.C.

Chris L,
What is your experience with Sessom and Rogers representing FIA / Bank of America? i think i might like your services.

Hello I had to write the same thing has just happened to me and I desperately need advise...

Ok here are some details; The letter is for Wake Co. in N.Caroina (I presently live in Alaska) The letter stating that this was my last chance to settle before going to litigation was dated February 6, my daughter didn't forward it to me til May 15. The summons was issued April 2, and was served May 8, to her not me by someone that didn't verify proof of idenity or establish that I even lived there, just said give it to me. She arrived from her May 16.

The summons says I have 30 days to respond is that from the date issued (Feb 02), the date filed (April 20) There is no signature under the date stamp on the complaint saying by whom it was filed. There also is no actual date on the civil summons saying when I'm supposed to appear in court.

I got into this debt with good intentions, my youngest daughter's apartment burned down the same day she told me she was pregnant.. She and her husband signed a self made letter saying they would be responsible for the debt and make at least minimum payments.. They didn't so I did the best I could until I lost my job..

My debt is with Citibank for Sears and has been taken over by Mann Bracken LLP (LVNV FUNDING, LLC) The last payment on this loan was in March/April of 2007. I know they deserve their money, but I don't have any. I am presently living with a friend as I don't have a job and can't afford a place of my own..

So now you know some history my question is this:
1. What do I do now?
2. Do I write a letter?
3. If yes, to whom? Court or Mann Bracken or Sears?
4. What do I say in the letter?

Please help as I don't know what to do... thank you in advance

They have to sue in the County in which you currently reside. Contact the courthouse where the judgment was issued and File a Motion to Dismiss for Improper Service (ask them how).

What ever happened with this stuff as I have been bamboozled by them since last year. Let me know. Thanks.

no dv provided just a set of interogs asking allkinds of personal info bank statments receipts of payments made on said account ect assets stuff not even pertaining to case

any advice?

I am in a debt settlement program and have received three summons. One came with an alternative settlement offer, which I took. The other two were legit, from the original creditors. So I called the attorneys listed as representing the plaintiffs, and told them I wanted to settle before the court date. They did, and worked out payment plans through my settlement company. (If you don't have a settlement company, you can do it yourself.) I showed up at court, and the cases were dismissed (with leave to reinstate, of course, if I failed to make my payments). When you work out a settlement or payment plan ahead of time, there is no judgement against you, either. It seems pretty simple to me, yet so many people fail to do this. There seems to be a lot of time and energy spent on letters back and forth, and denials, and all sorts of other things, when if, in fact, the debt is yours and you know it, and it will be proven to be yours, it's best to work it out beforehand instead of having a judgement against you. Just my two cents.

I was recently served a Civil Summons in NC for an old CC debt. National Credit Adjusters is the company named on the summons. I know this is a valid debt as I made a payment about 2 years ago. It is asking for an answer which I plan to do. However, I would like to settle this thing before it goes to court. I'm not sure what I need to do.