default on contract civil suit

peaches - welcome to the forums!

I would first recommend checking the Statute of Limitations (SOL) in your state for the type of debt you are dealing with. If this debt is past the SOL, I would make sure the company pursuing you understands that.

Do not, under any circumstances, ignore the summons. That will only lead to a default judgement and possible garnishment of your wages.

The worst thing to do would be to ignore the summons, by not showing up in court you automatically loose. Does the creditor have a leg to stand on? Do you still owe the money, or have they made an error? If you have documentation that you have paid your debt take it to the judge and prove you are right. Also as Suebee says check your states SOL if it is too late and they won't listen to you you still need to go to court and let the judge know that the SOL has run.

This debt is probably to old to collect thru the court system.Answer the summons raising your statute of limitation defense and send a debt validation letter to the collection company and assigned attorney immediately certified return receipt. You will need to review your state rules of civil procedure to see how you would answer the summons.