If I am being sued for a debt on a credit card that I never had, do I have the right to require the plaintiff to face me in court during a status conference, so that I can demand a contract or other proof that they have authority to sue me, instead of appearing telephonically? My understanding is that this company sues in towns other than where the defendent lives in hope of receiving a default judgement.
Thank you.

charlotte234s

Ew @ collector scum. I'm not sure if you can demand it or not, but I feel for you. Sorry I'm not much help but yeah, collectors try sleazy tricks.

mr.yet

File notice of intent to defend, they will cause them to appear at the hearing, Send them a dicovery request for the original contract, complete accounting, and did they purchase the debt, and for what amount.

They will have to produce this or they have no proof, it they failed to provide your request, file motion to compell discovery.

Suse50

Thank you Charlotte234s.
I am so angry that a person being acused for something false is not allowed to require that the person suing them appear in court in person. They should not be allowed to appear telephonically. And I'm also angry that when they cannot and will not, even though we have demanded it, produce their documents to prove their case that they cannot be forced to pay us back for our charges to answer the suit. Does anyone know if we can sue them for our court costs and time?

JudyKayTee

All States are different but usually (never a good word when discussing all things legal!) the suit must be filed in the County where either the Plaintiff does business OR the Defendant resides - this is by Statute and the Plaintiff can't simply decide where the case should be heard. And, no, at least in NYS there is no requirement for an in-person conference.

There must have been some back and forth correspondence before the lawsuit was filed - why does the collection agency think this is your account? Did you report unauthorized use of a credit card or fraud?

It is difficult to win in matters where you have been contacted and done nothing, suddenly you are sued and allege the account is fraudulent or stolen - although I do not know if this is your situation.

jjancam

Hi suse, I am going through something similar, its a nightmare. That said, if you haven't already, request VALIDATION, not just verification, from the debt collector. They are required under FDCPA Section 809(b). This Section is to help those who have been misidentified by the debt collector, or who dispute the debt. It is important that the debt collector's verification (identity, and amount of debt) be obtained Directly From The Creditor! Also, to file a lawsuit they must present the court with a Cause of Action proving you owe the debt. What does the Affidavit Of Indebtness say? They must produce a signed agreement from inception. Without it they cannot win, but be careful, scrutize everything, they are tricky. Make sure you ask for this specificly in your interrogatories. Get the FDCPA and FCRPA from The FederalmTrade Commission and see all the violations that have been committed, and SUE.
(Ihave not created a profiile yet, too busy with my lawsuit pro se. I came in to ask a queston, but had to stop and see if I could help another innocent, like me. Good Luck. I'll get back soon to make a profile, if you need a sympathic ear. God knows, I do.
JJANCAM

Suse50

JudyKayTee ,
This is not the case. The very first correspondence with this company was a summons. We have never received anything from them by mail or by telephone until the summons. We never had the account they refer to so as soon as we were summoned, we immediately filed a response denying their claim and demanded validation of th edebt, which they have not provided.