I received a civil summons and have 14 days to respond to the court and lawyers office. I read allot on this site, so I decided to call and see if I could settle. They agreed if I paid $1380 within 30 days on a $1960 debt..is this fair?...also, now how do I answer the summons?....theres no block to check saying I've settled with the lawyers representing the credit card company, only admitting I owe the money, some of the money, or not at all??? Help!

ScottGem

Tell them to send you a letter outling the details of the settlement and acknowledging that they are withdrawing the suit pending completion of the settlement. Send a copy of that letter as your answer to the summons.

The amount sounds fair.

twinkiedooter

Definitely send something to the clerk of court as an answer before the time limit has tolled. If you don't formally answer the complaint, they can automatically get a judgment against you. Do this even if you have some kind of an agreement with them - just in case they want to ignore your agreement and go for a judgment instead. I've seen this happen where a person thought they had an agreement with the attorney and his staff went to the courthouse and got a judgment. What a hassel that was to sort out. Cover your behind with an answer.