Hello,

I am being sued by Main Street Acquisition Corp. (a Junk Debt Buyer from what I understand) for an outstanding balance of nearly $5000 on a credit card. I am very inexperienced with all these law related issues but thanks to the many topics and answers on this site and others, I have been able to file an answer to the court summons and make my appearance in court, pretty scary.

Before I made my appearance in the Georgia Magistrate court, I subpoenaed several items from the Plaintiff so they could provide me proof of debt. There's no discovery period in the Magistrate court here but you can fill out and serve a subpoena for production of evidence.

Once I made it to court, there were lots and lots of people there and very few of them actually went in front of the judge. All lawyers there trying to collect outstanding debts were allowed to talk to the defendants outside of the courtroom to come to an agreement before trial.

The lawyer representing the plaintiff was very surprised at the items I had subpoenaed as "no one asks for evidence" she said while trying to be friendly. In my opinion, what she gave me didn't prove anything and the only reason I didn't go in front of the judge and agreed to a trial continuance is because she countered one of my items by citing a case I had no idea about.

She seemed very eager to convince me to take a payment plan as I kept myself from admitting or denying the debt. At one point, she asked me to choose whether I was disputing the amount of the debt or declaring fraudulent activity on the account but every time I simply said I couldn't recall anything about the debt and she'd get stuck.

I followed much of the advice on this post.https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/bankru...-129266-2.html

These are exactly the items I subpoenaed and her answers:

1. Original signed credit application.

Her Answer: She cited the case Hill vs American Express which states the use of the card itself constitutes a contract and therefore she doesn't have to produce the credit application. She then went on and said "we can't produce it anyway" while, once again, trying to be friendly.

Exhibit A: In place of the signed credit application, she brought the "Bill of Sale" that states that the items on Exhibit A were sold to the them. Exhibit A contains the following:

1. Original Account number (haven't checked if it's true)
2. My first and last name
3. My address
4. Last 4 digits of my social
5. BLKdate (I don't know what that means)
6. Balance on the account.

Exhibit A was all weird because it was a page blacked out in ink and only a thin strip of white which contained my information would show. She explained to me that they had covered a bunch of account numbers and names because they buy these in bulk and so they couldn't show me those.

Link to Hill vs American Express: http://www.debtortalk.net/forums/index.php?topic=927.0

My Opinion: This is where she got me as I had no idea what the case was about and the signed credit application was a big part of my defense; however, after reading about the case, and correct me if I'm wrong of course, I believe that they're different situations. Mr. Hill had admitted to his debt and was claiming the statute of limitation was expired and so he argued that he didn't have to pay anything. In my case, this should not apply as I am requesting proof of debt (and to do this, I'm requesting the signed original credit application) and I have not admitted to this debt in any form. I don't believe Exhibit A proves much of anything, the only hard-to-get proof there is the last 4 digits of my social.

2. Certified copy of the alleged debt and complete accounting of alleged account from the beginning, including, but not limited to, the original account number, the date the account was opened and closed and the last activity on the account.

Her Answer: She provided me with an "Account Verification Letter" that contained my name, last 4 digits of my social security, original creditor, original account number, date account was established, original creditors address, charge off date, charge off amount, total payments after charge-off date ($0), date of last payment made, and the name and address of the current owner of the account.

My opinion: It seems to me like this is all general information that could simply be made up (with the exception of the last 4 digits of my social), it's not certified in any way like I asked, and some of it was even written by hand. She did have what I asked for though I have no clue if the dates are correct.

3. Documentation of the alleged payments to the alleged account and how they were made.

Her Answer: All she showed me was an account statement that was barely legible (some it not legible at all) and showed exactly this: the beginning and ending balance from monthly period xx to period xx and interest for those periods (8 different times, some of them you can't read). She said they can't get the information of the payments made and how they were made because they don't sell that information to them when they purchase accounts.

My opinion: How can I know that they're not making all this up when they can't even show me a payment made from a card or bank account that I own?

4. Proof that the statute of limitations has not expired.

Her Answer: She showed me the dates that prove it has not expired.

My opinion: I don't know if they're true dates but they're likely to be.

5. Documentation stating whether the plaintiff has purchased the alleged debt and for what amount.

Her Answer: She provided the "Bill of Sale" that states that they bought the account but told me they don't have to disclose the amount and although she didn't say why, I'm sure it's true.

My opinion: Not much to say here.


So those are the items I subpoenaed from them.


She suggested that I look at my credit report and my account statements to see if I could remember about the account and find proof of any payments made to it. It left me thinking when she suggested this, are they not able to get these themselves? Can they request these from me if they wanted to?

What are your thoughts? How should I proceed? Am I wrong and do they have the case in the bag? Should I settle for monthly payments or should I go before the judge?

Please don't think wrong of me as someone not wanting to pay this debt, I don't believe Main Street deserves my money. Like many others, I'm under a lot of financial stress and if they can provide me with proof of debt, I'm more than willing to pay them.

Thank you so much for your time, I know that was a lot of information to read.

This is just too long and complicated to digest and answer point by point. My question would be... do you owe the money? Is this your debt? If it is, is the dispute over the total amount due or something else?

Concerning the statute of limitations - your records should show the last time the account was active (either a charge or a payment). They will argue their paperwork and you will argue yours. Happens all the time. You need proof; they need proof.

Many times there is NO signed agreement - the use of the card constitutes the agreement. I know it sounds strange, but it happens.

Is it your debt or not?

If they refuse to provide you with documentation TO WHICH YOU ARE ENTITLED use that information in Court. You cannot adequately defend yourself without certain information, X, Y and Z.

I have seen Judges ask if the Defendant used the charge card (if that's what you are talking about). If they did - it's their debt. Keep in mind - and I realize sometimes the Defendant can "out argue" the Plaintiff and beat the debt - that collecting these debts is their business, not their hobby. You, on the other hand, are inexperienced - and perhaps easily bullied. It's a coin toss.

As far as a settlement, what are they offering? In my area the Courts (when the Plaintiff wins) are awarding the full amount plus legal fees. Settlements are in the 30%-40% range.

I'd think it over and decide how strong your case is before you proceed in either direction.

By proclaiming that you don't know about the debt your putting everything in limbo. Your not contesting it and your not aknowlaging it. You need to get off the fence and make a decision.

From the way your talking you believe it is fraud. If that is your thinking then say so.
It bothers me when you say "I don't believe Main Street deserves my money"

You either remember the debt and owe it or you don't and believe it to be fraud. That is all there is to it. The more you fight it the higher your debt can go as they will be charging legal fees if they win.

Make a decision.

Thank you very much for your answers.

I have been following the wrong advice then. I will simply admit to the debt. There was no settlement offer though, it was for the full amount but in monthly payments. Will they offer me a much better deal like that 30% to 40% like it was mentioned if I pay a lump sum? Can I ask them for slightly better deal even if it is in monthly payments?

During your sidebar. The discussion that takes place outside the courtroom. You can make them an offer and they can either refuse it or take the offer. If they were giving you 40% reduction for a cash payoff. And since you agree you owe it anyway then settle at that amount and have the judge approve it. It will show as a settlement on your credit report but it is better then having paid nothing at all.

First don't believe 1/2 of the case law they throw at you in the hall outside the court, they do this often since they know you don't know it. Even a lawyer will need time to look it up, and most of the time it is wrong.

You have the right to see the evidence and they have to prove the debt. That is why you go in front of the judge to make him order them to produce the evidence and if they don't, you ask for the case to be dismissed for that reason.

If they think they have a poor case, they are willing to settle much easier.

But as noted you have to take one direction and go with it.
Did you contact the credit card company to confirm this is the company that is doing their collection. If they merely have your name on a list, then they have no proof of the actual debt.

The lawyer representing the plaintiff was very surprised at the items I had subpoenaed as "no one asks for evidence"

I don't believe Main Street deserves my money.

I'd like to address the above two statements. First, their representative was right and it is what most junk debt dealers count on. The vast majority of their judgments come by default because the debtor is scared or intimidated.

As to the second statement, that is not for you to decide. As long as they can prove that they purchased the debt they have a right to collect it.

As to not having a signed contract, in these days of electronic applications, that is not unusual.

So you are faced with a choice now. You can go back and say you have researched your records and you believe the account is yours, but you have no idea whether the balance is correct. Offer a settlement and see what you can negotiate.

The second choice is stick to your guns and say you don't believe they have enough evidence to prove this is your account. But all they need is ONE copy of a credit card purchase slip with your signature on it and that goes out the window and a judge will rule in their favor.

And, no, you weren't following bad advice, you did everything right until now. But its time to fish or cut bait.

Thank you for all the great advice everyone. I have decided to admit to the debt and negotiate for monthly payments. I owe the money and I'll take responsibility and pay it. Hopefully I will be able to pay them off in the near future because things are looking a little better at work for me.

You guys are great people with vast knowledge, stick around and help others for a long while.

Wow - I'm impressed!

I hope YOU stick around - newcomers are always welcome and I'll bet you can help other people with their problems.

Thank you for the kind words and the update. It always helps us to learn from each other.