Help! Nine years ago, I had two credit cards with small limits ( $300 and $400 ), both with the same company. After some financial hardships, I stopped making payments and they got a judgement against me for almost $3000. I paid this judgement in 2000 and have not had a credit card since! However, I just found out a few days ago that my bank accounts are frozen and was given a number to call. When I called, this very aggressive collector informed me that the original judgement had only been for one of the cards and that I still owe them another $2500. I had not received ONE letter, bill, phone call or notification whatsoever concerning this debt. I lived at the same residence and had the same telphone number until 2005- five years after the original judgement was obtained- and was never notified by mail or telephone of this outstanding debt.

There has been no activity on this account since 2000 and the collector said that it was "written off" in 2001. (I don't know what this means.) At the end of 2007, they delivered a court summons to my former address, which has been empty since I moved out. (It should have been obvious to anyone that attempted to deliver a summons that no one lives there.) Needless to say, I was never given a chance to make arrangements or dispute the amount. But when I called the court to inform them that I had no notification of the debt or the court date, they said that this did not matter... that I was obligated, even seven years later, to inform this CC company of my change of address.

My real concern is the bank account. Both of our checks are direct deposited and every penny we have is frozen for two weeks. And, unfortunately, we will not be able to stop the direct deposits in time for next week. WE LITERALLY HAVE NO MONEY. This collector will not budge. I feel like I was blind-sided and may even be getting cheated. And, of course, everyone just assumes that I am a bad-person-who-deserves-what-I-get-because-I-didn't-make-my-payments, so I get no assistance from the court that issued this. I have two young kids... I need some money to live on. Anything at all I can do?
BTW- I live in Virginia. Any help is greatly appreciated.

You need to file a motion with the court immediately to vacate the judgement on the grounds of improper service and possibly SOL violations.

Thanks so much and for answering so quickly. I will call first thing tomorrow morning.

The unfortunate thing is that the court is located hundreds of miles away... a four-hour round trip! But I'm also certain that these creditors count on the fact that most individuals can't make the trip and therefore win their case by default.

I'll keep you posted. Again.. many thanks.

You could contact an attorney near the court to act on your behalf. You may also be able to ask for a change in venue to transfer the case to a court closer to you.

Good luck!

Hi Scott:

Just wanted to let you know what happened today when I went to court. The judgement was vacated on the grounds of improper service. I had moved eight months before they served the papers, and when I told the judge this, he asked to see a copy of my driver's license. I had registered my new address with the DMV three months before the papers were served, so he immediately vacated the judgement and set a new date for trial.

The judge was actually very nice and told me to prepare my defense on the SOL expiration for the next court date and that if it is true, I will not be held responsible. Capital One may even opt not to pursue before the next trial, but I doubt that. I have a very strong case, with the last activity on the account being in 2000, and the papers were served in May 2007. Even if they consider it a written account, in VA the SOL for that is 4 years. I already paid them once, but have not one shred of evidence since it was so long ago... so that's the only thing that worries me.

Thank you so much for your help. I didn't even know where to begin but your advice won my case today! Now, just one more hurdle to jump... LOL.

Thanks Again :D :D :D

Good luck and glad I could help.

From my experience, most judges are aware of these collectors who buy debt at pennies on the dollar and try to sneak and intimidate their way into a judgement. So they do tend to side with the defendants in such cases.

Hi Again, Scott:

Just a quick update: I won! I won! I won!
I based my grounds of defense on the SOL violation and won my case.

Thank you SO much for your assistance. I didn't even know where to begin until you offered your advice!

Not only are you a genius but also a kind soul for taking the time and effort to help me beat the Big Bad Capital One Wolf.

Much appreciation to you :D

Glad to help and thanks for letting us know the outcome.