I was just served a summons and complaint from one of those collections agencies which have a "legal front" name. I used to work in the legal department of a collections agency, but they still scare me a bit. I have been looking online today and cannot find a format to file a response to the court regarding the complaint. The debt is supposedly under $1,000 and I'm pretty sure the credit card was opened in early 2004, and closed by the end of 2004 when I settled with the credit card company. I figured that it's about to be 2008, so when I moved I threw out the paperwork regarding the settlement. I haven't heard anything about this collection in a LONG time. As a matter of fact, I can't even remember the last time I heard about this account. I tried to call the collection company to discuss the situation, but I was sent to a voicemail which tells me I am calling after hours. (It's 2:40 PM Pacific time and their hours are 8 am-8 pm Pacific time, clearly not after hours.) Then I get transferred to a voicemail which is full. I then tried to e-mail the company and received an undeliverable notice in my inbox. This all sounds pretty shady to me. I just sent out a letter requesting a verification of debt, verification of the last date of activity on the account, and a copy of the original signed contract. What do I do next?

I live in Sacramento, CA.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mistiliah

closed by the end of 2004 when I settled with the credit card company.

---

Hello m:

You settled but can't prove it??

IF the bank feels the same way you do about the account, I think with proper correspondence, you CAN prove it. Once you do, send a copy of your proof by certified mail to the collector scumbags. You don't need to talk to 'em.

excon

FIRST you file your Intend to Defend with the court. THEN you send a copy of that to the plaintiff with the request for verification.

You might check your credit record to see if the account is listed as settled.