I am so desperate and so worried that I find myself seeking the help of strangers.

On Friday I received a hand delivered summons to appear in court regarding a credit card debt.

I have opened credit cards in the past, but I do not remember this particular bank. I also wonder if I did owe, why did I never receive anything prior to this?

I live in Chicago and the court date is for next Friday. It would be a big inconvenience to get downtown for this, not to mention it says I would have to pay $113. Just to file an appearance.

What do I do? I tried to contact the lawyers office, but it is just a recording saying to leave a message and they will call me back.

How do I dispute the validity of this? It says I should do so in writing, but to whom? And what do I say? At the bottom it is written: "Unless you dispute the validity of this debt, or any portion of it, within 30 days after receipt of this notice, in writing, the debt will be assumed to be valid. If you do dispute the debt's validity, we will provide verification or a copy of any judgement taken against you and the address of the original creditor if different than the current creditor".

I am so worried, I don't know what to do and I really need some advice.

Thank you.

I would look through your paper records for any credit card bills that you have. You may find something that you have forgotten about.

I would hope that on the notice that was hand-delivered to you, that there would at least be a number that you could call.

If there is, then I would make sure that you have someone on the other line who can be a witness to what transpires between you and these people.

Always have a witness when responding to these kinds of things.

First relax, Send a letter to the address of the court stating your intention to defend against this suit. In the letter state that you have no knowledge of this debt, nor have you received any prior notice of it. Send a copy to the lawyer's office asking them to produce the verification as indicated.

If you can then show the debt isn't yours, they might drop it. Otherwise you will have to go to court. But you stand a good chance of winning. Not sure about the fees involves, you shouldn't have to pay if this is a case of mistaken identity.