[sgdidit]

I received a summons on my door for a $5,000 debt to american express. Lawyer office is about 1 1/2 from my home... I am willing to pay the debt, do I have to show up for court? I am going to be out of town and won't be around on the court date... can I call the attorney's office and settle the debt with them? Can I set up a payment arrangement with the attorney's office? What will happen if I set up an arrangement but don't show up for court? Will they garnish wages even if I'm on a payment plan? Will they even be willing to accept a payment plan? I'M SCARED... PLEASE HELP ME!!

[Yaro]

Sdidit Don't Be Scared first of all I have been through this 1. Biggest mistake is not showing
up for a court date go to the courthouse and show them your travel plans and get your
court date changed it could take half a day to do this. 2. All those summons and official
looking letters are meant to scare the @#^^$$ but all they are saying is that because
you did not pay on time they are suing you No Big Deal go in front of the judge and
just explain to him your position on why you were not able to pay could be a number
of reasons job, school, outrageous fees finance charges mistakes in billing etc etc
3. Always remember that the courts and the Judge are their to give impartial dispute
resolutions meaning even if they give a decision that's not in your favor you can
always file an appeal having said that I would say that go to court on the date they
asked you to the representative from Amex would prob want (100%) to settle with
you outside the courtroom negotiate with him if you feel its not fair then go in front
of the judge. Also if your not feeling well stressed out because of the ridiculous letters
from them then you could take a doctors note to have your date changed.
Good Luck

P.S In my case I was able to get 60% of the amount they were asking reduced ;)

[mr.yet]

Call the court to make sure it is a real summons. If so, file motion to dismiss improper service, lack of jurisdiction, lack of personla jurisdiction, failure to state claim upon which relief may be grant.


Tape it to a door is not proper service upon the defendant.

[Fr_Chuck]

In many states a summoms is legally served if it is left on your door,
And as mr yet mentioned you can ask for it to be dismissed if the service was not proper, if that court does not have jurisdiction and so on, but most service is legal and most courts that issue them have legal jurisdiction, and it does not make the court really extra happy for people to try and get a summons dismissed for false claims, so if you have legal claims to do so, then fine, if not, either go to the court house and get them to arrange a new court date if possible, or change your plans and be in court.

If they get that judgement, they can attach all of your bank accounts, they can garnish your wages and more.

Of course if you have the money in the bank, go down to the attorneys office and just pay them. If not arrange to be in court.

[tanyaradzwa]

I have been receiving a lot of letters from attorneys regarding a credit card debt, I recently receive a letter from the sheriff with a twenty day notice to respond to. The amount claimed on the letter is far too high than the amount that I owed. I wanted to dispute this claim by asking the court to dismiss the case that I don't owe such amount to the credit card company. Please give me your advise.

[tonuab]

In my experience, I have found that it is possible to settle out of court without having to appear in court. There should be a number on the summons where you can contact the petitioner to settle. You should do this as soon as possible to prevent a need to go to court. When you contact the petitioner, make sure you ask them to dismiss the case, confirm you will not need to appear in court, and request a copy of the court dismissal for your records. This is critical in case there's any mistakes on the court dockets.

This is what I did for a recent court summons (in the state of Michigan) to pay a delinquent bill. I knew that I owed the amount and didn't have a valid dispute. I contacted the petitioner, paid the bill, and they sent me a copy of the court dismissal. I never had to appear in court, and I never had to pay additional court costs.

[mlr08]

There's a great article you should read at Served a Summons Or Credit Card Debt Lawsuit - Don't Call the Creditor!

It will give you a good idea of your options and what NOT to do!

[adthern]

Call the court to make sure it is a real summons. If so, file motion to dismiss improper service, lack of jurisdiction, lack of personla jurisdiction, failure to state claim upon which relief may be grant.


Tape it to a door is not proper service upon the defendant.

There are certain types of cases that require what's called "in hand" service, but most civil cases only require "last usual place of abode" service (this will of course depend on the jurisdiction).

That said, your advice is otherwise decent, the various motions would be appropriate if you are going to fight the suit. If you are willing to settle, they still might be helpful in negotiating the amount or the terms with the attorney.

On another note, the rules regarding lending and credit cards are extremely complicated. I would really advise contacting a lawyer that specializes in this type of thing, they could help you in huge ways. The possibilities are you could pay the straight 5K or AMEX could add reasonable legal fees which could double the amount you owe, plus interest. Another possibility is that they violated your states collection practices or consumer protection laws, which could prevent them from collecting anything.

Find a credit attorney, tell him/her how much you can afford to pay them and they will do it or not. If you absolutely can not get a lawyer, go to court ask for a continuance to prepare and spend a lot of time in the law library at the court.

[kemamdee]

I have received a summons to go to court, because I did not pay my city financial bill , how to deal with this problem , take a leagl aid lawyrer?

[Jeca]

I have not received a summons but somebody called me with the county I live in and my last four SS number claiming to be a detective. They called once and left a voice mail what should I do?