[darenj]

I am being sued (I guess) by Capitol One. I was served a notice 3 nights ago, to appear on March 1 at 1:30 pm, no court room, just the main address. It says it is a mediation/pretrial conference, but it is confusing. The debt they are listing is a valid debt, the amount is questionable. I through many circumstances stopped paying on the account after a layoff, and got back on my feet a bit too late. They sent letter after letter demanding 50% or some number, or else. I called back, stating I could make payments again, but that wasn't acceptable. The problem, I never sent a letter, or documented phone calls. After doing all the reading I have done, I realize the error of my ways.
I don't want to walk into the court and go, "yep I used their card, and yep, thats my name!" and be told not to expect the next few paychecks.
It isn't that I can't afford to pay it, I just can't afford to pay it all at once!! Plus, the fees they tacked on are a bit unreasonable.
Now, I have to pay attorney's fees too ? How do I stop this, or get through it ? Should I hire an attorney ? How do I pay for that ?
HELP!

[mr.yet]

Go to court and dispute their claim, deny it is you until they produce the original contract which you sign, not a copy the original one where you can smudge the ink on it.

Deny you sign anything they have, unless they producethe original.

Deny all, no contract, no claim.

[darenj]

I am nervous about just walking in and denying the claim. I need some more to go on, possible consiquences, etc. I have a family to consider.

[darenj]

I am being sued (I guess) by Capitol One. I was served a notice 3 nights ago, to appear on March 1 at 1:30 pm, no court room, just the main address. It says it is a mediation/pretrial conference, but it is confusing. The debt they are listing is a valid debt, the amount is questionable. I thru many circumstances stopped paying on the account after a layoff, and got back on my feet a bit too late. They sent letter after letter demanding 50% or some number, or else. I called back, stating I could make payments again, but that wasn't acceptable. The problem, I never sent a letter, or documented phone calls. After doing all the reading I have done, I realize the error of my ways.
I don't want to walk into the court and go, "yep I used their card, and yep, thats my name!" and be told not to expect the next few paychecks.
It isn't that I can't afford to pay it, I just can't afford to pay it all at once!!! Plus, the fees they tacked on are a bit unreasonable.
Now, I have to pay attorney's fees too ? How do I stop this, or get through it ? should I hire an attorney ? how do I pay for that ?
HELP!

I am still a bit nervous about this. I have read a lot of information on this site, and unfortunately I am still intimidated. I know this is a valid debt, but from some of the items I have read on here, I am not supposed to admit to it until they produce proof. I fear that if I am asked, and I say "I demand proof that this is my debt, the contract that I signed" and poof! There it is... then what ? I feel at this point the judge is going to look at me as some type of dead beat! I have taken care of a lot of my debts, little at a time, because that is all I can do. I won't go into my sob stories, but my suit doesn't even fit me anymore!! SO if I walk into court tomorrow and I am in my work uniform (I work in the plumbing field, so my uniforms aren't "business casual" unless you count glue stains as decorations!!

I am also reading the notice, in all of its legal jargon, and it seems to counter any of this verification stuff I have read. It is telling me that I needed to verify this within 30 days of "this"notice, meaning my "Notice to appear for pretrial conference/mediation"

The debt is for $1889.00, plus attorney's fees, and interest where applicable.!

Please help, I cannot afford to have my wages garnished, I made mistakes in the past, and made them worse by not contacting them properly.. I.e. by mail.
Any advice is appreciated

[darenj]

I went to court, which seemed to be a waste of time, and waited for my name to be called. When court convened (sp?) we were told that we could give three answers, either we admitted the debt/claim, denied , or partially denied, which the last permitted us to a mediation, with volunteer mediators provided in court. However, when my name was called, and I approached the clerk, I said, partially deny. He told me I could not do that, because the judge screwed up, and there weren't any mediators available at this court time, (which was 1:30pm, and its now 2:15pm) . So, I denied the claim. The attorney (Cap ones minion) said he would talk with me (while in line to see the judge at the bench) and we chatted, and I told him, I owed cap one about $900 before I defaulted. The principle they are suing me for is $1800, and the fees and BS charges added to that come out to $3600 and rising. He told me I could wait for him, and we could have a "sorta" mediation, and maybe work it out. This is what we told the judge we were doing, and he marked up some papers, said he would give us 30 min to "try the case" and off we went. Me, to another waiting room for 45 more min. The attorney showed up, we sat, and he proceeded to tell me I was to pay this $3600 dollars, and he would wave the court costs. In the end, I told him I was only going to agree to pay the $1800, on $100 per month basis, and wanted in writing that my credit report would show this account paid in full and closed, on all three bureaus. He told me he couldn't make this decision, and said he would write Cap one and tell them. This was 3 weeks ago, and now I receive a letter from the Courthouse, stating I have a mediation hearing again, on 3/28 at 9:30 am!!
I don't have a lot of PTO time, and the first court date cost me half a days pay. This one will cost me another half day. What should I do!?
I am sorry for the length of this, but I believe anyone who can help me should see all of what happened, and tell me if I did something right or wrong ?

[matrix231]

You should definitely denie this dept until you get a copy with your signiture of that contract and most likely they will not be able to verify it so sometimes it isn't OK to be honest in this world but may in your next life time.. deny ,deny,deny alll!

[s_cianci]

Send them a final written proposal of payments and keep a copy. If they refuse to accept or at least entertain it then you'll probably end up in court, at which time be sure to let the judge know that you attempted to settle with them and they refused. That'll weight in your favor and win you more sympathy from the judge.

[mreda]

I have a question to all. When you guys refer to the "contract" are we talking the original credit card application? If yes how does this relate to subsequent charge made when the card was used? Thnaks

[mreda]

I came across what might helpful. It needs some lay man explanation tough, like the part about "produce a note" and wrong credit reporting. I received a notice to appear for a pretrial conference, but I do no see a copy of the original contract attached. Will that be enough to dismiss the case? Please check the below paragraphs:

But if the lender has violated certain laws or failed to follow the correct court procedures, debtors may be able to have the lawsuit dismissed without filing an answer. Especially depending on notice requirements for such a lawsuit and the bank's failure to attach the original contract to the complaint, it may be worth filing a Motion to Dismiss the case based on these procedural failures. Just as when homeowners in foreclosure request the bank to "produce the note," people being sued by credit card agencies can do the same.

Homeowners who have exhausted the possibilities on a Motion to Dismiss, though, will then have to file their answer to the summons and complaint. The best way to do this is to research the federal laws, beginning with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This act dictates how the bank can report negative information to the credit bureaus about accounts, and every violation of the Act can cost the bank $1,000. Borrowers have every incentive to research this law and pick out all of the relevant violations. Since these lending laws are almost impossible for creditors to follow, there will always be some violations.

[cherubs]

I am in a similar situation in which I lost my job now for 10 months and can pay my bills and will take 56 yrs to pay off when I do get a job. So I thought abou just stop paying and hope they write it off as a loss but to read the took you to court over 1800.00 and I am dealing with 25,000 I wonder how they decide who they will and won't take to court. Does anybody know how they decide plus I read the increase in write offs is a cheaper way or a credit company to go than pay to go to court. Is there any attorneys that can answer this. Ps I did contact cc 2x asking for help and both times rejected. Never offered a forebearance.

[cherubs]

Go to court and dispute their claim, deny it is you until they produce the original contract which you sign, not a copy the original one where you can smudge the ink on it.

Deny you sign anything they have, unless they producethe original.

Deny all, no contract, no claim.

and if they produce original then what is the strategy? Also 1800 is a small amount to go to court on. How do cc decide who they will sue? I read a lot are just writing it off as a loss. What are the chances of that happening today? I am out of work for 10 plus months and ready to stop paying my 2 credit cards about 25,000. Even when I do get a job It will take 56 yrs to pay with minimum payment.also if I get job within 2 weeks god help me, then I can't file bankruptcy. What is a person to do? Called 2x for help and rejected never offered a forbearance.

[robroy678]

Cherubs good luck in getting a attorney to comment. I can tell you the best defense is a offense. Keep records of every communication with the cc's and if served a summons file a answer within the proper time frame (usually 20 days) named on the suit... with the clerk of court and be sure to send a copy to the opposing attorney resistered mail. Look up Validation of Debt letter and pattern your response from that letter making sure you ask for a accounting of the interest and other charges they are going to tack on along with a copy of the original contract signed by you. In most cases that will be the last you hear from them. Also send a copy of your answer to all 3 credit reporting agency's along with a cover letter.
If no actions are taken in your case within the alloted time of your state then the case will be dismissed for lack of prosecution.. In some states they have up to a year to act. The letter to the CRA's will begin a investigation and if the CCC's have not answered within 30 days the agency by law have to remove their notations to your credit report under FCRA ruling. If they don't you have a cause of action to file a small claims suit for $1000 per violation. Read up on the FCRA, it gives you solutions you may not have thought of. I have a friend who did this and it's been almost a year since she's heard anything from the cc's

[mreda]

So I went to court today. The judge tells you to talk to a the plaintiff lawyer. I tried playing the original contract song and the charges with my signature on it. It did not go far. He was like: dude now adays you don't need a signature to start credit card. Everything is online. As for scharges, you've been getting statements for the longest and you never contested the charges. I tried telling him that to me it was junk mail. He said " by the law you are suppose your mail". I don't know if he was BSing me. But guts feeling told that he holds the cards, so I agreed to the minimum payment. The deal I got was the reduction of the intetrest rate. The lawyer fee was waved but still had to pay the court fee.

[JudyKayTee]

I'm not surprised - consumer responsibility (opening your mail and so forth) is starting to be used by the creditors.

Well, if it had to go against you sounded like it wasn't TOO bad.

Thanks for letting us know -

[mreda]

Yw

So do you thing the consumer responsibility thing is not a BS.
Does anybody thinks I could have done better? This might be not my last battle.

[JudyKayTee]

I think consumer responsibility IS a factor in these matters. The consumer is responsible for opening mail, checking balances. I'm 100% sure there is no law that requires anyone to open mail delivered to his/her house BUT I don't see NOT opening it to be a legal defense. I think part of the reason is because so many people are defaulting right now and the Courts don't want these cases clogging up the calendar forever.

I realize you were able to set up a payment schedule but what percent of the total debt do you have to pay? The whole thing? 50%? Some other number?

With late fees and interest these accounts can skyrocket in a very short period.

I honestly think you did as well as you're going to do.

Hopefully someone else will come along with an opinion.

[mreda]

The only break I got was lowering the interest rate to a fixed 8% down from 30. The lawyer fee was waved, but still had to pay the court fee.

[JudyKayTee]

That's pretty standard - did they reduce the balance? You are responsible for the whole thing? I'm actually surprised that "they" didn't negotiate something lower. Usually a creditor will bite at 50% - 60%, sometimes lower. Of course, once it goes to Court they aren't so willing to settle because they don't have to.

[mreda]

No reduction in the balance. Like you said once they go to court they are in no mood to negotiate.

[mreda]

So here is question for you guys. The credit card company get a judgement, and then you fail to make the payments, what happens next.