I am from Illinois and I was summons to court last month got there late so a judgement was put against me. Court was still in session when I got there. When I saw a lawyer walk out I asked if my name was already called she went and checked and she told me I had a judgement against me I explained to her why I was 10 minutes late and I began to tell her that I don't believe I owe this money and that I spoke to a collection agency over the phone last summer and told them I didn't owe this and I wanted proof which they never sent. I told her that I told that person that I have a credit report from 2003 and I don't see that on there and that He told me it opened in 1996 and closed in 2000. I didn't here from that agency again. After that day I ordered my credit report from the 3 credit bureaus and still I found nothing. I showed her the letter with the name of the agency I spoke to and she said that her law firm is now handling it not the one from the letter. She gave me a copy of the judgement and told me to go downstairs and file for a motion to release the judgement. So I did that and was a given another court date on that day the lawyer said they never received that motion the judge asked me if I sent them a copy and I told her I sent it certified mail and showed her the card with their signature that it was received. So the lawyer granted the release of judgement. The judge asked me if I owed this debt and I told her I want proof that I owe it because I don't see it any credit reports I have. So now I have another court date for June.

What I need to know is what do I do now? Do I just wait for the court day and let them bring some type of proof or am I suppose to be asking them for the proof before the court date? And if they prove I do owe this credit card debt is the statue of limitation a defense?

Any advice or suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

Hello erica:

Given that they appear NOT to be BS'ing you, I think they're going to win. IF they win, it's going to cost you more and with a judgment, they can collect it.

Therefore, I would negotiate a settlement with them BEFORE court. It's going to be cheaper for you in the long run.

excon

You need to file a motion of discovery and copy the law firm. The motion will request documentation of the debt. Once you get that, you can then determine if it is your debt and when the last date of activity was.