Summons in person? NY.

[Fredhart]

I owe 40K to Chase. Stopped paying Nov '08. They've been saying they're proceeding with a lawsuit for about a month now, but so far nothing.

Today they said I should have received the summons by now in the mail, and if not it'll be there any day now. I told them "thanks for the info I've decided based on what you just said that I'll proceed with a chapter 7."

They then said, well your still going to be served by a sheriff who'll come to your door. And than they tried to talk about payment plans.

My question is do they really serve you in person in NY? What is Chase's history? I live in Manhattan, but just moved back to my parents house in Long Island. I don't want them to find out so I've kept my official address in NYC and had my mail put on hold (will soon get a PO box).

What are the chances that they try to track me down in Long Island?

[albacore44]

Did the letter you receive come direct from Chase or 1 of their attourneys ?? You can go to the website of the county court for the address of your residence they have on record for you and look up your name under the civil case section. if they have filed a case against you, you will find it there. It seems a bit early for them to be sueing, but I have seen some cases on my courts docket from Chase recently, that they seem to be filing quicker. Let us know what you find, I have 4 Chase cards and stopped paying in March.

[Fredhart]

Thanks Albacore. I have 4 cards with them also. I tried the NYC civil court website as you suggested and my name was not there. The letter I received was from Chase, not an outside lawyer, and it wasn't a summons, just a notification that they are proceeding with a lawsuit and to call them immediately (then they try to settle or get a payment). They say I'm now in their legal department.

My real question is if and when they do serve, is it in person or by the mail?

[albacore44]

Thanks Albacore. I have 4 cards with them also. I tried the NYC civil court website as you suggested and my name was not there. The letter I received was from Chase, not an outside lawyer, and it wasn't a summons, just a notification that they are proceeding with a lawsuit and to call them immediately (then they try to settle or get a payment). They say I'm now in their legal department.

My real question is if and when they do serve, is it in person or by the mail?

Ok. I think you don't have to worry untill you actually receive some corospondence from their actual legal department. I did a search of my court docket under "Chase" and i know exactly who they are using for attorney here. I know 1 poster on here, in my area, who owes them $30K over a year since payment, and not sued yet. Not sure of your laws on serving in NY. In Ca. they try to serve in person 1st.
Find yourself an ATT. then pay him a partial retainer, then give his name to Chase. that should hold them off for a while.

[catleg]

IMHO if they are still talking about a payment plan then they have definitely not filed suit. It would not make any sense. In fact once they have filed suit it is really unlikely you will receive any communication from anyone who is not a lawyer, correct?

I got a letter from them saying, among other things:

If you fail to make payment of the entire balance, Chase has the right to start a lawsuit against you. If the lawsuit is started, you can be served with a Summons and Complaint by a sheriff or process server. The filing of a lawsuit by our attorney starts a series of events that may result in a judgment being entered against you. If a judgment is entered against you, your salary could be garnished.

So this idea of the sheriff serving you, is part of their standard "spew".

This letter was dated March 18. Here is it May 11 and no suit yet.

However, upon reflection, it is not even a demand letter, as it does not state a balance. Typically you will receive a demand letter prior to being sued which states a balance owed. The problem for them is that once they sue, the interest no longer gets computed at their contract rate, it changes over to the court's own pre- and post-judgment interest rates.

I have had US Bank threatening me with an "asset search" for several months now as well.

It's all just psyops to try to scare you into writing a check.

Incidentally, here in NJ you are typically served when the court mails you a summons by both regular and certified mail.

[walkthaplank]

I'm in So Cal and I am about 9 or 10 months behind with my Chase account. I saw that they filed suit against me at the end of last month. I haven't been served yet, I did call them and give them my attorney information. The guy tried to get me to answer some questions and he was telling me that we could avoid litigation, I told him that my attorney should answer all of my questions and that I was filing BK.

We'll have to see what happens....

[Fredhart]

Thanks, Everyone. If Chase files a lawsuit does that mean they have a case # or filing #?