Getting served tomorrow

[Freddy03]

ok freddy, that is the direction i was thinking i could go. i mentioned all this to a local legal aid attorney when we sat down to discuss the situation. he says they are not a junk debt collector, they own this debt, and most definitely will get the judgement. he says there is no need for me to answer at all. i told him i'd read here about answering the summons being better than not answering, and he says, unless i'm going to answer with a defense of my little brother took out the credit card and forged my signature, i might as well do nothing and get the default judgement. he says it's very unlikely they will drop it just b/c i answer, that they want their money and will do whatever to get it. i do plan to file BK, but don't have a retainer fee for a private attorney and am too nervous to go pro se. legal aid is so backed up they only take chapter 7's who are already being garnished. he says as soon as we have a garnishment he can take my case. he says he knows that sucks, but it is what it is. i am unemployed, so no paycheck to garnish, and i'm being sued in my maiden name...he says if/when they get the judgement they will start digging around, find out i'm married, and may possibly try to go after my husband's paycheck. i do want to file, but i don't even have the $299 filing fee right now. i'm thinking when income tax return rolls around, i'll have the filing fee and maybe will be able to go through legal aid by then if we are being garnished. if not i suppose i can use up more of the tax return for a private attorney.

i still have until tuesday to answer, and trying to make a decision. it's hard to research and get all the info i need to answer b/c i have 2 small children and no one to watch them while i try to get all this done, so not answering is very tempting. if i knew for sure answering would accomplish something, i'd be more motivated. sigh.

Since you are not going to file anytime soon - I would definitely answer the summons and go to all court dates. If you miss a court appearance you could be held in contempt of court and that would be another huge mess.

Research how to answer a summons and submit a request for documents. This might be able to buy time until after you receive your tax refund. Good Luck!

[ryan]

Since you are not going to file anytime soon - I would definitely answer the summons and go to all court dates. If you miss a court appearance you could be held in contempt of court and that would be another huge mess.

Actually thats not correct. Just missing a court hearing date would not cause you to be held in contempt of court. Missing a hearing might lead to you losing the case, but not be held in contempt - no way.

The ONLY case I can think of where that would be an issue, is if you lost the case, a judgment was entered against you by the judge, and then the creditor scheduled a debtors exam hearing and you repeatedly refused to attend. THEN, the judge might issue an ORDER (not a summons) compelling you to attend the hearing and show cause why you should not be held in contempt.

[Freddy03]

Actually thats not correct. Just missing a court hearing date would not cause you to be held in contempt of court. Missing a hearing might lead to you losing the case, but not be held in contempt - no way.

The ONLY case I can think of where that would be an issue, is if you lost the case, a judgment was entered against you by the judge, and then the creditor scheduled a debtors exam hearing and you repeatedly refused to attend. THEN, the judge might issue an ORDER (not a summons) compelling you to attend the hearing and show cause why you should not be held in contempt.

My last paperwork received for trial stated if I were to miss the court appearence I "could" be held contempt of court. I wouldn't risk it. I would just go. Better safe than sorry.

[lindsay2181]

ok so if i do this i am only requesting documents from them....i don't think i can claim i don't owe them since i only signed a contract with chase and not them, b/c it clearly states "equable ascent and/or it's assignor" (assignor being chase). if they have the documents readily available how much time will that actually buy me? and if they don't....cool. if they do, and the get their judgement right away, i wonder how much time it will take b/t then and them actually getting money from me. like the attorney said, they will have to dig around for info, they will have to find out if i'm married and whether my husband has income and what his salary is, blah blah blah. i have a question about that too! supposedly they can only take 25% of your pay as garnishment. on his check stub, his child support is labeled as "garnishment". would that be factored into the 25% (he pays way more than 25% for child support) and then chase/equable whatever wouldn't be able to take any more?? just wondering lol.

[Freddy03]

ok so if i do this i am only requesting documents from them....i don't think i can claim i don't owe them since i only signed a contract with chase and not them, b/c it clearly states "equable ascent and/or it's assignor" (assignor being chase). if they have the documents readily available how much time will that actually buy me? and if they don't....cool. if they do, and the get their judgement right away, i wonder how much time it will take b/t then and them actually getting money from me. like the attorney said, they will have to dig around for info, they will have to find out if i'm married and whether my husband has income and what his salary is, blah blah blah. i have a question about that too! supposedly they can only take 25% of your pay as garnishment. on his check stub, his child support is labeled as "garnishment". would that be factored into the 25% (he pays way more than 25% for child support) and then chase/equable whatever wouldn't be able to take any more?? just wondering lol.

Is the debt in both your name? Check your state laws on garnishment.

Once they have a judgment it's pretty easy for them to find out your info. The court will order you to supply it to them within 30-45 days.

[treehugger1]

Freddy! "The court will order you to supply it in 30 - 45 days." What the hell are you talking about? The court does not act alone. The plaintiff might file a motion for a debtor exam, but this is not something "ordered" by the court unless the plaintiff files a motion for such, at least in my state.

Good god, I have several judgments against me and neither the court nor the plaintiff have asked me to do anything.

As always, one size does not fit all.

[df04527]

I can't help but jump in here and ask a simple question. Why do you want her to respond? to buy time? Why? And stress over all of that on top of the stress of trying to file bk.... Why so complicated?

Don't do anything - let them get a judgement - include it in your BK - submit a motion to vacate WHEN you file bk and it's done.

A lot less stress in my opinion.

[Freddy03]

What I'm saying is from my own experience. When I went to court and lost, I was given a fact information sheet that the judge - (not plaintiff) filled out and said I have 45 days to get it filled out and returned to them. Also the OP has stated they are not sure when they can file BK so to be on the safe side I would answer the summons. You never want to ignore a lawsuit and wake up one morning and your checking account has been levied. Again what I talk about is my own personal experience.

[jacko]

Do you live in community property state? Is your spouse listed on any of your debts?

ok freddy, that is the direction i was thinking i could go. i mentioned all this to a local legal aid attorney when we sat down to discuss the situation. he says they are not a junk debt collector, they own this debt, and most definitely will get the judgement. he says there is no need for me to answer at all. i told him i'd read here about answering the summons being better than not answering, and he says, unless i'm going to answer with a defense of my little brother took out the credit card and forged my signature, i might as well do nothing and get the default judgement. he says it's very unlikely they will drop it just b/c i answer, that they want their money and will do whatever to get it. i do plan to file BK, but don't have a retainer fee for a private attorney and am too nervous to go pro se. legal aid is so backed up they only take chapter 7's who are already being garnished. he says as soon as we have a garnishment he can take my case. he says he knows that sucks, but it is what it is. i am unemployed, so no paycheck to garnish, and i'm being sued in my maiden name...he says if/when they get the judgement they will start digging around, find out i'm married, and may possibly try to go after my husband's paycheck. i do want to file, but i don't even have the $299 filing fee right now. i'm thinking when income tax return rolls around, i'll have the filing fee and maybe will be able to go through legal aid by then if we are being garnished. if not i suppose i can use up more of the tax return for a private attorney.

i still have until tuesday to answer, and trying to make a decision. it's hard to research and get all the info i need to answer b/c i have 2 small children and no one to watch them while i try to get all this done, so not answering is very tempting. if i knew for sure answering would accomplish something, i'd be more motivated. sigh.

[WhatMoney]

Originally Posted by lindsay2181 i mentioned all this to a local legal aid attorney when we sat down to discuss the situation. he says they are not a junk debt collector, they own this debt, and most definitely will get the judgment. he says there is no need for me to answer at all. i told him i'd read here about answering the summons being better than not answering, and he says, unless i'm going to answer with a defense of my little brother took out the credit card and forged my signature, i might as well do nothing and get the default judgment. he says it's very unlikely they will drop it just b/c i answer, that they want their money and will do whatever to get it.

I would follow the advice of this attorney - he is exactly right.

If you don't file an answer w/ a defense and you do not appear in response to the initial summons, the ONLY thing that will happen is you will get a default judgment. You should follow your court docket so you know what has happened and take any protective steps to protect your bank accounts, etc once you have the default judgment. But there is no good reason to appear unless you have so much free time on your hands that you just want something to do. And have you checked if there is any court fees involved in your state for filing an answer and appearing? This depends on the type of court as well as the state laws, which are different in every state.

Just checked La fees - If the debt is over $3000 you may be sued in a District Court. The fee for filing an answer is $235. IF it is a Parish court the fee is $140. And that's just the start if you actually decide to defend. So besides the work involved in an answer, your time, the stress of it all, you might have to cough up $235 just to answer. Do you understand why some of us warn about following random advice on this forum?

Filing fees by state:

http://contentdm.ncsconline.org/cgi-...al&CISOPTR=159

[Freddy03]

Do you understand why some of us warn about following random advice on this forum?

I wasn't given random advice. I was stating what happened to me and my own cc lawsuit.

[Freddy03]

i mentioned all this to a local legal aid attorney when we sat down to discuss the situation. he says they are not a junk debt collector, they own this debt, and most definitely will get the judgement. he says there is no need for me to answer at all.

How did they determine Equable Ascent Financial LLC is working on behalf of the original creditor. Everything I have read (online) states they buy debts. Only your credit report would prove who "owns" the debt.

It's really up to you and what you feel comfortable doing. If you are judgment proof (meaning they can't collect anything due to no income, no bank account, no personal property) then I wouldn't worry about it. Just try to file BK as soon as you can.

Good Luck to you.

[WhatMoney]

When you do not state what State you are in, and what type of court your lawsuit was in, or where you were in the execution of the case, then the advice is random - as in not specifically useful to the original poster.

Anecdotal comments given to legally unsophisticated posters without stating your specific conditions and how those apply to the poster's situation is not particularly helpful. The poster was questioning a local attorney "because she had heard on this forum that you should always answer a summons." Anyone giving that advice here should be damned sure it is advice that applies to the poster's situation, and/or explain that it is NOT necessarily the correct advice for the poster.

[Freddy03]

When you do not state what State you are in, and what type of court your lawsuit was in, or where you were in the execution of the case, then the advice is random - as in not specifically useful to the original poster.

Anecdotal comments given to legally unsophisticated posters without stating your specific conditions and how those apply to the poster's situation is not particularly helpful. The poster was questioning a local attorney "because she had heard on this forum that you should always answer a summons." Anyone giving that advice here should be damned sure it is advice that applies to the poster's situation, and/or explain that it is NOT necessarily the correct advice for the poster.

Ok I'm not going to get into a debate with you but in my previous post I did tell the OP that I wasn't offering advice just my own personal experience. And I also told OP to check with her local court procedures before filing anything.

I don't think it's useful advice to tell the OP to just ignore a lawsuit if OP is not filing BK anytime soon.

I won't post again in this thread.

Good Luck OP with whatever you choose.

[gman]

How did they determine Equable Ascent Financial LLC is working on behalf of the original creditor. Everything I have read (online) states they buy debts. Only your credit report would prove who "owns" the debt.
Good Luck to you.

This answer is half-correct.

If a junk debt buyer now owns the debt AND the junk debt buyer CHOSE to REPORT this to the credit reporting agencies, you will see this on your credit report.

I can tell you first hand I had 8 credit cards that were purchased by junk debt buyers and only ONE reported this to the credit agencies.

Assuming you choose to answer, you should definitely ask for the suing party to produce for the court a full chain of custody on the debt.

I am sure you have seen the news lately about "foreclosuregate" - where robo-signers were falsifying documents trying to prove they owned the debt AND the amount owed. In the credit card business, the robo-signing is EVEN WORSE. Here is an article where a consumer protection lawyer claims he has only lost 4 lawsuits out of 500 or so because the record keeping is horrible.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/11/mirabile-dictu-debt-collection-robo-signers-make-bank-foreclosure-robo-signers-look-good.html