Collections Law/Civil Summons

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Expert: Creditwrench - 10/1/2008


Question
I received a civil summons to answer within 20 days. It is from a credit card debt I do owe. I have paid 774.00 in three months to catch this account current. My statement is showing I am now past due 0.00. I made a payment of 333.00 on 9/20 to bring it current. On 9/29 a company that apparently bought the debt filed a suit in court. I had fallen behind in payments due to being laid off in April and May. I contacted the company who told me to pay what I could so I did. On 5/16 I paid 91.00, on 7/18 I paid 200.00, on 8/18 I paid 150.00, on 9/20 I paid 333.00 to finally bring it current. I am not saying I dont owe it, but I cannot pay the balance in full. Please help me.

Answer

creditwrench
You will have to file a response to the summons. It makes no difference that you owe the money. That is a foregone conclusion because if it weren't so or at least in the belief of those trying to collect they would not have filed the case in the first place. The problem now is to be able to somehow evade paying all the excessive fees and costs that they have added in, many of which may not be allowable under the terms and conditions of the contract. It isn't a moralistic issue anymore but rather a matter of retaining the greatest amount of your assets  possible. They have probably violated the law several times in their efforts to collect so you should learn how to take advantage of them.  

Creditwrench

Expertise

Debt Collections law, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), federal law, how to properly answer court summons for collection cases, how to prepare federal cases against debt collectors, how to deal with debt collection phone calls.

Experience

I've been an active consumer advocate for more than 40 years and have helped hundreds of people win cases against debt collectors as well as helping them defeat demands for summary judgment lodged against them by banks, debt collectors and defeat mortgage foreclosures and keep their homes.

Education/Credentials
Paralegal courses for the most part.
I have been teaching people how to deal with judgments, mortgage foreclosures and other such problems both on and off the internet for many, many years. I am a Richard Cornforth information provider ever since 2000 and worked with many other organizations and causes since 1980. I was Oklahoma State Chairman for the nationwide drive to defeat the Constitutional Convention which was proposed by various factions within our federal government such as the Council of State Governments and the National Organization of State Governors who were working hard to organize a Constitutional Convention to be held in 1995 for the purpose of rewriting our American Constitution to be more acceptable to the United Nations. I worked with Senator Charles Duke of Colorado and Senator Don Rogers of California and many others across the nation to keep them from getting the number of delegate states required to lawfully hold a Con-Con and we were successful. I have worked with many other legislative issues in Oklahoma and have always been very successful.

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