Expert: Creditwrench - 5/28/2008

Question
I ran into credit card problems/debt when I was in college.  In mid/late 2004, I stopped making purchases with this card since I knew I couldn’t make the payments. Plus I made some monthly payments (though they were not the minimum payments because I could afford it).  I called the company and told them of my situation as well.  When I couldn’t afford the little payments that I was making anymore, I stopped paying completely (late 2004).
I was trying to clean up my credit report November 2007, when I stumbled upon 2 discrepancies.  Both were from the same company, based in NC (sorry, I don’t know their name off hand).  I called them and inquired about the two discrepancies and asked them to fax me proof of the debts. One they could not find any information on, but they refused to send me anything in writing stating such, and the second looked like it was my old credit card, but was renamed (it was Bank One, now it is First USA).  I did not acknowledge the debt or admit to it, but asked them to send me proof of the debt.  They proceeded in mailing me a letter about a month later.  In this letter, they had a copy of a statement for the credit card debt, but with a different amount in what they said that I had owed (plus it was at my old address and not my parents).  And they also said that they were still investigating the other debt (that I am positive isn’t mine).  I did not try to contact them after this letter.

Yesterday, my parents called me to say that I had a summons to appear in court for a credit card debt, which turns out to be from these same people.  My mother told the officer that I no longer live at that address, and told him what city I currently live in (which is an hour away).  She did not sign anything, but, they still left the papers with her.  The officer asked her if she would see me in a month, and she said “I don’t know, I hope so”.   Does this constitute as me being summoned? In the summons (my Dad read it to me), the summons was issued in February, but they were granted an extension.  I guess I want it properly served to buy me more time.

I moved out of my parents house years ago (filled out a change of address, reregistered my car, bank, ect), plus this credit agency even has mailed me at my then address, so don’t know why they went to my parents house.  I want to ignore this summons, but I don’t want a default judgment.  Secondly, I thought the statute of limitations for credit card debt was 3 years.  I stopped paying that credit card 2004.  Did I reopen it by asking for proof?  I didn’t constitute the statement as proof, since I thought proof was the originally contract you signed.  I originally owed around 500 dollars before it went to collections, and these people want $1300 plus interest.  Given that they bought the debt for pennies on the dollar, I know that it hasn’t grown to that much in interest.

I don’t know what to do.   Do I accept that summons and contest this (even though in my opinion it was illegal and dirty to bring my parents into this, plus it is in a county I no longer live in), or do I take time off work and fight it, or do I hire a lawyer?  

Thanks!!!


Answer
Hire a lawyer and I'd be willing to bet he won't tell you that you have the right to be sued in your home county, not one an hour or more away.  A lawyer probably wouldn't even think about that. Worse, most lawyers will just tell you to pay up and be done with it or try to tell you that maybe they can get you some kind of settlement.

What you need to do is file a motion with the court to dismiss the case for lack of geographical jurisdiction. Of course, I doubt that the court will actually do that. Sometimes they will and sometimes they will only transfer the case to your home county if it is in the same state as the current court. If it is in a different state they can't even transfer it as far as I know.

Even if it is dismissed they will just refile it in your home county but that will take them even more time and the statute of limitations will just continue to roll on until they file in the new county. If the court only transfers it then the SOL will have stopped tolling when they filed the case even though it is in the wrong county.

So that is what you need to do. File a motion to dismiss for lack of geographical jurisdiction and see what the court does from there.

Bill Bauer
405-684-9297
405-227-9423

The Creditwrench conference calls will start this coming Friday evening at 7 P.M. Central time. It is free and open to the public. There is no cost or obligation other than what it may cost you for the phone call itself. You can join in and ask questions or just listen or whatever you want to do.

Dial-in Number: (712) 432-1601
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You might also want to visit our message forum at http://consumers.creditwrench.com to get answers to questions you need answered before next Friday night.

If you live within driving distance of Oklahoma City you can also come to our monthly meeting of the Oklahoma City Chapter of Jurisdictionary meetings. They are held on the 2nd Thursday of each month at Coit's Root Beer Stand which is located on the corner of SW 24th & Western Ave in Oklahoma City. The meetings start promptly at 7:00 P.M. and last for 2 hours. Attendees usually arrive about half an hour early so they can enjoy a good meal at Coit's Root Beer Stand. The meetings are free and open to the public and we can discuss your problems as well if you like.

We are going to start holding mock trials so that you can learn some court room procedures.