Expert: Creditwrench - 2/27/2009

Question
QUESTION: I received 2 leters in the mail, both stating that a lawsuit has been filed against me by Midland Funding LLC. the first letter is from "American Mediation & Alternative Resolutions", the other from "Ferrey & Nicholas, Inc." both want to work with me to settle my case before trial. To begin with I have not been served with a summons for a lawsuit. I called the small claims court clerk and she would only say that I have not been served yet and the address she quoted was the wrong P.O. box number on the case. From what research I have found it is for a FCNB Spiegel credit card I had a few years ago. I fell on some hard times and got behind on my payments. I then was contacted by "NAFS Collections"with whom I made regular payments that were automatically deducted from my account. Then one day they called and said that I had to settle the account and they would accept $463.02 to be paid in full and I had to do it that day because it was the end of the month. I made the payment but I never recieved anything in writing saying it was paid in full. Now this. I'm not sure if just copies of checks made out to this collection agency will work to prove I paid since there is no account number on it to reference and I never got anything in writing, also is Midland Funding LLC the same as NAFS Collections and  Midland Credit Management Pinnacle Financial Group. What should I do now, I have not been served and since the address is wrong the court clerk said I can go there and be served? I don't want them to go to court and not be there, I will lose for sure.

ANSWER: Don't even worry about the service or getting served. Simply file your response with the court and send a copy to the plaintiff's attorney and you will have been served or better put, you will have automatically accepted the jurisdiction of the court and service won't be necessary. Nobody will worry about whether you have been properly served or not. You actually have a huge advantage because you can send your demand for admissions to the plaintiff's attorney at the same time you send them your response. Doing that is important. What I would recommend is that you file a sworn statement of graduated denial. You will also need a certificate of mailing.

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QUESTION: Thanks so Much.I am in the state of Alabama. How do I file a response if I have not been served? If I go to the court and ask about the case, won't they serve me then and if so can I still file a sworn statement of graduated denial.If I can do it without being served how do I get the company address and their lawyers address?

Answer
Simply go to the clerk of the court and ask to see your public record by name. It is a matter of public record and anyone can see it. If I know your name I can look at your public record at the court house in your county. I don't have to know you or anything about you to look at your public record. I don't have to show any ID to do that. I can see if you have any judgments, are married or whatever is in the record. If you have judgments I can ask to see the case file. I can get copies of any documents that might be in the file. Court clerks are not process servers and will not attempt to serve you because they have no authority to do so. Even if they did, so what? The paperwork in the file will give you all the information you need. Case number, what the case is all about, who the plaintiff is, maybe who the judge is, full information about the lawyer who filed the case. Then you can take your copies and go do whatever you want with them. Nobody cares what you do with the copies. You bought them and they are yours to do whatever you want.