Served with a civil summon today in kentucky

[ttwarrior1]

What is the name of your state? Kentucky

Says legal action has been filed in this court demanding relief as shown on the document delivered to you with the summons. Unless a written defense is made by your or by an attorney on your behalf and filed in the clerks office within 20 days , judgement by default may be taken .

I owe 4,500 . I was served by the same place, diff credit card exactly a year ago and i payed my last dime then. I owed 5000 and they settled for 4. I have no money, live with my mom, and i stay at home to take care of my sick sister. I have no job, no money and own nothing. What if i dont file at clerks office or settle? Can i go to jail. It was like 3 thousand before all the interest was added. I dont even think i received a bill from the credit card which was erin capital management, direct merchants. It was like year 2000 when i stopped payments on it. Havent received a bill in over 3 years i believe and the place taking me to court call me everyday at 8 in the morning waking me up. Kind of glad that is over i guess. Not sure if i should call them . I wrote them a letter telling them that i have no money yesterday. Thanks chris

They wont lock me up if i say im taking care of my sick sister can they?

 

[grasmicc]

Look, you can't go to jail for not paying your credit card bill. It's not the 16th century.

Here's what you do: Open the yellow pages. Flip to "Attorneys". Find an advertisement that says "bankruptcies" somewhere on it. Call the number. Tell them you want to file bankruptcy and are being sued for 5K in credit card bills and need to respond. They will help you from there.

 

[ttwarrior1]

why file for bankrupcty if i cant pay . I cant afford 5 bucks for an attorney fee. I dont even have a way to get to court or an attorneys office anyway.

its no longer a credit card bill, its been turned over to a collection agency. What am i supposed to do? Not file within 20 days or do i need to do something. I will not file for bankruptcy unless i go to jail for not paying

 

[ttwarrior1]

plus i live in a city of about 50 people, only one attorney. Next attorney is an hour and 15 min from here.

 

[grasmicc]

Like I said before, you can't go to jail for not paying a debt because you don't have the money.

If you don't respond to the lawsuit, they will enter a default judgment against you. This means you'll automatically lose.

It sounds like you expect to lose anyway, so perhaps it doesn't matter if you go or not.

There's nothing that they can really do if you don't have any money. However, with a $5K judgment against you, if you come up with any money over the next decade or so - for whatever reason (like, if you get a job) - there's a good chance that they'll try to garnish your wages or whatever else.

I still recommend you file bankruptcy. A cheap attorney might do it for $500. Hitch a ride into town if necessary.

 

[ttwarrior1]

called 8, cheapest was 2 thousand. I also cant get a credit card or ill get arrested. Thats they way the law is here

 

[Shay-Pari'e]

called 8, cheapest was 2 thousand. I also cant get a credit card or ill get arrested. Thats they way the law is here

And why do you want and seek another credit card?

 

[ttwarrior1]

is it your business. Im just saying i cant get one if i tried. sounds like your an attorney thats after money

 

[Ladynred]

I also cant get a credit card or ill get arrested.

HUH ?? I've never heard of any law that says you'll be arrested if you try to get a credit card -- unless its something to do with a court order from something else.

As already stated, YOU CANNOT GO TO JAIL for not paying a debt ! Debtor's prisons were abolished in the US in the late 1800's !

The SOL on credit card debts in KY is 5 YEARS. If you last paid the original creditor on this in 2000, then the SOL MAY have expired, provided your last payment was before August 2000. In that case, you have a defense against the lawsuit in the expired SOL and you need to use that in your Answer to the Complaint - the one you have 20 days to file.

Get your credit reports, you can get them free now at www.annualcreditreport.com. Find the 'date of last activity' from the original creditor. If its was last paid before August 2000, and the lawyer filed the lawsuit AFTER the SOL expired, you may be able to dodge this bullet altogether. If you don't you'll be hounded for the next 10 years - or more.

 

[ttwarrior1]

well thats the last time i payed, it wasnt my last time i received a bill though. Last bill was over 3 years but not 5. Heck i dont even remember having this credit card . I used it to pay off another credit cards, dads funeral and then lost my job at the same time. Im almost glad its overwith though. I still got a phone call from the place sueing me.

I still dont get not having to pay if i have nothing to pay. Did i just get away with something? What if i only work cash jobs . What stops others from doing this type of thing im doing. Seems like it happens alot although i didn't purposely do it like some maybe do.

 

[Ladynred]

well thats the last time i payed, it wasnt my last time i received a bill though

Doesn't matter when they sent bills, what matters is when you last made a payment. YOu need of find out EXACTLY what MONTH in 2000 that last payment was. Look at your credit report. If the SOL has expired, you can use that to get their lawsuit thrown out of court -the debt is time-barred. That means they lose their ability to force you to pay a debt thru a judgment. But the expired SOL is an AFFIRMATIVE defense, if you don't USE it you LOSE the right to. If the SOL has past before they filed the lawsuit, you can use the SOL as your defense. It does, however, probably mean you will have to GO to court with proof.

The point behind a judgment isn't necessarily what they can take from you NOW. Because judgments hang around for 10-20 or more years (depending on state law), they can keep coming after you and your assets for the entire time the judgment is sitting there. You may not have a job or assets, now, but you might 5 years from now -- and they'll be waiting to take it from you.

You have nothing now, so they won't get anything NOW, that will not stop them.

 

[ttwarrior1]

what if i never made a payment. Also i got the card in sept 2001 so it cant be sol