One last question- the lawyer that sent me the letter gave me 30 days to ask

[upontheventura]

What is the name of your state?NH
for validation. I have until Wednesday to send validation letter. Is this too risky? Will it immediately provoke lawsuit?I KNOW they will have information to validate- signed application, statements, ect. I opened the Providian account in 99. Was charged off in November of 2002. Last payment was May of 02. I called my local courthouse and she (very nasty clerk) said that this firm is VERY reputable. This isnt some sleazy firm who would waste their time with threats. Clerk also insited that sherrif would HAVE to serve me for that amount-8000.00- that putting it inthe newspaper would NOT be legal in NH. Once again, I have a new apartment- the landlord RESIDE ON PREMISES! I just can't have a sherrif serving me 1 month after i have moved in. But i dont have all the money to file BK either. Interestingly- the law firm only ahs my mailbox ect address (in different town from where i live- no credit report has my correct address either. All mail goes to that Box. Would a sheriiff call a utility company demanding my physical address? What methods to they have?

[racer72]

Instead of starting a new thread which can cause confusion, please go to your original thread and ask your question there. We are not going to search for other threads to answer this one.

[upontheventura]

i'm sorry

[bigun]

Who cares if they see you get served? As long as you've a lease and are paying the rent on time it's nobody's business but your own.
Personally, I'd demand validation. It may stall them long enough to get to nov./Dec. so you can file.
If the landlord asks any questions, tell him you were served by mistake and the matter has been taken care of. Not a 100% lie. Your BK will "take care of it"!

[InsulinRules]

First off, getting served is getting served. If anybody asks, tell them you're being sued and drop it. Mumble something about "non-disclosure agreement" or "gag order".

Next, show up to the summons date. Don't worry about your BK filing needing to be before the summons date.

At the summons, somebody is going to ask you what you want to do about this bill.
(NOTE: the reason I say "someone" is that some of these creditor courts can be real zoos. Usually in big cities there are ALOT of cases going on, and 99% of the debtors never show up. So the creditor attorneys deal with whatever debtors actually show up, have a quick confab with you, maybe with or without the judge being present, and then when they've cleared the court of appearing debtors, actually start working on the 800 cases that the debtor earned a summary default by not showing up.)

Okay, it's 9 am, you walk into court, and somebody asks you what you want to do about this debt.

Tell them you dispute it. That will schedule it for trial....probably 3 months down the road. Ask for bench trial. If you still can't file BK, check your local rules and file a motion to ask for a jury trial. That will usually postpone this another few months.

(Now somebody is going to come along and say "But you can't dispute it! You owe that money!". My answer is simply this: Are you absolutely sure you owe that money? Are you absolutely convinced that you owe every late charge? That every credit was properly credited? Has the plaintiff actually given you a complete list of charges, payments, and credits? Or just SAID you owe $Blah dollars? Shouldn't they have to prove it?)

Remember credit attorneys are bullies. And remember the dog story: Someone says your dog bit them. NEVER say "I'm SO sorry!"...say "What dog?" then "What were you doing in my yard?" and then "What did YOU do to my dog to make him bite you?". Trial law in three easy steps.

Anyway, this should buy you enough time to get your BK stuff in order.

Another tip, I would beg, borrow, whatever to get enough money to file. Mine with the atty fee was $565. Go to moneytree or check and go, get a payday loan, then include that in the BK....words of advice, do with them what you will...