Debt guy, Jinx13, anyone

[Endless sufferi]

What is the name of your state? GA
I've just received a summons from Trial Court of Massachusetts District Court Dept. for a Credit Card debt. According to the credit report, SOL has expired (Last date of Activity--October,2002). I was in other country for the last 4 yrs hence couldn't pay.
Problem :
>>Currently i'm in Atlanta, GA and the court is asking me to be there on 9/11/07. What to do?
>>I didn't response to the debt collector when i received his mail....asked me to call him.
>>I have the print out of the credit report. I checked [url]www.annualcreditrepot.com[/url] to get the report by mail....it will take more than 15 days...i guess i don't have enough time for that. Any suggestion?
>>Can i have the sample letter to response to the summons?
>>I'll call the court clerk. Tell them I have been sued on a debt that is out of statute and ask if they have a standard form for that type of response. However, If they don't help, can you help me with the response?

Going thru another bad moment of my life...any suggestions would be appricated.What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?

[debtcollector`]

Originally Posted by Endless sufferi

I was in other country for the last 4 yrs

So the SOL has not expired.

I suggest you make payment arrangements pronto.

DC

[GulfBreeze]

your only hope would be that they don't know you were out of the country. i wouldnt mention that and hopefully nothing will pop up that you were out...

if it does...you are SOL....not statute of limitations...but sh** outta luck. the cred it was tolled during that 4 years and isnt out of sol. go to mediation and get an offer that fits you.

[Endless sufferi]

hmm...so you guys are saying my Statute of Liminitation hasn't been expired?!?...
But i thought it is, since last date of activity on the credit report was October, 2002 (More than 4 yrs already).

[Ladynred]

Except that you not only left the state, you left the country, which 'tolls' the SOL - places it on hold - until you return to the country and/or state.

[Endless sufferi]

Thanks lady...Is it possible for them to find out if i was out of the country or not? If they can't ...what would be the scenario? (i could say i was unemployed and was taken care of by my brother financially, while staying with him).

The worst part is that, i lost the debt colletor's address from MA..however, there is another one from GA just mailed me for the same credit card issue. Do you think if i ask the court clerk (regarding the MA bebt collector who took it the court ), he would give me the contact info?....i appreciate your suggestion.

[GulfBreeze]

Originally Posted by GulfBreeze

your only hope would be that they don't know you were out of the country. i wouldnt mention that and hopefully nothing will pop up that you were out...

if it does...you are SOL....not statute of limitations...but sh** outta luck. the credit was tolled during that 4 years and isnt out of sol. go to mediation and get an offer that fits you.

i thought i mentioned this.

they would only know that if you applied for a loan or had a job that reported your address abroad. otherwise, your report would be blank for those 4 years. would they be able to find out? only if you told them or they dug deep into your credit or life. will they? probably not. like i said, you would have to have some sort of red flag on your report or someone letting them know. otherwise, i would try the SOL until they mention it and then try a settlement. you could use the defense until that times comes up.....its not your requirement to prove where you were the last 4 years..theirs. the tolling would be their defense to your defense....lol

[Endless sufferi]

Gulf breeze thanks for your reply.
Another Debt collector from GA just mailed me for the same credit card…If I send them Debt Validation letter stating.. “if they cannot Prove the Statute of Limitations has not been expired on this account, their collection activity must cease and desist…” will that be wise?

[GulfBreeze]

Originally Posted by Endless sufferi

Gulf breeze thanks for your reply.
Another Debt collector from GA just mailed me for the same credit card…If I send them Debt Validation letter stating.. “if they cannot Prove the Statute of Limitations has not been expired on this account, their collection activity must cease and desist…” will that be wise?

cant hurt. this is standard validating. everyone is entitled to know why someone is asking them to pay on a debt. i would want to see what they based it on and what their response would be once you let them know that you will be using the sol defense. especially if the sol in your state doesn't leave them with the differences in interpretation of written vs oral. if the sol has run out on both, i would definitely mention it and explain to them the statute and see if that gets them to drop it. that is when you might hear from them that they believe it was tolled. go for it....

[Endless sufferi]

I don't how to thank you more, but you guys are really helping a lot of people....God bless you all.

[Chien]

I think that you can be less expansive with gratitude. In my response and in this thread, only one member has encouraged the road you’ve apparently chosen to follow. I wish you the best, but I think it’s a precarious one that may work by the luck of the draw or blow up your face. You’ve already been sued in MA. For your sake, I hope that you aren’t inclined to commit perjury to maintain the “taken care of by my brother” story.

[GulfBreeze]

how many times have JDBs sent letters threatening with lawsuits and even filed only later to find out that they didn't have ANY supporting documents to back their case?

i am not saying to lie...I am just saying don't mention it and let them be the ones to do the finding. If they don't know, don't tell them.

Just because you are on the side of the collector Chien, and hate when you lose cases like this, don't be upset. Have all your papers in order and do your homework...otherwise, don't file suits like this.

Make them work for their money.

[Chien]

Breeze – I have no idea about the answer to your question. I’ve never worked with JDBs and wouldn’t. Doesn’t put me on some high ethical pedestal; it’s just a choice. I speculate that some attorneys make some very good money doing it and even sleep well at night. As I say-just a choice.

I know you didn’t say to lie. I can read and, as hard as it may be for you to swallow, my comment wasn’t an attack on you; it was a cautionary note for the OP. What I pointed out is fact, so don’t get your feathers ruffled. At heart, we probably agree on this matter (I hesitate to say that. I have before, and the point seemed to be missed entirely.) Once the OP implied that he might dissemble, nobody else felt impelled to suggest anything further.

I’m going to respond to your comment about collectors simply to explain my own comment to the OP. You’ve dealt with JDBs. I do commercial work – B2B. It’s different. I’ve acknowledged it before. I also do compliance training for agencies and have every reason to believe that the people I train and monitor are as good examples of ARM professionals as those who work for DC. The tactics that you’re accustomed to are as foreign as igloos and the Inuit language. It’s basically a function of economics. ARM won’t go away. The country is too avaricious and myopic. That being true, it doesn’t pay to do it wrong.

Back to the OP but in context. I’ve never had a reason to be upset but I may lose a case this year. My client doesn’t want to take the time to fly into the US to testify about his sale of diamonds. Thinks I should be able to get along without him and I can’t. We have to talk. The amount in contention is in the low six figures. Do homework? Before I ever file a case like that, I know more about the defendant than his wife or mother, and I have a good idea what assets will be used to satisfy the judgment and how I’ll reach them.
If he was out of the country, I’ll know when and where.

(As a matter of fact, my defendant took a trip to India to avoid service. I had him sub-served at his residence by someone who spoke Punjabi. His attorney unwittingly filed a false affidavit attacking service based on lies his client told him. The truth came out and the attorney is now trying to withdraw from the case. We’ve just gotten started. With luck, I won’t need my client.)

My concern about OPs who go merrily off expecting to slide through a crack isn’t because of idiots who arbitrarily throw a dozen Complaints against a wall and hope one will stick, it’s because one OP is going to tell that lie to someone who has done their homework and more. One won’t be able to resist trying, because they think everybody else is too sloppy or stupid to catch on. That belief gets reinforced here because it's what they want to hear. But it's based on a microcosm of cases and advice that doesn't comport with the macro reality. In my opinion, we needn’t encourage that.