I was Summonsed tonight!!! Help!!!

[hopeless_ILLINI]

What is the name of your state? Illinois

Hello,

I just received a summons tonight from the Cook Co. Circuit court (supposedly) for an attorney representing ASSet Acceptance, LLC. I had a citibank credit card that had an outstanding balance of $5700 and made my last payment in May, 1999. The accrued interest is $5400 (@ 22% apr) making the total ammount of the suit $11,000. Unfortunately, I lost my job and have been in and out of work for the last 5 years. I just recently got a decent job for a good company & have been trying to save some money to settle the debt. Unfortunately, THEY BEAT ME TO IT!!! I have NEVER had anything like this happen to me. The only time I have ever stepped into a court room was when I was in highschool for a traffic ticket. This situation is VERY SCARY!! Please help me answer the many questions that I have regarding me resolving this matter properly.


Question #1: What is the SOL in Illinois? I'm pretty sure that the last payment that I made to them (Citibank) was in May of 1999. The accompanied papers that came with the summons from the attorney (Blitt and Gaines, P.C. -- [url]www.collectalot.com[/url] (no joke!!!)) states that the last payment was on 2-9-00. The date of the charge off was 9-21-99. The purchase date was 3-14-01 (assuming it was ASSet Acceptance, LLC).

If this falls out of the SOL, does this mean that the debt is NOT valid & that I do not owe this ammount?

Question #2: Is this summons legit? The guy who came to the door had a badge around his neck & he was driving a regular car. I didn't have to sign anything & all he said when I asked him what this was for was: "just call this number on Monday" (pointing to the top of the paper where he pointed out the phone # of the attorney repersenting ASSet Acceptance.). Could this just be a tactic for me to contact the attorney? The summons had NO official seal from the district court of Cook Co. and it was folded in half as though it was tucked away in a book prior to me receiving it.

Question #3 If this is legit, WHAT SHOULD I DO???? Should I get an attorney??

Please help!!!!


Alan

[stevek3]

Originally Posted by hopeless_ILLINI

What is the name of your state? Illinois

Hello,

I just received a summons tonight from the Cook Co. Circuit court (supposedly) for an attorney representing ASSet Acceptance, LLC. I had a citibank credit card that had an outstanding balance of $5700 and made my last payment in May, 1999. The accrued interest is $5400 (@ 22% apr) making the total ammount of the suit $11,000. Unfortunately, I lost my job and have been in and out of work for the last 5 years. I just recently got a decent job for a good company & have been trying to save some money to settle the debt. Unfortunately, THEY BEAT ME TO IT!!! I have NEVER had anything like this happen to me. The only time I have ever stepped into a court room was when I was in highschool for a traffic ticket. This situation is VERY SCARY!! Please help me answer the many questions that I have regarding me resolving this matter properly.


Question #1: What is the SOL in Illinois? I'm pretty sure that the last payment that I made to them (Citibank) was in May of 1999. The accompanied papers that came with the summons from the attorney (Blitt and Gaines, P.C. -- [url]www.collectalot.com[/url] (no joke!!!)) states that the last payment was on 2-9-00. The date of the charge off was 9-21-99. The purchase date was 3-14-01 (assuming it was ASSet Acceptance, LLC).

If this falls out of the SOL, does this mean that the debt is NOT valid & that I do not owe this ammount?

Question #2: Is this summons legit? The guy who came to the door had a badge around his neck & he was driving a regular car. I didn't have to sign anything & all he said when I asked him what this was for was: "just call this number on Monday" (pointing to the top of the paper where he pointed out the phone # of the attorney repersenting ASSet Acceptance.). Could this just be a tactic for me to contact the attorney? The summons had NO official seal from the district court of Cook Co. and it was folded in half as though it was tucked away in a book prior to me receiving it.

Question #3 If this is legit, WHAT SHOULD I DO???? Should I get an attorney??

Please help!!!!


Alan

Maybe a process server, maybe a bailiff, maybe a sheriff.

If you have to ask all the questions you're asking, then yes, if you can afford an attorney, then you should retain an attorney. Otherwise, you're clearly going to burn a hole inside your intestines.

Do a forum search on ASSet acceptance corporation. Theres some good info on these guys. They sound like a bunch of crooks. If the guy who showed up at the door only pointed to an attorneys phone# and said call its a scare tactic. What did his badge say? ID#, what government agency?

[hopeless_ILLINI]

Unfortunately, I was too shocked to act logically & ask the guy for some ID and who he worked for.

[Ladynred]

What is the SOL in Illinois?

5 years. This debt is past the SOL. THAT is your best defense against the lawsuit.

If it was charged-off in Sept 99, that means it went delinquent about 6 months BEFORE that - and that's what started the SOL clock ticking, NOT the charge-off date. Its not uncommon for ASSet to assert FALSE payment dates at a later time. If you know you never made any more payments, then you need to challenge that. Do you have any records on this account ??

If this falls out of the SOL, does this mean that the debt is NOT valid & that I do not owe this ammount?

What it means is you have the expired SOL as your affirmative defense against the lawsuit and can have it thrown out.

Question #2: Is this summons legit?

It does sound fishy, with nothing on it from the courts. Call the courthouse and find out if any lawsuits have been filed against you. If there's nothing on file, then this is a scare tactic to make you contact them. Just be aware that ASSet is a bunch of sneaky thieves that trample all over the FDCPA. It is illegal to send you FALSE documents !

#3 - CALL the courthouse ASAP.

[hopeless_ILLINI]

Ladynred,

Thank you for your advice!!! (original post: [url]http://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=233669[/url] ) I talked to a lawyer friend of mine waiting for the bus this morning. I showed her the summons & she said that it was definitely legit & the reason there's no official court seal on it is because they never send out the original. As you suggested, I called Citibank this morning and they said that they don't keep any records of accounts that have been sold to a collection agency. The company was called OSI Portfolios, INC. I called them and they stated that the debt was sold to ASSet. I'm VERY reluctant from contacting ASSet Acceptance because they're the ones that are claiming that my last payment was 2-09-00 when it was clearly stated that the account was charged off in 9-21-99!!

Where do I go from here?

What would your suggestion be for getting proof that my date of delinquency was 2-9-99 besides digging through old statements (I'm hoping that I kept from over 6 yeard ago.

HELP!!

Thankyou very much for the guidence.

Alan

[ablessin]

Originally Posted by absconder

Do a forum search on ASSet acceptance corporation. Theres some good info on these guys. They sound like a bunch of crooks. If the guy who showed up at the door only pointed to an attorneys phone# and said call its a scare tactic. What did his badge say? ID#, what government agency?

How do you do a forum search? I'd love to do one on this ASSet Acceptance**************they are nasty and I love reading their dirt

[JETX]

Originally Posted by hopeless_ILLINI

Where do I go from here?

First, you need to 'answer' the suit.... presumably with a 'General Denial' to make them PROVE their claims.
After you have done that, you need to subpoena ALL of their records pertaining to this debt.
When you get them, check them for dates... specifically the DOLA (Date of Last Activity). If that date is past your state SOL for 'open accounts', 5 years, then your response to the court is a very simple SOL 'tolling'. One of their common tactics is to claim it as a written contract which has a 10 year SOL in Illinois!! Do NOT let them get away with that ploy. Federal law (Truth in Lending Act) says that a credit account debt is an 'open account'!!

After you complete your research, come back here with more facts and someone will try to help.

Asset Acceptance will try to lie and cheat their way to a judgment. You will have to be on your guard to prevent them from doing so.

[JETX]

Originally Posted by ablessin

How do you do a forum search? I'd love to do one on this ASSet Acceptance**************they are nasty and I love reading their dirt

Click the 'Search' button in the menu line... or go to: [url]http://forum.freeadvice.com/search.php?[/url]

[hopeless_ILLINI]

JETX,

How do I subpoena ALL of their records pertaining to the debt? Does this need to be done by an attorney? I called by bank & had them send me my bank statements from 2/99 to 3/00 to prove when I actually paid them. Is this sufficient evidence?

Alan

[hopeless_ILLINI]

Also,

Where could I find a copy of Federal law (Truth in Lending Act)?

[JETX]

Originally Posted by hopeless_ILLINI

How do I subpoena ALL of their records pertaining to the debt?

Your best bet is to ask the court (or your friend, the attorney) about what is called a 'Subpoena Duces Tecum'. This is one of the forms for requesting documents.... the other is called a 'Request for Production' and done as part of the pre-trial discovery.

Does this need to be done by an attorney?

Depends on your legal 'skills', but should be able to do without the services of a local attorney.

I called by bank & had them send me my bank statements from 2/99 to 3/00 to prove when I actually paid them. Is this sufficient evidence?

Possibly.

Where could I find a copy of Federal law (Truth in Lending Act)?

You can 'google'.... or go to:
[url]http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Truth+in+Lending+Act%22&btnG=Google+Search[/url]

[the_destiny]

Originally Posted by hopeless_ILLINI

What is the name of your state? Illinois

Hello,

I just received a summons tonight from the Cook Co. Circuit court (supposedly) for an attorney representing ASSet Acceptance, LLC. I had a citibank credit card that had an outstanding balance of $5700 and made my last payment in May, 1999. The accrued interest is $5400 (@ 22% apr) making the total ammount of the suit $11,000. Unfortunately, I lost my job and have been in and out of work for the last 5 years. I just recently got a decent job for a good company & have been trying to save some money to settle the debt. Unfortunately, THEY BEAT ME TO IT!!! I have NEVER had anything like this happen to me. The only time I have ever stepped into a court room was when I was in highschool for a traffic ticket. This situation is VERY SCARY!! Please help me answer the many questions that I have regarding me resolving this matter properly.


Question #1: What is the SOL in Illinois? I'm pretty sure that the last payment that I made to them (Citibank) was in May of 1999. The accompanied papers that came with the summons from the attorney (Blitt and Gaines, P.C. -- [url]www.collectalot.com[/url] (no joke!!!)) states that the last payment was on 2-9-00. The date of the charge off was 9-21-99. The purchase date was 3-14-01 (assuming it was ASSet Acceptance, LLC).

If this falls out of the SOL, does this mean that the debt is NOT valid & that I do not owe this ammount?

Question #2: Is this summons legit? The guy who came to the door had a badge around his neck & he was driving a regular car. I didn't have to sign anything & all he said when I asked him what this was for was: "just call this number on Monday" (pointing to the top of the paper where he pointed out the phone # of the attorney repersenting ASSet Acceptance.). Could this just be a tactic for me to contact the attorney? The summons had NO official seal from the district court of Cook Co. and it was folded in half as though it was tucked away in a book prior to me receiving it.

Question #3 If this is legit, WHAT SHOULD I DO???? Should I get an attorney??

Please help!!!!


Alan

I know the summons is real that is what the sheriff that delivers the summons does(wears the badge around his neck), and drives a regular car.

[ENASNI]

Mr or Ms Density.... Go away...

[hopeless_ILLINI]

Does ANYONE know if or where I can find the Illinois statue number for SOL on open accounts.

Also, FDIC's definition is "open ended credit plan" is this definition what credit cards fall under??