Just recieved summons

[langland12]

What is the name of your state?

Illinois. I just received a summons today to appear in court in 2 weeks. It from a collection agency that for the last 6 month i have been sending letters to to remove incorrect information from my credit report. About 7 months ago i notice a debt for pacific bell/sbc on my credit report for like $500. I sent letter to the credit union and the collection agency asking for proof of debt. I continued to send these letters every month. No one ever responded to my letter, they amount just kept going up on my credit report. Instead i just started recieving bills saying that i could settle for half of what i owe, and other threating me that if i didnt pay they would take legal action. It states on my credit report that its been in collection since 2000.Now i am being called to court. And if i do appear it says i have to pay $133.00 just if i show up. Can they do this? What can i do to fight this. Someone please help me. I just started a new job after being laid-off from my last one.

[seniorjudge]

Go to court and tell your side of the story.

Do not ignore this summons.

[langland12]

I was planning to, but it states i have to file a written apprearance before 9:30 on Sept 6th, does this mean that is the day of the hearing because i want to go and i want to be there for it. so do i go that morning of the 6th and file my written appreance then wait for the hearing? Because I have copies of letters that i have sent to them the last one i sent them i sent certifeid and i have all the letter they have sent me but no proof of the debt. I also have my credit report that states that the debt and been reported since may of 200, has the statue of limitation expired? I plan to fight this and i dont know how i get in front of the judge? Thank you for any help you can give me, i have been trying to resolve this for a while now and when i have called to talk to this collection agency they have been unwilling to look into anything. Also my phone at work are all recorded lines and i have a phone call conversation on tape of me asking thm to send me proof of the debt like a phone bill or something and i told them how can i have pacific bell (which is what the debt is for) if i live in illinois and they told me they didnt have to send me anything and then they hung up on me, can i bring this tape to court as well? Again thank you for any advice.

[Ladynred]

they told me they didnt have to send me anything and then they hung up on me,

And THAT is a LIE ! When you wrote you effectively asked them to validate the debt. Under the FDCPA they ARE obligated to produce that proof or quit their collection efforts until they DO produce proof.

The 'written appearance' is your answer to their complaint (lawsuit). You MUST file that with in the time-frame given or you WILL lose by default. If you have questions about the process, call the courthouse and talk to the court clerk.

Here is some info on how to respond to a lawsuit in IL:
[url]http://www.illinoislegalaid.org//index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentID=25[/url]