Shady collections from LLC

[DroW82]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

My fiancé was served a "summons" and a "complaint" the day before yesterday at our residence for a old credit card debt from 2007 that was acquired by an LLC.
The paperwork is very unprofessional; not notarized (not sure if it has to be?), and no court dates or filing dates anywhere on either unprofessionally photocopied document.
The only date I could find was where it was signed by an attorney on December 12, 2013 more than a year ago.
If it is indeed a valid debt we are more than willing to pay it but what I want to know is if it is a scam of some sort; how to identify it and how to deal with the "plaintiff".

I did call the 1800-number of the attorney listed and he assured me it was a legal summons and valid debt, which is exactly what I would expect from a real lawyer or a scammer.

Please help, any advice would be greatly appreciated we have a new baby and life is already hectic enough for a lawsuit to shine its unhappy light our way.

Thanks in advance

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

My fiancé was served a "summons" and a "complaint" the day before yesterday at our residence for a old credit card debt from 2007 that was acquired by an LLC.
The paperwork is very unprofessional; not notarized (not sure if it has to be?), and no court dates or filing dates anywhere on either unprofessionally photocopied document.
The only date I could find was where it was signed by an attorney on December 12, 2013 more than a year ago.
If it is indeed a valid debt we are more than willing to pay it but what I want to know is if it is a scam of some sort; how to identify it and how to deal with the "plaintiff".

I did call the 1800-number of the attorney listed and he assured me it was a legal summons and valid debt, which is exactly what I would expect from a real lawyer or a scammer.

Please help, any advice would be greatly appreciated we have a new baby and life is already hectic enough for a lawsuit to shine its unhappy light our way.

Thanks in advance

A summons should be served with the complaint and it should have the signature of the clerk, bear the seal of the court, identify the court and the parties in the action, and state the name and address of the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney. It should state the time when the defendant must appear. In addition, the summons and complaint should be served within, I believe, 120 days from the date of filing.

What your fiancé received might be about a legitimate debt from 2007 - but the form you received, the December 2013 date, and the 1-800 number for the attorney would give me pause. It could be from a debt collector or it could be a scam of some sort.

 

[DroW82]

Thanks you more than you know!

Its just a relief hearing that from someone who knows something about the process.
She's still going to call them, to hear what they have to say but now we know to be very cautious with what info we give them.
And to tread lightly.

Thank you so much once again!!!

 

[Proserpina]

Its just a relief hearing that from someone who knows something about the process.
She's still going to call them, to hear what they have to say but now we know to be very cautious with what info we give them.
And to tread lightly.

Thank you so much once again!!!

Quick rules:

Once you pick up the phone, inform them that the call is being recorded. WA is an "all consent" state, so you do have to at least give them a chance to hang up with a hearty "no thanks".

Confirm your name.

After that, confirm NOTHING.

Do NOT agree to any repayment plan unless you have it on paper. Same goes for supplying them with bank information etc.

Finally, go forth and spend no more. It's too late in this instance, obviously, but the best way by far to avoid debt collectors is not incurring the debt in the first place.