How to respond to civil case for small debt?

[yuppicide0138]

What is the name of your state? New Jersey

I have a letter from the court. Debt under $1000. I have no idea who it is or what it's for.

How should I respond to the letter? There need to validate what the debt is for? They need to show when the account was last active? Is there a timeframe as to how long after a debt was last active to when they can't do anything?

Any help in pointing me towards what I should write when filing an answer.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? New Jersey

I have a letter from the court. Debt under $1000. I have no idea who it is or what it's for.

How should I respond to the letter? There need to validate what the debt is for? They need to show when the account was last active? Is there a timeframe as to how long after a debt was last active to when they can't do anything?

Any help in pointing me towards what I should write when filing an answer.

What kind of "letter" did you get from the court? Are you being sued? If you are being sued then you might question the validity of the suit if you have never heard from this creditor before, have no idea who the original creditor was or what the original debt was.

 

[NeilTheCop]

What is the name of your state? New Jersey

I have a letter from the court. Debt under $1000. I have no idea who it is or what it's for.

How should I respond to the letter? There need to validate what the debt is for? They need to show when the account was last active? Is there a timeframe as to how long after a debt was last active to when they can't do anything?

Any help in pointing me towards what I should write when filing an answer.

The letter should have a case number assigned by the court and you may be able to find it here:-
https://portal.njcourts.gov/webe1/CIVILCaseJacketWeb/pages/publicAccessDisclaimer.faces
If not contact the clerk and get a copy of all the paperwork that has been filed with the court regarding the case.

 

[yuppicide0138]

What kind of "letter" did you get from the court? Are you being sued? If you are being sued then you might question the validity of the suit if you have never heard from this creditor before, have no idea who the original creditor was or what the original debt was.

Yes sorry the letter is that I am being sued. I may be able to see if it's mine because they do give the last 4 digits but I would have to probably get a credit report. I won't be able to figure it out on my own.

I will question all that and see if I can get an answer before it actually goes into court. If valid should I try and work something out with the collection agency outside of court? I have no intentions of going there as it would require me taking a day off work and losing pay.

 

[Zigner]

Yes sorry the letter is that I am being sued. I may be able to see if it's mine because they do give the last 4 digits but I would have to probably get a credit report. I won't be able to figure it out on my own.

I will question all that and see if I can get an answer before it actually goes into court. If valid should I try and work something out with the collection agency outside of court? I have no intentions of going there as it would require me taking a day off work and losing pay.

It would definitely behoove you to try to make payment arrangements before the hearing, but remember that they've been trying to get you to pay for quite some time without success so they might not be in much of a mood to negotiate with you.

 

[bcr229]

I will question all that and see if I can get an answer before it actually goes into court. If valid should I try and work something out with the collection agency outside of court? I have no intentions of going there as it would require me taking a day off work and losing pay.

I would plan on going that day, especially if you don't recognize the debt. If this is a junk debt buyer it could be a case of mistaken identity. It would stink to get a default judgment against you for someone else's debt.

 

[yuppicide0138]

I would plan on going that day, especially if you don't recognize the debt. If this is a junk debt buyer it could be a case of mistaken identity. It would stink to get a default judgment against you for someone else's debt.

I'm fairly certain it's mine. I'm just not sure what it is, who it is, etc. Letters never tell you. Means nothing if they don't give you the slightest bit of information to go on. I'm also not sure if it falls past the time if there is any where they can legally still go after someone.

 

[adjusterjack]

You refer to a letter. Lawsuits begin with a summons and complaint. Is that what you got? Should be easy to figure out.

What court level? Small claims? Or New Jersey's Special Civil Part? That, too, should be easy to figure out.

What does the summons instruct you to do? File a written answer or appear in court on a certain day?

Be specific. Quote the papers word for word so we know what's happening. If there's a form number on anything, give us that number.

 

[bcr229]

I'm also not sure if it falls past the time if there is any where they can legally still go after someone.

Statute of Limitations in NJ is six years. If you pull a credit report you might also be able to figure out which debt this is.

 

[adjusterjack]

All three credit reports are available free at www.annualcreditreport.com