Need Advice

[JaniceEP]

State of residence - Colorado. I have recently had a credit card contact me through a collection agency about a debt that I never knew I had. It had to at least be 5 to 6 years ago. I don't remember the card they are referencing and have never heard from them before now. I made contact with the collection agency and felt like I had to agree to some sort of payment, although I told him I could not remember the card he was speaking about. Within a week, I wrote a letter to him asking for proof of debt before I made any payments. All they sent was a standard credit card agreement with my name and social security number - no signature and no receipts with my signature. We contacted them again for proof of debt, such as an agreement with my signature, or receipts from purchases on the card. The next thing I knew I was being served papers to appear in court. Now I am being ordered to mediation which costs a minimum of $120.00. Is this fair? Shouldn't they have to provide proof of debt before dragging me into court and causing me to incur these extra court costs? I have never denied my responsiblity for this debt. I honestly do not remember having this card and I just want proof before I agree to any payments.

 

[Tayla]

Clarification is needed: In one part its recited you are summoned to court then in another part there is the "mediation" notated. Which is it?
Was the original request for validation sent to the original creditor or the collection agency? Was it sent via Certified mail return receipt? I applaud you for not buckling in and simply agreeing to pay without proper validation. You have the right to request such.
Lastly, scrap up the 120$ needed, appear for the mediation and demand proof of debt and any receipts to show such. Its UP to THEM to show proof and validity! Btw, you may want to research if this debt is time barred for collections based upon your states statutes of limitations..If it is, tell em to walk slowly out the door and not let the door hit em in dah butt!

 

[JaniceEP]

Thanks for your reply! We have only been in contact with the collection agency. The letter I sent to obtain proof of debt was not sent certified mail. The other attempts to obtain proof were via phone. I had to appear in court to "file my response" to the allegations that I owe $1800 to Citicard. A representative from the collection agency was there and asked if I disputed the claim. I said I did because I had not been provided proof of debt. I was then told I would be getting notification from the court for a court date in the future. Instead of another court date they are ordering mediation to resolve the matter. I lived in Kansas and moved to Colorado right around the date I believe they must be tracking this back to. How does that affect the SOL?

 

[Tayla]

Kansas Statute of Limitations for Open ended accounts is 3 years. Same goes for Colorado. This debt is time barred from being collected. No judgments may be set against you since its passed its time frame. If indeed this is a debt older then three years since any activity has been posted to it. Im seriously skeptical that the judge or courts didnt catch this flaw when you appeared for the court hearing. You owe NOTHING to these scumbags! Hire a lawyer to draw up a letter stating this supposed debt is time barred based on what they conveyed to you. Personally Id still try to get these scrumbags to give the account # and date of last activity just so you have something to have on record. Did you check your credit reports to see if this Citicard account is showing up on there? It may help you in knowing when the last payment was posted.Read up on statutes of limitations via a google search. As Ladynred says-Knowledge IS power!

 

[Ladynred]

I would definitely kick' em in the butt for suing on a debt they refuse to prove and is time-barred to boot ! Since they're suing you in CO, the judge will use CO law, so hit 'em with the CO statutes for the SOL and don't back down. Citibank backs a LOT of retail and gas cards so you really do need to check your credit reports to see if anything at all is even close.

The expired SOL is your best defense, use it and they'll leave the mediation with their tails between their legs.

 

[JaniceEP]

I appreciate all the words of advice. It makes me feel much better. The whole thing just doesn't feel right, and I feel like they are all trying to ramrod me into paying the debt. When I appeared in court nobody even asked what my side was. They seemed to be more interested in getting the filing fee and now the mediation costs. I feel like I have more ammo now to go in there and fight.