Received Summons for Collection

Instead of spending a lot of time researching the statutes of limitations and other laws, just call the state's attorney general's office and ask for consumer affairs or consumer protection. They may also have an on line inquiry. The info from there is trustworthy.

Call Lem Tillam. He is on radio station 910am in the Bay area, so you should be able to hear him. His show is from 3:00 to 4:00 and he gives free legal advice. Listen to the show and he will tell you the number to call.

The statute of limitations for written contracts in California is 4 years from the date of the last action on the account. This means that 4 years after you made your last payment, under state law your creditor could no longer file a lawsuit to collect the money. DO NOT SEND THEM MONEY. If you do, they could then use THAT as the date of last action on the account, and you could potentially owe money, and it could go back on your credit report. You don't want that.

At this point, it's off your credit report, and under state law, you don't owe the money anymore. Did they actually file a lawsuit? Call the county clerk and double check. A lot of times, these shady collections places will send bogus paperwork to try and scare people into paying them. But PER STATE LAW, they don't have a legal leg to stand on, so a judge will not allow the lawsuit to proceed. I would really doubt they actually filed a lawsuit. I think they are trying to trick you.

ETA: Here's some California-specific information. We have some of the best consumer protections in the country. http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-s...

I don't know the laws in your state and I've never dealt with collections but this raises a BIG RED FLAG to me.

Why would they be coming to you now... this debt has more them likely been charged off the books for whomever it was for to begin with since it has been over 10 yrs.

Make sure you get all the legal details here because this sounds like a scam. Maybe some company knows about the debt and it not being collected but may be trying to trick you into thinking you are responsible for it when you may not be.

Good luck and let us know the outcome.. this one sounds interesting.

Did a sheriff subpoena you? Or did you receive it in the mail?

It sounds like the statute of limitations has expired on credit card collections.

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-s...

If it was from the court...show up on the date listed and be ready to tell the judge that the statute of limitations has expired and they can no longer collect on this debt.

If it's from a collection agency - write them a CERTIFIED letter stating the the statute of limitations for collections has expired. And then be done with it...I can't believe that a court would actually allow this...

If you have proof that you paid it - copy it and send it to the collection agency. If you have not paid it - if you pay it now - it will be on your credit report for 5 to 7 more years. I would contact an attorney for clarification on everything...but really? I would find out if it is valid first...if a sheriff delivered it to you - it's valid...if it came to you in the mail...it's a way for the collection agency to get your attention and money...

A REAL summons to court will have the date and time of your appearance...and the address of the court house as well as a raised seal with documentation proving debt owed or reason for summons...
ime-barred debt
"If a debt collector sues you to collect a time-barred debt, you can have the suit dismissed by letting the court or judge know the debt is, indeed, time-barred," according to the FTC.

This is an excerpt from the link I provided...

Debt collectors and consumer advocates, however, caution that the statute of limitations (SOL) does not prevent debt collectors from attempting to collect on debts. They just cannot successfully sue to collect the debts -- assuming the debtor shows up in court to assert his or her rights.

good luck!

It does sound fishy that they waited this long to file, and that it took 3 months to serve you. I would call the county clerk's office and give them the case number, which should be on the summons and see if they can find it. Also have them run it by your name to make sure. It maybe a scam, but I know at least in every other state where I've had papers served when I worked for lawyers, only a handful of times did we use the sheriff. We always hired an outside company. I've done services myself. I know in Maryland, the person doing the serving only has to be someone not involved in the case. I think we are all in agreement here that it maybe a scam, I think your first step should be to contact the county clerk. If it is legit, you can hire an attorney, look into free legal aid clinics, or contact the other side directly to try to work out a settlement. Call the clerk's office quickly as you only have a limited time to respond if it is legit. In California you have 30 days from date of service to respond. You maybe able to go to the County Court's website to check the case number and the get forms you need. I would call and make sure you have a name of the person you talked to. I always feel better talking to a person.

BTW, on an initial summons, there wouldn't be a date to appear. A court date has not been set yet. If it's legit, I would file an answer or a motion to continue to give you time to answer. If you are going to do the motion to continue, do it soon, just in case it's denied. If legit you are working on a deadline.

Do NOT SEND THEM MONEY!

Odds are really good this is too old to collect. Check Cali laws but you can also contact your local representatives and ask. There are many many sneaky collection firms trying to double collect or collect on things already settled. If you try to negotiate you restart the clock on the debt. Get help.

It really depends on what they are attempting to do. If they are attempting to garnish you may not have to appear.

Before you do anything make sure it is legally filed, it may be a scam.

After you do that understand the statute of limitations is not from when the debt occurred but from the time you last acknowledged the debt. So if they have been calling you for 20 years and you have been saying I don't have the money to pay you right now it starts from the last time they called.

Hi, SC! My main bit of advice would be for you to research 'consumer laws' in the state of California. In Texas, we are protected after four years from old debt coming back to bite us. Basically, a creditor only has a certain amount of time to collect a debt before the statute of limitations is up, and then they can't pursue legal action. Look up what that statute is for your state.

Okay, if this is a Complaint and Summons, there won't be a date to appear.

You must file your Answer within 30 days of the date you were served. Once you have filed an Answer, the other party will request a hearing date.

ONce a hearing date is set, you will be notified by the other party or the court.

You may also receive what's called "discovery" that you must respond to. If I were suing someone for collection of a debt, I would serve interrogatories regarding the nature and amount of the debt and also inquiring about your finances, where you bank, etc., so that I would have that information to help me collect once I got a judgment.

You may be able to avoid court costs and attorney's fees if you contact the attorney representing the debtor and see if you guys can work out a compromise.

Whatever you do, you must either file an Answer within 30 days of the date you were served or get an extension to file an Answer from the other party's attorney and get that extension in writing. If you don't, they will take your default and then begin the collection process.

Good luck!

In the state of Florida, they can NO longer attempt to collect a debt past 7 years from the date of the last transaction on your acct. If they do, it's considered harrassment and it should be reported. I'd also check with an attorney in your state as prev suggested and get a copy of your credit report, it should not have been reported more than twice on your credit report, once from the original debtor and once from the collection agency.
C. S.

That does seem like a long time for them to have waited.

Have you checked your records, to be sure that you actually do owe this money?

Quite a few years ago, I got notices about $$ that I supposedly owed to a company. I had been under the impression that my insurance had covered the services, and that I had paid my copay at the time, so I called to question it.

Got quite a runaround - and it turned out that the "collection" agency was being investigated in that state for fraudulent billing practices.

If you aren't sure you owe it, ask for documentation.

ETA: Cheryl included an excellent link. Be careful how you respond to avoid "re-aging" the debt.

Good luck :-)

I think the statue of limitations have run out on it.

If I were you, I would not engage them verbally b/c that can re-open your account, voiding the states law...if need be I would send them a letter stating that it is too old a debt...and then be done with it!

First, find out exacty how long ago the debt is from as it may have already been written off and too late for collection. Then contact the free legal advisor at the court house. Good Luck

It soulds like the statute of limitations may have expired...I would not pay this without checking that first.

I would check the Statute of Limitations in your state for the type of debt that it is. IMO, that sounds WAY too long ago. At most, an old debt may be collectible up to 10 years, usually 5-7 years. So, definitely check that. Collection agencies these days are really sneaky, all it takes is for you to respond to the so called "summons" and your debt starts ALL over again. For now, Do Not respond, and check the Statute of Limitations, and go from there. Good luck!
** check this out:
http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-s...

So the first thing to do is contact the attorney who sent the summons. Ask for the date/location to appear, keep in mind that the attorney does not work for you and will be working for whomever owns the debt. If you have been subpeoned then you NEED to appear. You can find the number for the attorney either on the form or through the state bar website. The next step is to contact legal aid, legal aid of northern california services the sacramento area. There you may be able to obtiain free legal advice and service to assist you on your day in court. Good luck.

There should be a low cost or free lawyer referral service in your area. Go talk to a lawyer.

I will tell you that when this happened to me (same scenario as you, but we're filing for bankruptcy, so, in the end, whatever the cc company does is moot) I was told by a lawyer that they can garnish your bank accounts, so don't keep more than $300 in any of them, because they can't legally take the last $300. Also, they can and will go after any property you own, they won't bother with cars that aren't worth much, but they can put a lien on your house, which needs to be paid off before you sell it. Other than that, they can send you threatening letters until the statute of limitation is up. But once they get a judgment against you in court, that judgment stands and you are liable for the debt.

If it's only $2000, try to work something out with them to pay it off.

I hate to say it but there was a time when we were sued and didn't know about it or something happened, I can't remember. I think we just didn't get notice before hand. They just got awarded their claim and they got a judgement against us. They then took that to hubby's employer somehow and they started garnishing his wages, it can't be more than a certain percentage.

I think you might just call an attorney that will do a free 30 minute consultation.

Since you say you owe the credit card company money, have you ever thought of just paying them?

Like other posters have said check the statue of limitations for your state. I believe it STARTS from the date of LAST payment to them. So if your last payment was 8 or so years ago and your SOL is 6 years they CAN NOT legally do anything to you. Tell them that and they should back off (but it does help to have proof of last payment.) I went through this once before so I researched like crazy. Hope that helps!