@Anonymous wrote:
A little background on this "debt": it's a $2,300 debt, I'm not sure where it came from and I question fraud. The debt is 5 years old ( opened in 2005 ), I recently ( december '09 ) sent a letter to the creditor via certified mail ( have reciept ) requesting an investigation into this debt.
To this day I never recieved any proof the debt is mine, until last week ( march 15th ) a Sheriff's Deputy showed up on my doorstep and served me a judgement. I'm being sued for this debt by an attorneys office, my question is if I decide to take this to court and represent myself in small claims, would this be a wise choice? Or should I just settle this out of court and be done with it?
I'm looking for advice, no real legal council here, I'm not sure how much I can hold up against an attorney, also was I in the wrong to send the letter to the original creditor and not the collections agency? I thought by federal law under the FCRA they HAD to respond withing 30 days to this investigation.
Please advice, I'm in a bind here, thanks.
Sorry to hear about the problem you are having.
Indiana generally has a 6-year statute of limitations so at first glance it looks like legal action is not, unfortunately, time barred. You definitely do not want to fail to show up or answer the summons & complaint served on you. Repeat: Do not! I am not sure how it works in Indiana, but there are generally two possibilities: 1) you get a summons & complaint that has a fixed date for appearance or 2) you have to file an "answer" within a certain amount of time -- usually 30 days. If it is option #2, you can ask the court clerk for a sample of a standard "answer" which simply means you are not rolling over and playing dead and want a court date.
You mentioned small claims court. Are you being sued in small claims court or in trial court / circuit court?
If small claims court, simply appear and tell them that you wish to see all the documents pertaining to this account and the original credit application. Point out that this is (if it truly is) identity theft and that you were prevented from filing a police report earlier because the creditor refused your request for additional documentation to help clarify the commission of the crime, but you are going to file a police report immediately after this court session. This should get you at a minimum a continuance.
If, however, you do recognize the debt as being yours, also request a continuance so that you may talk with the creditor and come to payment terms. They may mention something about a "stipulation of judgment" but I wouldn't agree to that unless absolutely necessary.
If you are being sued in circuit court / trial court, you will still appear and request the original credit application and all account documents. The process would be pretty much as pointed out above, but you may want to have an attorney. Courts in Indiana are pretty user-friendly, but not in all counties and not at all times. Still, if you appear and find out you are in way over your head, you can still request a continuance to seek counsel.
Once you have the necessary data supplied by the supposed creditor and are able to file a police report, I believe there are additional protections offered to you concerning the debt. There are other members of the forum who would probably have more details on what protections are afforded ID theft victims.
