HELP I have been served!!!!

[Anonymous]

There are different rules for military. They have to do a different avenue if you are in the military. There are laws that protect the military (soldier sailors act or something).

[Anonymous]

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@guiness56 wrote:

O6 - Why did they asked if she had ever been in the military? 

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Soldiers & Sailors Civil Relief Act.

Amongst other things, it makes it more difficult for them to get a default judgment.  In most courts the plaintiff has to certify that the defendant is not on military active duty in order to get a court date.

[takethat]

I was served by Chase Bank in 2007. I worked out a payment plan with them and am almost done paying off $10,000 worth of debt! Too bad the damage has already been done though.... even though the debt is still with the OC, it appears on my credit report as "charge-off" and that has had a huge impact on my ability to receive credit and also to get an apartment. I definitely recommend contacting them and working out a deal directly.

[guiness56]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@guiness56 wrote:

O6 - Why did they asked if she had ever been in the military? 

---

Soldiers & Sailors Civil Relief Act.

Amongst other things, it makes it more difficult for them to get a default judgment.  In most courts the plaintiff has to certify that the defendant is not on military active duty in order to get a court date.

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Being military I knew about the SSCRA.  And I knew they had to prove you weren't in the military.  I just figured all of that was done prior to serving papers. Not done on the day they served.

Learn something new everyday.  Thanks.

[Anonymous]

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@guiness56 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@guiness56 wrote:

O6 - Why did they asked if she had ever been in the military? 

---

Soldiers & Sailors Civil Relief Act.

Amongst other things, it makes it more difficult for them to get a default judgment.  In most courts the plaintiff has to certify that the defendant is not on military active duty in order to get a court date.

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Being military I knew about the SSCRA.  And I knew they had to prove you weren't in the military.  I just figured all of that was done prior to serving papers. Not done on the day they served.

Learn something new everyday.  Thanks.

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Each state can be slightly different.  In some the plaintiff has to include in their verified complaint that they are sure the defendant is not on active duty.  And some law firms, to cover their rear, actually do make real attempts to verify. 

[MBOhio2]

First of all, if you have not done so yet, definitely reach out to Chase and tell them that you are happy to set up a payment plan with them in exchange for them dismissing the complaint/lawsuit. If they agree, get this in writing. After you get this in writing, submit a copy to the court to show that Chase is dismissing the complaint and then call the courthouse and ensure that they received it and have them confirm the lawsuit is being dismissed. You want to be very, very careful not to miss any deadlines or court dates. Courts are slow and things take time so don;t assume that just because you have an agreement with Chase, that the formalities with the court have been resolved.

The sheet of paper you received with the summons is an attorney entry form. If you were to hire an attorney, your attorney would fill this out and submit it to the court. once this happens, all parties (i.e. Chase) must communicate with you only through your attorney and not contact you directly. Oftentimes, you will not receive any paperwork beyond this. It is expected that you (or your attorney) will draft your "Answer" (your reply to Chase's complaint) from scratch and there is no fill-in form for this purpose.

If you are not hiring an attorney, call the court and ask them how to note that you will be handling "pro se" (without an attorney). Then you will need to draft an Answer, which as I said, is your reply to Chase's Complaint. The easiest way to do this is replicate the exact document format Chase used (the top of the first page). However, if their version says "Complaint" or "Plaintiff's Complaint", then you will want to change that to "Defendant's Answer". All of the other information should be the same.

For the actual Answer, it is very simple. Reply to each and every paragraph in their Complaint. You can format it like this.

"Answer to Paragraph 1: Blah Blah Blah

Answer to Paragraph 2: Blah Blah Blah"

Just reply the best you can. If you have no knowledge of something they're saying, simply say so. You certainly don't want to be dishonest, but it's likely that they're going to refer to a bunch of document in their Complaint (e.g. CC agreements, etc) and unless you have those documents in front of you and can see that what they're saying is exactly accurate, then it's okay to say that you "cannot affirm or deny" the statements being made.

Don't feel like you have to get caught up in legal jargon and just use plain English to answer each paragraph. Then take your printed Answer to the courthouse and file it. If you go to the Clerk, they will coach you through it. Don't be scared to say "I'm tying to file this Defendant's Answer, but I don't know how - can you help me?" The people at the courthouse are just administrative workers

[Anonymous]

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@MBOhio2 wrote:

First of all, if you have not done so yet, definitely reach out to Chase and tell them that you are happy to set up a payment plan with them in exchange for them dismissing the complaint/lawsuit. If they agree, get this in writing. After you get this in writing, submit a copy to the court to show that Chase is dismissing the complaint and then call the courthouse and ensure that they received it and have them confirm the lawsuit is being dismissed. You want to be very, very careful not to miss any deadlines or court dates. Courts are slow and things take time so don;t assume that just because you have an agreement with Chase, that the formalities with the court have been resolved.

The sheet of paper you received with the summons is an attorney entry form. If you were to hire an attorney, your attorney would fill this out and submit it to the court. once this happens, all parties (i.e. Chase) must communicate with you only through your attorney and not contact you directly. Oftentimes, you will not receive any paperwork beyond this. It is expected that you (or your attorney) will draft your "Answer" (your reply to Chase's complaint) from scratch and there is no fill-in form for this purpose.

If you are not hiring an attorney, call the court and ask them how to note that you will be handling "pro se" (without an attorney). Then you will need to draft an Answer, which as I said, is your reply to Chase's Complaint. The easiest way to do this is replicate the exact document format Chase used (the top of the first page). However, if their version says "Complaint" or "Plaintiff's Complaint", then you will want to change that to "Defendant's Answer". All of the other information should be the same.

For the actual Answer, it is very simple. Reply to each and every paragraph in their Complaint. You can format it like this.

"Answer to Paragraph 1: Blah Blah Blah

Answer to Paragraph 2: Blah Blah Blah"

Just reply the best you can. If you have no knowledge of something they're saying, simply say so. You certainly don't want to be dishonest, but it's likely that they're going to refer to a bunch of document in their Complaint (e.g. CC agreements, etc) and unless you have those documents in front of you and can see that what they're saying is exactly accurate, then it's okay to say that you "cannot affirm or deny" the statements being made.

Don't feel like you have to get caught up in legal jargon and just use plain English to answer each paragraph. Then take your printed Answer to the courthouse and file it. If you go to the Clerk, they will coach you through it. Don't be scared to say "I'm tying to file this Defendant's Answer, but I don't know how - can you help me?" The people at the courthouse are just administrative workers

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Actually, in many jurisdictions -- and especially in OP's -- there is a a standard fill-in form.

[MBOhio2]

Oh yes, I understand that there is oftentimes/sometimes a fill-in form and I suppose I should have been more clear. OP shouldn't sit around waiting for a fill-in form. If he/she doesn't receive one, he/she is still expected to reply and it may be that he/she has to draft the Answer from scratch so I was trying to help with that. Thanks for clarifying though!!

[Anonymous]

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@MBOhio2 wrote:

Oh yes, I understand that there is oftentimes/sometimes a fill-in form and I suppose I should have been more clear. OP shouldn't sit around waiting for a fill-in form. If he/she doesn't receive one, he/she is still expected to reply and it may be that he/she has to draft the Answer from scratch so I was trying to help with that. Thanks for clarifying though!!

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I have yet to see any jurisdiction that gives you the form included with the summons & complaint. 

With New York, all forms are downloaded from the NYS Supreme Court website so there is no sitting around and waiting involved.  Using their standard form is even better than taking your chances by drafting your own since the fill-in form also lists most possible affirmative defenses which, if missed on your answer, could cause irreparable harm.

The best option for anybody being sued is to search for the appropriate forms on their state court's website or ask the court clerk before running off and drafting your own answer, 

[Anonymous]

Just to give everyone an update, O6 has been wonderful in helping me with this and I really appreciate his help and generosity.

We discovered that my county has fillable forms for an Answer to the Summons. So I have filled that out and will take it to my credit union to get it notarized. Then I will send a copy to Chase's legal counsel and file it with the court. That way they can't get a default judgement.

In the meantime, I have been trying to call Chase's legal counsel at the number listed on  the summons. When you call, it says press 1 if you have received a summons, want to make payment arrangements, etc. So I pressed one. It goes to voice mail for a Christine. I am documenting every time I call. I also left a message for them.

The bigger problem is working with our debt. We have a LOT of it. Most accounts are past due or in collections.

The big cards (most likely to sue), I have worked out payment agreements with at 0% for five years. The only big cards left are the Chase one and a citicard one. I called the citicard one and it is with a 3rd party collections agent for citicard. The guy wasn't in. The guy on the phone said they would be able to work out a payment plan with me (just wondering what the cost is...). So I have to call back in a little while when the guy that handles my account is in.  

I just worked out 2 more payment arrangements this morning with Target and Fashion Bug. Target put me on a plan for $25 a month at 6.9% interest rate for 48 months. If I get more money before then (likely as our cars will be paid off in 22 & 23 mos and our youngest will be out of daycare by then ($700 a month)), I can call them up and pay it off.

Fashion Bug was more difficult. They are owned by that WNN company or whatever. I was only able to negotiate a $25 payment for this month on the 29th and then $169.70 a month for 11 months. Better than nothing. Actually  the $169.70 was slightly more than my payment each month was to them. This account will be paid off in a year. They are not charging interest or fees during this period.

Some cards have been sold into collections (they are less than 1k each) to junk buyers that have a really bad rap. Since they are jerks and bought it for penneys on the dollar, they will be paid last. If they decide to sue, I'll go to court and make them prove the debt. Worse that will happen is I would have to pay up. Under no circumstances will they get my bank information. Eventually I will get around to doing a PFD when I get some more money and get some things paid off.

Once we get through this, I am done with credit cards. I will only have one card period for emergencies or things like reserving a hotel room.