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Last year, my sister had a Cap One card that had gone into default when her husband died unexpectedly. The debt was nearing SOL, and she hadn't heard a word from Cap One. The original balance was about $700, but it was up over $3500 with penalties and interest. Just before SOL ran out, they slapped her with a notice that they were going for a judgment. She didn't have the money to pay it, but she decided to go to court and ask the judge if she could make arrangements for a small monthly payment, and also wanted to ask how a $700 bill had turned into a $3500 bill, plus another $2000 they were threatening to add for court costs. The local lawyer representing Cap One asked for a continuance because Cap One hadn't sent him any info on the case at all--they apparently assumed that the debtors wouldn't show up in court, so the judge would just automatically grant the judgment.
Sis started to cry because she was afraid, and also because the continuance meant she'd have to lose another day of work. Cap One's lawyer came over to her, and she explained how she was suddenly widowed and broke. He apparently felt sorry for her, because he proceeded to tell her that Cap One always went to court for judgments before SOL, but that they almost never provided the local lawyers with proper documentation in case a debtor actually showed up and asked for proof. He suggested she show up for the next court date, and told her that if his client didn't send all the proper paperwork and a representative, the judge would dismiss the case. That's exactly what happened! The suit was dismissed, and the SOL expired.
She said while she sat in court, 80% of the cases were Cap One, and most of the debtors didn't show up and were slapped with judgments. 
Starting Score: 377EQ/350EX/400TU As of 11/2011valley_man0505 wrote:
That's odd. My CrapOne is shown with an almost identical balance with all 3 CRA's. Is the "date last reported" the same on each of yours?
FYI...I am up to about $5500 on a card that originally had a $2000 CL and I never went over the limit when the card was active.
Everything is the exact same on mine except the balance!
I started with a 550.00 CL and never charged over 400 on it and you see
how much they jacked up the intrest and penalties on my CO
Illinois. Not sure if this is standard procedure in other states, but since my sister asked the judge for proof of the debt (extra charges, she wasn't disputing the original $700) and Cap One couldn't provide it, the judge dismissed the entire suit. She even told the judge she knew she owed $700, but didn't understand how it had grown to be such a large amount. (She had moved, and never got any statements for several years.) I'm guessing the judge had the right to assess a judgment for the $700, but sis said the judge seemed annoyed by Cap One adding on all sorts of huge fees and not providing documentation. He said something to the effect that they had blown it, and she didn't have to pay them anything. 
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