topic Re: sheriff showed up.... in Rebuilding Your Credit

sheriff showed up....

logansmom0117 — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 19:45:26 GMT

HI! I was away for work and a sheriff showed up with a summons on an old credit file. What should be my next step? I am scared. I have been getting letters from laywers all week also. Do I need one? I think its an old CC from 2012, maybe 1200$. I have to get home and read more, but I am freaking out. Any help?

Re: sheriff showed up....

Failingupwards — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 19:54:39 GMT

Once you find out who is suing you, you might be able to contact them and make arrangements for payment without going to court. If not, they will usually meet with you in the hallway before going into the courtroom and try to make a deal. Relax. It sucks, but it's not the end of the world.

Re: sheriff showed up....

Sandman771 — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 20:03:03 GMT

First off breathe. If you met with the Sheriff and he didn't haul you away then it was a good day. (tips my hat Ice Cube)

Just study onit and contact them once you figure out who it is and go from there. They don't want to pay to go to court any more than you do.

Re: sheriff showed up....

RobertEG — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 23:44:09 GMT

I would definately recommend at least an initial consultation with an attorney to ensure that you follow required procedure, such as sending any answer back to the court.....

Re: sheriff showed up....

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 03:39:09 GMT

I've had this happen to me twice and I will say that it's a scary experience because it's a sheriff but in the end they are just like any other subpoena server. Calm down and relax whether it was a sheriff or anybody else their job is just to give you the summons. Once you get the summons you usually have two choices at the point: 1. Contact the company suing you on behalf of the creditor and work out a deal to stop the court date or else pay in full if you have the means. The two people that I talked to seriously were jerks and wouldn't budge on taking anything other than the full amount to stop the court summons. I think Fenton & Mcgarvey were the first creditors I had and some other local slime ball lawyer the second time. 2. If you do not work out a settlement then they will setup a court date and then you can show up in court to fight it , show up in court to confirm the debt, or not show up. They won't send the police after you if you decide not to show up. If you do not show up to defend yourself then the judge will just rule in favor of the creditor and then they will win a judgement against you. I freaked out the first time and I went and it was literally just waiting in line to speak to one of their paralegals and they'll probably ask you if you are willing to make a payment arrangement. I realized the second time that it was a waste of time since I knew that I owed the money. Either way you are going to have a judgement on your record and then you can work on a payment arrangement with the company afterwards. My DW and I had 3 that we paid off and they stayed on our records for a little while. Someone showed me a trick a few months back and I got all 3 of my DW's expunged from EQ a few months back so now we're both free and clear of any court records. Several were only like one or two years old. I also got approved for many credit cards as well with a paid judgement on my record so the sting will disappear if you have the means to pay it off. I'm not sure of your financial situation but if you want to try and avoid a judgement on your record just try and see if you can come up with the 1200 prior to the court date. You probably already have the account charged off or in collections so the judgement is like the proverbial cherry on top. God bless and I feel for you I went through credit hell for many years but you will turn things around

Re: sheriff showed up....

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 10:56:06 GMT

I had a sheriff's deputy show up with a similar summons...while I had friends over...so it could have been worse. Definitely do what others have said; get in touch with the creditor and hammer out a solution.

Re: sheriff showed up....

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 12:44:59 GMT

This happened to me. I wish I would have arranged a payment plan rather than garnishments. Public records hurt me.

Re: sheriff showed up....

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 16:03:22 GMT

As the others have said, breathe. Relax for now. After you catch your breath and find out what it is for, check and find out what the statute of limitations is for your state.

There are several collectors who ignore that when they are attempting to get money out of someone. Portfolio Recovery and Asset Acceptance come to mind. Portfolio's legal team (Howard Schiff for one) are famous for doing this and hoping the person won't show up in court armed with the knowledge that they can't legally collect (or sue) if it is beyond the SOL. You mentioned that you think it's from 2012 - you need to confirm that and exactly when in 2012 it went into default status. Once you have that info and the SOL for your state, you'll be able to make a more informed move.

Re: sheriff showed up....

logansmom0117 — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 16:24:21 GMT

This is from Portfolio Associates. Its from an old care credit card.....last payment was made 12/30/2013. SOL for PA, correct me if I am wrong, is 4 years. So there is 5 years left.

Re: sheriff showed up....

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 16:37:41 GMT

Honestly, don't ignore your creditors. They were there for you when you needed help with your finances, so it's not a good idea to take the money and run. This is part of the social contract.

Re: sheriff showed up....

RobertEG — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 18:57:15 GMT

The summons likely sets a due date for providing an answer to the court.

It is critical that you respond to the court within the set period to avoid a default judgment.

If at all unclear as to what you should provide in your answer to the court, then you should definately consult an attorney.

Re: sheriff showed up....

camniamom — Sat, 15 Jul 2017 12:46:37 GMT

I had a similar experience with a creditor. I got in touch with the lawyer and he was very friendly. He told me what I needed to pay to have the case dismissed. At the time the creditor was not authorizing a payment plan. The wanted payment in full. I had a little time as the court case was about two months away. I sent them the payment via FedEx just to ensure that they received it and the case was dismissed. I didn't even have to show up.

Re: sheriff showed up....

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 21:37:15 GMT

Can you please tell us the trick of how you had them removed from your credit report?

Re: sheriff showed up....

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 15:55:43 GMT

I'm pretty much in the same boat. They have been trying to serve me but so far have not been able to locate me. I'm trying to prepare ahead of time and then will likely go in and claim the summons and get the ball rolling.

Ok, so dont panic, time to do some research or lawyer up.

Note that since you have been served the meter is now running. Depending on your state you have about 15-30 days to file a response to the complaint. Even if you do not get a lawyer make sure you file a response. If you dont, they get a default judgement for the full amount, plus any fees and will have full access to wages, liens, banks, you name it.

I wish I had more to offer, but from what I have seen the absolute worst thing you can do is ignore it and let them win by default. There are some good videos on youtube going over what you should do and how you should respond. Get busy researching and get on it before time runs out.