How to Deal With a Summons From a Collection Agency

A summons is a notification that you are being sued. If you receive a summons from a collection agency concerning a debt, there are several things you should do. In general, if you are so far along in dealing with a collection agency that you have received a summons, it means you have ignored previous communications with the agency or, at the very least, have not begun payments. Before you pay anything or contact anyone, several steps should be taken for your protection.

Instructions

1

Verify the summons is real. A true summons comes from a court, and will have all that information on the summons itself. Contact the court to make certain this is a legitimate summons and not a scam. If it does not have a courthouse name and address, then it is not a real summons.

2

Verify that the debt under review is in fact yours. There are many scams out there trying to frighten debtors into paying money or revealing personal finance information. Check the information provided with the summons. Your debts will be listed in order.

3

Go online to find the statute of limitations law in your state. Certain debts, once they reach a certain age, cannot be legally collected. If the debts involved are old and beyond the statute of limitations, your response will be clear: The agency has no right to collect this debt because it is too old.

4

Gather all your financial records. If you are going to verify the debt, you need to have your own paperwork to check against the collection agency's figures.

5

File for a validation procedure. In most states, this means a stay of any legal action. Unless the debt the agency is demanding is precisely correct, you can file for a validation. The collection agency must then research its own facts and figures and provide both the court and you, the debtor, with more detailed information in the debt.

6

Contact a credit counselor once you have verified the nature of the debt. He will be able to assist you with the nuts and bolts of your response.

7

Hire a lawyer if you must appear in court. Lawyers with experience in dealing with collection agencies will know precisely how to deal with the agency or its attorney. Assuming the debt is real and the suit legitimate, hiring a lawyer might be a necessary, albeit expensive, option to protect your rights and credit.

8

Respond. A summons will not necessarily require you to appear in court, but to give a written reply. This should be done carefully and normally with a credit counselor. The counselor's experience might be invaluable at this point. Explain your position in detail, and explain the legal reasons why you have not paid the debt. You cannot merely say "I did not have the money" or "I'm going through a divorce." These are not legal reasons. If you have no legal reason to contest the debt, then your only next step is to contact the agency to create a payment schedule or declare bankruptcy.

9

Appear in court if you need to. If you do not appear, the judgment will go against you no matter what. Do not miss court dates.