Comment:
Thank you so much for taking time to answer my questions. I have a feeling I am going to be in for the long haul. This collection agency has a lot of lawsuits against it for dealing dirty. I am not going down without a fight and I will show up in court. I will then deal with whatever is handed to me. I just want it all behind me.

Subject: Civil summons on credit card debt.
QUESTION: I let this credit card get away from me because I tried to make payments with the credit card company that I could afford and needless to say they wouldn't go for the amount I could pay.

They have sold the account and now I have a civil summons that I need to answer. I realize it is my responsibility to pay it, but how can I be sure this company legitimately bought the debt? I did send a validation letter and all I got back was a page of the statement with my name on it.

I am working on my answer to the summons, but I am wondering if I should just call them and ask for a settlement. I got myself into this predicament and I am willing to fix it. The sad thing is that I hadn't used the cards in years and all I was paying was over the limit fees and high interest rates. I was going nowhere even with sending them 160.00 a month. I appreciate any advice.

ANSWER: How will you answer the summons? What will you say? How will you prove that the statute of limitations is out on the debt> You won't get anywhere just telling a story to the judge. You have to make it look like you know what you are talking about. Are you planning to use your discovery tools to make them own up to the fact that the debt is out of SOL?

Bill Bauer
405-684-9297
405-227-9423

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LISTEN TO THESE CREDITWRENCH STUDENTS CHAT ON OUR FRIDAY NIGHT CONFERENCE CALLS.

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The Creditwrench conference calls will start this coming Friday evening at 7 P.M. Central time. It is free and open to the public. There is no cost or obligation other than what it may cost you for the phone call itself. You can join in and ask questions or just listen or whatever you want to do.

Dial-in Number: (712) 432-1601
Access code: 508548#

You might also want to visit our message forum at http://consumers.creditwrench.com to get answers to questions you need answered before next Friday night.

If you live within driving distance of Oklahoma City you can also come to our monthly meeting of the Oklahoma City Chapter of Jurisdictionary meetings. They are held on the 2nd Thursday of each month at Coit's Root Beer Stand which is located on the corner of SW 24th & Western Ave in Oklahoma City. The meetings start promptly at 7:00 P.M. and last for 2 hours. Attendees usually arrive about half an hour early so they can enjoy a good meal at Coit's Root Beer Stand. The meetings are free and open to the public and we can discuss your problems as well if you like.

We are going to start holding mock trials so that you can learn some court room procedures.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I am dealing with Weltman, Weinberg and Reis and I think they are a junk debt buyer and they pose as lawyer's. I am wondering if they can prove anything by just having a page from a statement. This is attached to the complaint and stamped with Exhibit A. Do they not have to prove that the
account is mine by having some sort of signature? I am going to ask for statements and receipts with my signature on them in the answer. Should I send any other type of paper's with it? I know you mention and afadavit, should I see if they sent one of those? I know it's a lot of questions but I want to answer the summon's correctly. Thank you.

Answer: In far too many courts they don't have to prove anything at all to get a judgment. They ask for it and it is automatically granted. That is mostly because defendants don't even show up for court so they get a default judgment. Even when people do show up they usually have no defense and certainly no offense. If you don't have a strong defense then you better have a very strong offense. That means you have to catch them violating the law and sue them in federal court. That is often the only way to win.

You have to use your 5 discovery options to make them produce the documents you need to defeat them. The point is that they might not be able to produce any more documents than what they already have and you have to object to their introduction because they are hear say evidence, not certified as being true and correct copies of the original and because there is no witness with first hand knowledge that can attest to the validity of the documents.

You have to object and when the judge denies your objection you have to demand that he certify the case for appeal.

Those are just some of the things my students learn how to do.