Is this debt collection summons for real？?

Question

Some guy just handed me some papers at 9pm saying that i have a court date for some debt i owed in the past about 4 yrs ago. There is no court date on there. Should i be worried?

Answer 1

First of all, who is 'some guy'? If he was just a random stranger, then yes I would think it was a scam.

Answer 2

Chances are it is legit.

First, contact the court listed on the paperwork and verify that it is a court case.  

The actual procedure varies from state to state....in many states you are served with the complaint and you have a certain amount of time to file an answer with the court.  If you fail to answer, you will lose the case and a default judgment will be entered.

So once you have found out this is a real lawsuit, file your answer.  See the link below for info on this.

http://www.attorney-in-alabama.com/not-p...

http://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/documen...

Answer 3

First of all, if he stated "you have a court date" then it should appear on the summons.  If it is not there, then something isn't right.

If it shows the court to appear at, call the court clerk to verify if it is authentic.

If it is authentic, then check your states SOL on the debt, it may be time barred which means it is too late to take legal action to collect and this would be your defense.

Here is a link to locate your states SOL on debts

http://www.bcsalliance.com/statute_of_li...

If you find out that it is not authentic and only a scare tactic then you can sue the collection agency as per the following:

The FDCPA bars debt collectors from making threats as to what might happen unless the collector has the legal authority and the intent to take the threatened action. Among other things,  collectors threaten to initiate civil suit or criminal prosecution, garnish salaries, seize property, cause job loss, have a consumer jailed, or damage or ruin a consumer’s credit rating. Sections 807(4)-(5), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692e(4)-(5)

Hope this answer is of help to you

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The answer provided here is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended nor presumed to be legal counsel or professional legal advice

Answer 4

Process servers are contracted, so yes, it was indeed just "some guy," who was paid a few bucks to serve your paper and move on to the next one.  A total stranger serving a legal paper is not unusual today.

If the service was legit, then your court date has not yet been assigned.  There should be some point of contact information on the summons - contact the court for assignment, and you can also verify its legitimacy.

Answer 5

Doesn't have to have a date on it. You have 28 days from the date of issue (which is on it) to respond to the court with a defence. Once you've done that you'll be issued with a court date.