The preliminary hearing is in three weeks. Do I have to show up in court for this? If I do finally get served, is there a penalty for a no-show, in civil court?
2007-03-29 19:46:53 · 11 answers · asked by kevin 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
If you haven't been served and the hearing is in three weeks, depending on your states rules of service, you may be the victim of sewer service. They may have dropped the summons off at a place where you had once lived, at a relatives home, left it on a neighbors door, etc. Or, they could have "claimed" to have (personally) served you.
They won't penalize you or take out a bench warrant or throw you in jail for not showing up for a money debt court case. If you don't show up, they will just get a default judgment against you.
You need to read your states rules of service. Find out if they "have" to use every effort to personally serve you or if service by publication (ad in newspaper) is good enough in your state.
Once they serve you, depending on your state, you are allowed the opportunity to have somewhere between 20 to 30 days to file a response.
If they have to make an effort to personally serve you and they don't (and you aren't hiding, haven't moved without a change of address etc) then you can fight the case by claiming improper service.
Go to the following link and look up your states rule of service
http://www.megalawserve.com/states/rules.php
You might also want to speak with an attorney. If you can't afford one, speak to legal aid.
Also, if the account is past the collecting SOL, you would have them for filing suit on a time barred debt. If that is the case and you file a counter claim, that could be "up to" $1000 they would have to pay you.
2007-03-30 00:31:26 · answer #1 · answered by echo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
For credit card debt? Sue back the company who issued you the card for being deceptive or something. There have been lot of complains lately about way banks and others who issue credit cards. How they draw in people with attractive offer, but slam them with hidden, confusing fees, rules... etc.
I recently heard story on radio about law students spending over an hour to figure out what exactly is said in credit card fine prints. It's very unfair that credit card companies knowingly give credits to people who are high risk and hope they'll make late payments, or make minimum payments that can last 30 years for a fridge...etc. It's unethical those companie are actually designing system where they'll lead you into credit debt you can't possibly repay.
Watch
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/
2007-03-29 19:59:16 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you dispute it, you have to show up in court to dispute it. If you don't show up, the credit card company will 'win' the case automatically. You will then be court ordered to pay what you owe them and most likely court fees and their attorney fees (if any). If you don't pay the money the judgement is for, the credit card company can then issue an order to garnish your wages. I live in Indiana, so I'm not sure how different the court system is elsewhere. But I know from first hand experience what happens here in Indiana.
2007-03-29 19:52:48 · answer #3 · answered by chrissyfaye67 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you receive a summons and don't show up in court it's contempt of court. You will have a judgment on your credit file for the next 10 years, even if it is cleared off.
2007-03-29 19:51:15 · answer #4 · answered by gone 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You don't have to be served, you received a summons...you'd BETTER show up in court and yes the penalty is jail...
2007-03-29 19:50:50 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't worry about getting arrested, these women don't know what their talking about, the most they can do is Ruin your Credit for 7 years, which is pretty bad thing since you will not be able to get any kind of Loans,Mortgages and such that have to involve your credit.
2007-03-29 21:27:16 · answer #6 · answered by Iceman 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Get in touch with a credit counseling agency. Preferably one that has people experienced in this sort of thing.
Freedom Financial Law is a good one.
2007-03-29 19:51:12 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
no its all a trick to get you to pay the debt, they send me those warning letters all the time, if you dont care about your credit dont worry about it, all they will do is put a judgment against you but i even doubt that because it will cost them money
ADDED: they cannot garnish your wages with credit card debt only irs, child support, government loans and divorce
2007-03-29 19:50:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
if you dont show up they will garnish your wages 10% gross, they will even try and seize your accounts, sadly I laughed when I got my notice and now Im paying 10% per paycheck sometimes more than 400 monthly, when I could have settled for 150-200 monthly
2007-03-29 19:50:52 · answer #9 · answered by cvegas229 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you dont show up you can suffer sanctions and lose in court with many judgements. doubtful youll go to jail they will freeze your assets however. I suggest filing bankruptcy which will stop all collection calls. otherwise they will spank you with excessive costs.
2007-04-02 10:37:28 · answer #10 · answered by toad4446 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋