When you receive a summons indicating that you are being sued to collect a debt, you should have 35 days or less to respond. In this time, you need to decide what approach to take. One thing you should NOT do is ignore it. If you ignore the summons, the creditor will win a default judgment against you. Depending on the state you live in, the default judgment could involve wage garnishment. Do not ignore a summons. The creditor is hoping that you will ignore the summons, as most people do, so thay can collect on the debt by default judgment.
Look for supporting documentation. Your summons should contain information supporting the fact that you owe this money such as a complete account history or signed documents like a contract or sales receipts. If it doesn't, the company probably doesn't have any proof that you actually do owe the debt. Send a response to the address indicated for responses. Deny the debt. Simply state something like, "I deny that the debt is mine, that the amounts are correct, or that the fees associated with the account were calculated correctly." Cover all of the bases. This will buy time. The court date will be void and you can begin to work with the company to make this lawsuit go away.
Send a request for debt validation to the creditor. Mail a request to the creditor to prove that you owe the debt tho that particular agency. Make sure to use certified mail so you have a receipt of delivery. Once the debt validation letter is sent, the creditor has 30 days to validate. If they can not validate, you are done. In order to validate, the creditor must provide a complete account history, signature documents, or proof the debt was purchased and your original contract stated that this company could collect on the debt.
If the creditor can validate, try to come to a payment agreement with them outside of court. Always correspond in writing. Offer 40-60% of the total balance as full payment. Tell them how much you can afford to pay per month. Make it realistic for you. Make sure to demand that your credit report reflect "paid as agreed" as you stick to the payment plan. Do not let the creditor bully you into paying more than you can afford.
Even if the creditor can validate, you can still fight it. Take the summons and the validation to a litigation lawyer. At this point, you need outside help to go through this complicated legal process. The creditor will most likely refile the suit after validating. The good news is that most of the time, the creditor will not be able to validate.
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