Capital One - Stillman Law Offices unlawful summons procedures West Bloomfield, Michigan
I recieved today, two copies of a court summons, one by regular mail, one by certified mail (that I did not sign for, it was left in my apartment office). They are both from Stillman Law Office regarding a 6 year old capital one account that I have not had contact from for the last 5 years. This claims to be the second summons they have sent me, but I never got any kind of legal document before today. I have not had any contact from capital one regarding this account at my current address, nor had any phone calls. I feel that this is shady business practices. I am not disputing the debt, but I do not believe I should be taken to court when there hasn't been any move by capital one to settle said debt for many years now, or without any contact from capital one themselves.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Robert
Irvine,California,
U.S.A.
Summons..
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, October 09, 2009
Whether you feel it is right or not you were most likely properly served, and are going to have to deal with it. It is not usually legal to serve you by regular mail, but Certified Mail is generally legal. But you have to confirm if you are required to sign for it personally. But even if you weren't served properly, all that would do is extend out the time of the suit it wouldn't have the suit dismissed. Just consider yourself lucky that they didn't try to perform "sewer service". That is where they send it to an address they know you do not live at. They do this in the hopes that the summons never reaches you and they can get a default judgment.
So now you need to follow the instructions on the summons. If you are required to file an answer..Do that before any deadline they list. Or again you could have a default judgment.
You may want to be careful about not disputing the debt. You appear to be close to having the Statute of Limitations run out. In MI it is 6 years so if you have not made any sort of payment in 6 years there is a very good chance that they are past the Statute of Limitations. In your answer you may want to require that they provide proof of the debt including the last payment on the account. If they can't provide proof that it is your debt, or that it has been less than 6 years you have very good legal grounds to have the suit dismissed.
If this is for anymore than a couple hundred dollars you may find it worth at least consulting a lawyer as to how to proceed.
sami
Saginaw,Michigan,
USA
JDB Hit & Run
#3Consumer Comment
Thu, October 08, 2009
this summon is a hit and run in the hope you will miss the court date to obtain a default judgment. first you must answer the summon by denying every things in to it, admit to your name and address only and request evidence that they represent the crap 1.