What info do I need for debt validation letter?

I'm being sued for an old, and yet-to-be-validated credit card debt

• When I was 17 years old, still in high school, a bank from Texas offered me a credit card with a $500 spending limit. So, being the immature and inexperienced kid that I was, I maxed it out. A year later, when I lost my part-time job, I began to lag behind in payments, and soon failed to make any payments at all. The debt accumulated to around $700 in late fees and over-the-limit fees, and was then sold to a collection agency Credigy Receivables. They tried to collect for a few years but failed (I was in school and had limited funds). Now, in March of 2006, I received a letter from a law firm in Long Island, NY (I live in Brooklyn, NY) claiming that I owe them $1,700 (and some change). They didn't state what the money was for (other than "Re: Credigy Receivables/APO Associates", and said that I have to pay up. I consulted the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and other resources on the internet, and sent them a letter back, asking them to validate the debt by providing me with the name and address of the original creditor, show me that this debt was sold to them, and how they calculated the amount I owe them. They replied to my request stating that they are in receipt of my request for validation, and provided me only with the last 4 digits of my social security number, and the date the original account was opened (Sept. 29, 1999). They didn't even include the address of the original creditor, nor how they calculated the $1700 balance. According to the resources on the internet which I've consulted, this type of a reply does not validate anything. So I have sent them another letter, reminding them to supply me with a complete payment history, a letter of agreement that bears my signature, and a letter of sale or assignment from the original creditor to their company, or else I will file a lawsuit. They didn't reply this time, but instead I was served a summons to appear in court. The summons is dated April 27, 2006, but I didn't received it in my mailbox until June 8th, 2006 (no envelope, it was just dropped off I figure). So at this point I have to answer this quickly. At this point I am thinking that for a debt as small as this, they are not in posession of any of those required documents which are needed to validate this debt; Especially given the fact that this debt was originally sold to a collections agency, and THEN to them. MY QUESTION IS: Can I answer this summons myself, and give the court clerk some sort of a reply that would get me off the hook? Or is this something that I need an attorney for? I have copies of all the letters. If I can answer this summons myself, can someone please advise me as to what to do? The summons was served in Kings County (Brooklyn, New York). I have never been to court, and I am unfamiliar with these types of proceedings. If on the other hand, I do need an attorney for this, can someone recommend where I can find affordable consumer-debt attorneys? Sites like lawyers.com only list expensive law firms, which charge upwards of $500 for consultation alone, and if I am going to be spending over a thousand dollars on a lawyer, I might as well try to settle with them alone. What I am ultimately looking for is a quick and affordable resolution to this. Thanks!

• Answer:

  Hi, Gordon. I'm happy to have been able to help. To recap: The Civil Court of the City of New York has a website: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/nyc/civil/civil.shtml (although, if your case is under Small Claims, the website is http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/nyc/smallclaims/index.shtml I'm assuming that it is NOT under the Small Claims part) There is a link at the Civil Court website called, "Answering a case" http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/nyc/civil/answeringcase.shtml#answer There is a useful link called "Legal and Procedural Information" http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/nyc/civil/procedural.shtml that includes such information as "In General," "Representing Yourself," "During the Case/Before Trial," and "Frequently Asked Questions." Unfortunately, no matter how strong your defense may be, the court clerk will not have the authority to dismiss the case against you. You MUST file an answer, and you will more than likely have to appear in court to establish your defense. Here are a few attorneys who claim to represent consumers: http://www.consumeratty.net/practice_areas.php http://www.consumerprotectionlawfirms.com/ And here is a publication by the Legal Aid Society of New York specifically for consumers: http://www.legal-aid.org/SupportDocumentIndex.htm?docid=132&catid=43 It includes: "When the Creditor Sues, What Are My Rights?" http://www.legal-aid.org/Uploads/CreditorSues9_29_04.pdf (wow. having read the "When the Creditor Sues, What Are My Rights" pamphlet, I STRONGLY encourage you to read the whole thing. It's EXTREMELY helpful.) When you file your answer, MAKE SURE that one of the defenses you claim is the STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS. There are very few debts that are still enforceable after seven years. Also claim that you were improperly served with the papers. They are not allowed to just leave them in your mailbox. Include a claim that they have violated their obligation to validate the debt. After you answer, you should serve the plaintiff's attorney with a "Request for Bill of Particulars." There is a form for this, that you can get at most stationery stores. This is your chance to require them to give you all the details about the alleged debt. They are required to respond to this. At the end of the pamphlet, the Legal Aid Society invites you to contact them to find a lawyer: "To find a lawyer, contact: The Legal Aid Society Queens Neighborhood Office 1-718-286-2450 or 1-212-577-3300 www.legal-aid.org" They also provide other resources to find counsel: "The Association of the Bar of the City of New York 1-212-626-7373 (English) or 1-212-626-7374 (Spanish) www.abcny.org (click on ?Consumer Resources?) The National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) maintains a list of attorneys specializing in consumer law: NACA 1730 Rhode Island, NW, Suite 805 Washington D.C. 20036. http://www.naca.net Lawhelp.org/ny can help you find a lawyer and learn more about your rights in New York State." Here is the NACA search page: http://www.naca.net/db.php3 I did a search including New York City, New York State, and Area of Practice: Debt Collection, and found about ten lawyers. Unfortunately, it doesn't save the search results page as a link. The lawhelp.org page is here: http://www.lawhelp.org/ny/ and states its mission as follows: "This website helps low and moderate-income New Yorkers find legal help and information. LawHelp has four areas of information: Find a Lawyer Find free legal services offices in your community. Know Your Rights Learn about the law and your legal rights. Going to Court Get information about using the court system. Finding Other Help Find other organizations that may be able to help." Here is the direct link to the page about New York City Debt Collection help: http://www.lawhelp.org/NY/StateChannelResults.cfm/County/NYC/City/%20/demoMode/%3D%201/Language/1/State/NY/TextOnly/N/ZipCode/%20/LoggedIn/0/iSubTopicID/1/iProblemCodeID/1020100/sTopicImage/consumer%2Egif/iTopicID/275/ichannelid/2/bAllState/0 There is a large number of organizations offering free legal help to New Yorkers at certain income levels. In addition, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs is responsible for enforcing consumer protection laws, including debt collection laws. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/home/home.shtml They have a Debt Collection Guide in .pdf form available at their website. In addition, New York City has laws regulating debt collection, IN ADDITION to the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Go to http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/resources/law.shtml and scroll nearly all the way down to the bottom. Debt collectors are required to respond in writing to a dispute about the validity of the debt, and all collection actions must cease in the meantime. Debt collectors are also required to be licensed in the City of New York. Include violation of this law in your Answer. I know this is a lot to digest, and I hope it's been helpful. Let me know if you need any clarification, and I'll do whatever I can. Best of luck.