How do I handle a "sort-of" Civil Summons for a Credit Card debt??

[Krys]

Over the weekend, an officer delivered a summons to an address we had well over a year ago. The "summons" claims that we reside in a county that we have since moved out of. It doesn't have a court date, and is from a Law Firm representing a creditor.

I only give details because I am SO close to filing (within a week of sending everything in), and dont know the best way to handle this.

I also think that it was improperly served according to NC rules, and know that there is a way to file a complaint stating that.

Also, how do I list this on my Bankruptcy forms? Do I list the law firm as a collection agency, or is there a specific place to list a summons. Since this doesn't have a court date, is it a pre-summons or something??

ANY advice that could help me out would be SO great!

[MSbklawyer]

Notify your attorney and he will probably either request additional time to answer or will go ahead and file an answer for you and deny some material aspect of the complaint, and thereby buy you some time to get your bk filed.

You may have a point that the summons was improperly served. But if you're about to file anyway and a few more weeks will give you enough time to file, then I think the above strategy will suffice to delay judgment, wage garnishment &c. and whether service was proper or not will be a moot point.

[tcreegan]

Hi Krys,

This sounds like a run-of-the-mill collection technique....threaten w/ a lawsuit to see if you cough up some cash.

If it is just a collection attempt, list them w/ everyone else.

A real summons would have the court, case #, place and time, etc. If you are still not sure, contact the clerk of the court listed on the "summons"

My money is on a pretty standard collection call....

Tom in Colo