Sent DV letter, now a civil summons

Who is suing you..?
Do you have proof that they received the letter..?
Did you record any of your conversations..?
What state are you in..?

I would call them, and record it. North Carolina is a "One Party" state, meaning that as long as one of the parties on a call originated in that state is aware, the call can be recorded. Get them to acknowledge having received the request that they not call you on tape... Then, I would suggest an online search for a competent "consumer law" attorney in your area. But you need to do so quick, before time runs out for you to answer the suit!

LVNV regularly sues, and regularly loses, so long as the case is even halfway defended... Trust me on this, I see it all the time!

Didn't they already violate the persons rights by not validating? If the person can show the return reciept then when they go to court they can prove that they did not validate. How much would this atty cost the poster and is there a way to do it alone? How old is this debt? Maybe the statute of limitations may apply here.

All of what you say might be true... But unless the poster is comfortable filing an answer, and defending themselves, should the need arise, it's perhaps best to defer to the experts...

Remember... THEY ARE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO WON'T FIGHT! If you file an immediate answer, they'll know you're in it for the long haul.

Moreover, I haven't seen many of these cases (particularly by LVNV) that there didn't exist an opportunity for a countersuit, which can almost inevitably end up putting money in the consumer's pocket, as well as a deletion of the offending tradeline...

I can not believe lawyers do not tell you this. I filed 14 years ago but I know some who have tried to file recently and they never even m,entioned an option of a countersuit. Most do not like to do anymore work then they have too.

Hi Pantherfan
Even if they have not validated the debt and have sent you summons, you should file an answer to the summon at the court from where you have received the summon, else there may be a default judgment against you. Now after you file the response to the summon, you will receive a court date where you will be able to defend yourself and may ask for debt validation or may produce the receipt in the court that you have already asked for debt validation which they have not yet responded to.

Yes, you can deny the charges that the creditor has brought against you at the form which you will be required to fill up as a answer to the summon. There is no need to file a countersuit as you will receive a court date where you can challenge the debt that the creditor has brought against you. However, if somehow, you fail to appear at the court and a default judgment is passed, you can file a motion to vacate the judgment. But for now you may not file a counter suit.

I believe what the poster is trying to figure out is since he asked for debt validation in Novemeber 10 and sent along a cease and desist letter if they can still be awarded the debt payment. He says he they filed suit on Dec. 4. What I would think is that once this goes to court and he can prove he asked for debt validation and the only response the person got was a summons as long as he/she can prove they asked for validation and they never complied then the debt should be dismissed. Right? Also there is the cease and desist and if he can prove the company left those voice mails (kept the recordings) then they violated his rights once again. The collection laws were put ointo place to protect people from things like this so surely those violations will not be over looked by a judge.

You should never send a cease and desist letter along with debt validation letter. You are telling them to cease all contact with you and then you are requesting that they validate at the same time. If they validate they violate the cease and desist. So send one or the other not both.

Yes, cease and desist letter should be send only if you are sure that you do not owe the debt, because cease and desist letter will move the case into legal status. So before you send a C and D letter, you should send a debt validation letter by certified mail with return receipt. If the creditor cannot validate the debt within 30 days of receipt of your letter and still disturb you for the debt, you can send a cease and desist letter.

You can send a cease and desist letter to the creditor only if the creditors are harassing you for the debt which you think that you do not owe. Debt validation letter is send to the creditor to be sure that the creditor who is charging you for the debt is actually authorized to collect the debt or not. Only if the creditor does not validate the debt within 30 days from the date of receipt of your letter, you can be sure that you do not owe the debt to the creditor or the collection agency. Once you become sure that you do not owe the debt, you can send a cease and desist letter if you find the creditor harassing you. Cease and desist letter is a legal letter which will stop the creditor from harassing you.

So if you do owe the debt they can harass you? I do not think this is quite right. If they are harassing you, even if you owe the debt you should be able to send a cease and desist regardless. At least this is my understanding. If they ring your phone off the hook and call outside the legal calling time or call your work and endanger your employment then you are entitled to send a cease and desist. Panther is correct on the fact that they can be fined and have their case dimissed if it is proven they are harassing the debtor. Let us know how you are making out on this and if you run into a problem stop back and we can see if their is any advice we can give you.