So someone just showed up at your door with some papers titled “Summons” and you don’t know what it all means. It looks like a bunch of legalese and you don’t really understand it all. This handy guide should help you learn what a summons is – and what you need to do when you receive one.
A summons is a legal court document that lets you know a debt collector has sued you and that you need to respond. The technical elements of a summons may differ by state, but the basic building blocks are usually the same. A summons will usually name the court in which you are sued and the party suing you (your creditor, or a debt collector who has purchased the debt and is now trying to collect from you). It will be addressed to you, and provide you with the name and address of the attorney for the debt collector (also known as the plaintiff).
The summons is notice to you that you need to respond to the allegations within a certain number of days – usually 21. It should notify you that a failure to respond within that timeframe could result in a judgment being entered against you. A summons should also be signed by a court clerk or attorney who can practice in that court.
A document called a Complaint will always accompany a summons. While the summons gives you the information you need to know about how to respond, the complaint will explain the exact claims the debt collector is making. For example, the complaint may say that you entered into a contract with a creditor and failed to pay back the agreed-upon amount. The Complaint usually has numbered sentences, or paragraphs, and you need to respond to each number.
A debt collector may “serve” a summons on you in several ways. Common methods of service include personal service by a sheriff, constable, or process server, or by certified mail return receipt requested.
Once you receive a copy of the complaint, the clock starts ticking and the debt collector hopes you won’t do anything to respond. But you should never ignore a summons! You may concede you owe the debt so responding is futile, but not so! If you don’t respond, a court can enter “default judgment” against you. This means that the debt collector has alleged that you owe a debt, and you haven’t denied that allegation. The court therefore takes the allegation as true and enters a judgment against you. The problem is that a “default judgment” can come with certain penalties. In addition to the debt you already owe, if you fail to respond to a summons and complaint, a court may add additional fees to your judgment. This could include the fee the debt collector paid the court to initiate the lawsuit, the fee paid to the sheriff or process server to serve you, or the attorney’s time for preparing the summons. By failing to respond to a summons your debt could increase by hundreds of dollars!
So what should you do? Even if you don’t dispute you owe the debt, you should still prepare a written response to the summons and complaint and send a copy to the court and the attorney listed on the summons. This document is called an “Answer.” In an answer, you admit, deny, or claim you don’t have enough information to admit or deny every sentence in the complaint. You then sign it and send a copy to the court and the attorney. It’s pretty easy! And even though you may still owe the debt afterward, there is a good chance that just by cooperating with the process the court will not add on those extra fees to a judgment.
Answering a summons and complaint also tells the debt collector several things. First, it tells them that it is going to take them time and effort to get a judgment against you. Debt collection is a volume business, and the more time they spend collecting on an account, the less profitable they are. Responding makes it more likely they will take a settlement amount lower than the debt owed, or agree to a payment plan. The other thing responding tells a debt collector is that you are engaged in the process, and it can be a starting point for a settlement negotiation. Debt collection lawsuits that involve a defendant who has responded to a summons or complaint are more likely to settle for an amount less than the full debt than a case in which the debtor ignores the summons.
Here at Debtbrief, we can help you respond to the lawsuit. Coming soon on our site we’ll provide you with a form for an answer and instructions on how to fill it out. We’ll also give you additional forms that you need to defend your case after you file your answer.
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