“Dear Steve,
In 2012 I had my bank account froze recived a letter saying I was sued in 2008 for a debt,I had know idea about being sued it seems its a third party debt buyer I have know idea what the debt is from have not had any credit cards opened since 2002
Is there a way I can fight this and what steps should I take a lawyer is not in my budget also nothing shows up on credit report…..thanks
Charles”
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Dear Charles,
There are things you can do but only a lawyer that is licensed in your state can give you legal advice.
The issue would have to go back to the case filed against you and probably start with if you were properly served and then if the debt was valid at all.
It sounds like there is some question regarding the validity of the debt in your eyes. Based on the lack of proper documentation on those purchased debts, if you pushed to verify the validity I bet they would be unable to proper verify the debt was valid and collectable. See Debt Validation Finally Defined. What You Should Ask a Collector or Creditor for to Validate a Debt.
It appears that you either lost the case because you never responded to the suit or may not have been properly served.
The debt is not required to be reported on your credit report. Actually no debt is required to be reported.
Please post your responses and follow-up messages to me on this in the comments section below.
Related: Learn more about debt buyers, getting sued by creditors, and debt relief scams to avoid in this podcast episode.
Facing a Similar Situation? You’re not alone — and you have more options than you think. Start with the all your debt relief options page to see what’s realistic, or take the 2-minute bankruptcy quiz if the debt feels unmanageable. Federal Reserve research shows filers recover faster than those who don’t file. If a company is involved, run them through the Scam-O-Meter first.
