Receiving a Summons: How to Answer a Summons for Debt Properly

No matter how you look at it, receiving a summons for unpaidcredit card debt is depressing and nerve wracking at the same time. However, to avoid things from going out of hand, it is important to learn how to answer to a summons for debt the right way otherwise, the situation can go from bad to worse quickly. This article serves as a guide on how to a answer to a summons for debt.

It all start with checking the Court Rules as well as the documents attached with the summons. You need to see if the Plaintiff (your credit card company's attorney) attached a Credit Card Agreement or any assignments you need to complete in order to proceed with drafting an Answer to all allegations. Does the plaintiff have to attach the agreement come with the Summons? Check the court rules to be on the safe side.

Check to see if the Court Rules address the lack of a signed agreement attached with the summons, if there is none, see if you can file a Motion to Dismiss in lieu of your Answer. The Motion to Dismiss would contain your plaintiff's failure to comply with Court Rules requiring a contract or Assignment attached with the Summons.

On the other hand, if the local court does not have rules regarding the attachment of the signed contract, you need to read the Summons itself. The summons will indicate how many days you are given to respond to the complaint via your Answer. Failure to respond to the summons on time will result in default judgment awarded to your creditor.

Most states require debtors a full 20 days to respond to aSummons but some go as long as 30 days. Next, check your Court Rules under “Pleadings” to check how much time is given to respond to a summons in your state. If you failed to answer within the given timeframe, your creditor will be given legal rights to freeze your bank account and garnish your wages. So make sure you learn how to answer a Summons properly and within the legal format.

If the plaintiff did not comply with any of the Court Rule in your area, like failure to attach the credit card contract or agreement together with the complaints, you may file a Motion to Dismiss or file an Answer as soon as possible.

Which is most likely the case, if you are being sued by a junk debt buyer or third party collection agency. They do not have the right documents to pin the debt on you.

Want to know more? Click here to order your own copy of the Answering a Summons eDocument package and beat your creditor in court!