What do I do if I am served with a summons for a court appearance?

One of the important things is make sure that you don't ignore it. If you do, they will be able to get a final judgment in the full amount due. Any defenses that you might have had would be waived. They then can have a judgment the last 20 years, plus be able to garnish your wages at 25%, so don't ignore it. There are a number of defenses that clients have in cases. One of the ones that we like to use is the statute of limitations. That's a waivable defense.

Even if the creditor sues our client after the statute is run, if our client doesn't respond, that defense is gone. It's important to respond with the defenses you have. If you don't know what defenses you have, then contact an attorney. There is other defenses with consumer collection cases, such as condition precedent, that they notify you of any assignment of the debt, before the file suit. If they don't do that, the case could be dismissed. There's a number of other good defenses that are too lengthy to talk about here, but you may want to consult with an attorney.