Hi everyone, I need some advice about a lawsuit over a credit card debt I couldn’t pay about 4-5 years ago. The debt was sold to a debt buyer when I lived in Arizona. Back then, they tried to serve me, but I was never home when they came by (I kept an eye on court records). Eventually, the lawsuit was dismissed, and I moved 2,000 miles away about a month later.
Fast forward to now, and I just received certified mail at my current address with papers about the same lawsuit. I’m not sure if this counts as being officially served since nobody told me I was being served—it was just handed to me by the USPS driver. The paperwork shows a date from May of this year. Do I need to respond to this, or can I wait it out? The debt is around $1,000, and I don’t have the money to pay it right now. Any advice on how to handle this would be really helpful.
This sounds stressful, but there are a few things you can do. First, check whether the way they served you was valid. If it wasn’t done properly—like personal service or following your state’s rules—you could challenge it in court. Gather proof showing that you weren’t served correctly, like evidence you were out of state at the time. If a default judgment has already been entered, act quickly. Many states let you file a motion to vacate the judgment if you can prove improper service. Timing is key here.
Also, check the statute of limitations for credit card debt in Arizona and where you live now. If the debt is too old, you might be able to dispute it. Legal aid services in your area might offer free or low-cost help, so that’s worth looking into. Finally, don’t ignore the lawsuit—responding to it is really important. Ignoring it could lead to wage garnishment or other issues. Try contacting the debt buyer to negotiate a settlement if you can afford to. Good luck.
@Marin
Good advice overall, but I think it might be too late for the person who posted this to request validation of the debt.
Debt collectors only have to provide validation if you ask within 30 days of receiving their first letter about the debt. After that, they can ignore the request. At this point, since they’ve already filed a lawsuit, you’d get this information during the legal discovery process instead.
@Marin
The case is in Arizona, and the court records say they served me on 9/25/2024. The problem is, I moved to Illinois on 9/1/2024 and haven’t been back to Arizona since. The certified mail was delivered to me here in Illinois, but nobody explicitly told me I was served. I checked the court website, and it shows a default judgment was entered yesterday. Should I contact the original credit card company to try to settle this, or do I need to deal directly with the debt buyer? Also, does this mean it’ll stay on my credit report for another 6-7 years now? Thanks for the help.
@Rey
Since you were already out of Arizona when they claim to have served you, that could be grounds to challenge the judgment. Service by certified mail might not meet Arizona’s legal requirements, especially if you weren’t personally notified. You should file a motion to vacate the judgment as soon as possible, arguing improper service. Check with the court in Arizona to see if you can file this remotely. Many courts allow online or mail filings, and they may waive the fees if you can’t afford them.
If you want to settle, you’ll need to deal with the debt buyer, not the original credit card company—they no longer own the debt. Be sure to get any agreement in writing before paying anything. About your credit report: judgments don’t appear on credit reports anymore, but the debt itself could stay for 7.5 years from when it first went delinquent. If you vacate the judgment, you can dispute it with the credit bureaus to clean up your record. Hope that clears things up!
Tavi said:
You should consider suing them back. Debt buyers don’t have your consent to buy your debt, and you can dispute it.
I accept responsibility for the original credit card debt—it was during COVID when I lost my job. The issue is that LVNV Funding now owns the debt and is suing me. How would I even go about suing them? They didn’t serve me properly, and the court website says they served me in Arizona on 9/25/2024, even though I was living in Illinois at the time. I don’t have the money to hire a lawyer, so I’m not sure where to start.
I just looked at the court records again, and they’re claiming I was served on 9/25/2024. The same records show a default judgment entered yesterday. This doesn’t seem right since I wasn’t even in Arizona at that time. LVNV Funding doesn’t seem to play by the rules, so any advice on what steps I can take would be really helpful.
Judgments no longer show up on credit reports as of 2017. While it might impact your financial situation in other ways, it shouldn’t directly hurt your credit score anymore. Here’s more info: Experian Blog.