I received a court summons a few weeks ago about an old collection account that I thought was closed. Long story short the court date is next Thursday April 9th and I spoke to the collection agency today and agreed upon a settlement and paid by check over the phone. They said they would send out a letter saying it was paid in full asap. I paid off this account to avoid going to court because I am starting a new Job Monday and didn't want them to know I was going to court or ask for time off on my first week! At the end of the call I asked the girl if this was complete and wanted to make sure I did not have to appear in court. She said because it was so close to the court date it could not be canceled. She said she could not instruct me whether I still needed to appear since she isn't an attorney and that I would have the letter and that I should go to the court with the letter to show it was paid off. This basically defeats the whole purpose of paying this off today and now I don't know what to do. She did say their attorneys would know that the account was paid off when they went to court that day. So.....
Do I still have to appear in court with the letter?
What are the possible problems I face if I don't go?
Thanks in advance!
Yes, you should visit the court with the letter as a proof that you have already settled off the debt with the collection agency, else a default judgment may be passed against you by the collection agency again.
Now, it is not correct that paying off the debt did not solve your purpose. If you had not settled the debt with the collection agency and paid it off, the CA would have brought judgment against you and could have garnished your wage.
I agree with Carol. Even if you have settled off the debt, you should visit the court and produce documents to prove that you have already made a payment towards the debt and settled it off with the collection agency. This will help you to avoid default judgment which may result in even garnishment of your wage as Carol said.
OK I guess I should go to court but how can they garnish my wages if I don't owe any more money? And how else could a default judgement against me affect me if again I have already paid off the account.
I understand that the safest bet is to go to court but the risk of losing my job because of this is not worth it.
Also can my husband go to court for me with the letter? (The account is only in my name) If I sign a power of attorney for him or something can he go in my place?
Anyone know if my husband can go to court in my place to show that the account is paid in full?
As far as I know, your husband cannot represent you in the court even if the account is paid in full. Either you have to be present in the court or you need to appoint an attorney to represent your case. If you fail to present yourself on the court date the creditor can bring default judgment against you.