Can a credit card take you to court?

we had a fleet master card back in 2003,we owed 300 dollars on it,we made payments but we fell behind a little,they kept adding late fees and ect.we basically paid off the 300,we moved and are at our current residence.been here for 4 yrs.they have been calling the last couple of weeks at our house and my parents house because mine and my dads middle initial sounds the same but diffrent letter,anyway they have never sent us a letter in four years saying we owed this amount and now we are getting calls from them saying that it has been put into a lawyers hands fom back in florida,and the pacific county whatever that is and its a civil suit against me.they just recently startedto call us two weeks or more ago.can they sue me i mean its basically the late fees they are going after,they say we owe a thousand dollar debt.can someone help with this question thanks we live in washington state

Can a credit card take you to court?

Yes, it is within their legal rights to seek payment on any balance due, even through judgments and legal procedures. It doesn%26#039;t matter whether the balance is actual borrowed money or accrued fees.

I would suggest that you try to work something out with the credit card company, because you can be held liable for any legal expenses that they incur in the process of getting their money back. Call them and offer restitution of any unpaid balance, and maybe they will drop the charges.

EDIT:

Hi, I wanted to do a little edit: I spoke with a friend of mine who is an attorney in Florida. She referred me to this website, saying that it has specific information on the various states. She mentioned that the statute of limitations would apply, but it would be Florida%26#039;s, not Washington, because that%26#039;s were you entered in agreement with the credit card company. In Florida the statute of limitations is 4 years, and since you mention that you moved four years ago, they might *still* be within the time frame for collection. It depends on the date you defaulted payment.

Anyway, here is the URL, check it out:

http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/stat...

and here is a specific excerpt about Florida:

The term 閳ユ涪oll閳?or 閳ユ涪olled閳?means to %26quot;stop the running of a statutory period for a certain period of time%26quot;. Many states use this term in their statutes of limitation rules and civil codes for debt collection.

For example, lets say that you live in Florida where the statute of limitations on credit card debt (open ended credit) is 4 years. You do not make any payments to your credit card company for two years leaving only 2 years to go before the statutory period is up. Suddenly, you decide to move to Georgia, stay 12 months and then move back to Florida.

Florida statutes say that leaving the state or making a voluntary payment tolls (stops) the running of the statutory period. So, on the day you move back to Florida, the remaining 2 year statutory period begins running again.

On the other hand, if you had two years left on the statutory period and suddenly decided to make payments for 12 months but then stopped again, the 4-year statutory period begins running again. In effect you%26#039;ve reset the clock.

In some cases, making an actual payment or making a verbal or written promise to pay can reset or restart the limitations depending on your state code.

WARNING! While the statute of limitations (SoL) is running or even after it%26#039;s expired, making ANY payment or signing a promissory note can reset or restart (depends on your state law) the statute of limitations. Always ensure the debt is valid, and then check your state laws to see if the debt has a statute of limitations BEFORE taking any other action such as making a payment or signing an agreement to make payments.

Can a credit card take you to court?

Tolling would not apply

The CA can choose which state to file suit in %26amp; %26#039;that%26#039; states SOL would then apply

IF the CA files in Fl the OP still MUST be served in WA %26amp; has a legal right to request a change of venue to Wa

The CA MUST be licensed %26amp; bonded in Wa to collect Report It

Can a credit card take you to court?

IF a default judgment is filed in Fl, because of improper service, the CA still MUST domesticate it to Wa %26amp; the OP has the right to deny domestication on the grounds the default judgment was improperly obtained - by lack of service Report It

Can a credit card take you to court?

Either state, if the OP has not paid in 4+ years, the OP is past SOL !! Report It

Can a credit card take you to court?

The answer is likely yes, as the previous responder said, however check to see what the Statute of limitations are. If the statute of limitations has passed, and they threaten to sue you, then they are in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The statute of limitations varies by state.

Here are some websites to check out that will be helpful.

http://fair-debt-collection.com/statue-l...

Limitations listed by state

http://fair-debt-collection.com/SOL-by-S...

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/2004...

Can a credit card take you to court?

yes they can , but if they feel like you are not worth it they wont, what i mean by that is if they feel that you have alot to loose and then they will be more likely to come after you, but they can try to come after you , but if it will cost them more to take you to court then they probably will not take you... well dont wait to find out, attempt to settle if you can...

Can a credit card take you to court?

To get this straight, you lived in Florida then moved to Washington?

You defaulted on the card 4 years ago or longer?

If it has been 4+ years from the first time you became 30 days late and never brought the account current leading to the charge off, then you are past the collecting SOL for both states.

Florida collecting SOL is 4 years and Washington is 3 years.

If you are past the collecting SOL you have a legal right to inform them of that fact.

If you are past the collecting SOL and they have filed suit, you have a legal right to claim an affirmative defense of SOL in with your answer and request dismissal of the suit.

Have you even been served a summons???

Since they obviously know where you are, because they are calling you, they should know where you are to serve you.

It %26quot;may%26quot; be possible that they are lying about filing suit.

Check with the county/city court clerk where you live now and also in the county/city where you lived in Florida. Ask the court clerk if there is anything filed under your name.

IF it has only been a couple weeks since they %26quot;first%26quot; contacted you, you should send a debt validation request ASAP.

By federal law (FDCPA), if you request validation within the first 30 days from their first contact then they %26quot;must%26quot; cease %26quot;all%26quot; collections until they provide validation (ceasing collections would include not being able to file a suit)

Send your validation request to both the collector and the collection lawyer. Do not sign your signature to the letter, only type your name or print your initials. Send the letters by certified mail return receipt.

You might try to find a %26quot;consumer credit%26quot; lawyer in your area. Many lawyers will give a free first consult, so ask about that if you call. By talking to a lawyer you may be able to learn exactly where you stand with the debt and the collector, etc.

If you go for a first consult, take copies of everything with you - any letters you may have received, copies of your credit reports, etc.

You might also click on my profile and click on the last link I have listed to a free credit discussion board.

Do some reading in the Newbie Forum and then in the Credit Forum.

You will be able to find free sample letter template, etc., and you will be able to freely ask any questions you may have.