I just got a summons from a US court for a UK credit card debt - please help ! **case dismissed**

[ukdebtinus]

Its been a very bad day at the office, please, please help if you can !!

 

The history...

 

I defaulted on my UK Barclaycard cc after moving to US (default notice dated Feb 11th 2005 according to US DCA).

 

Around 6 months back Cedar Financial, a California-based DCA started calling and writing to me. I told them (verbal only) that I did not acknowledge the debt. They then sent me a photocopy of my original UK agreement with Barclaycard and the typical demand for payment which I ignored. A few weeks back I received a letter from a Massachusetts (MA) attorney (state where I work) also the typical DCA demand letter with the reply in 30 days or else statement. They called and I told them the same thing I told Cedar. A few days later I received another letter saying that they have advised Cedar to sue. This letter was sent well before the 30 days had expired from the prior demand and was obviously done because the statute of limitations expires very soon.

 

Today at my office, I was served a summons by the local sheriff's dept to appear and answer a suit placed by the local law office in MA on behalf of Cedar, who claim to be representing International Credit Registry (Canada-based)/Barclaycard. I spoke to a MA lawyer to whom I suggested we file a motion to dismiss because juristiction is lacking and he told me I was ahead of him in terms of expertise and advised I try to settle, especially as litigation costs could be high. My main concern is not having my US credit destroyed by a debt-based suit and all the crap that could along with that (liens and wage-garnishment). There is also the concern that the US district court will not properly understand the nature of this suit (the plaintiff neglected to state this was a UK debt on the complaint).

 

Can anybody advise on how I can defeat this ?

 

Thank you for any assistance - I really need it.

[MARTIN3030]

Welcome to the site.

I am not personally up on this side of things,but we have some good people here who may know what options are open.

Can you confirm whether you got the default notice or believe it was served in accordance to CCA ?

How much was the arrears ?

[cerberusalert]

Have a read of this; http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?282263-UK-Debt-Living-in-US

[cerberusalert]

They are more than aware that there are no reciprocal agreements between the US and the UK and are trying to circumvent the fact that a US court does not have the jurisdiction to hear the action. By the sound of things there must be a reciprocal agreement between Canada & the US & Cedar are trying that route.

 

Obviously it is a UK debt not a Canadian one & this must be brought to the attention of the judge.

 

Unfortunately I can't advise on US law but if you follow the link in the post above there is another link to another US forum who may have the expertise to help.

 

If you check the terms and conditions in your agreement you will find that there is a clause which states that the agreement is subject to UK law,

[ukdebtinus]

Thank you all your comments.

 

The only details I have are the letter of complaint/civil action summons - which contained no mention of any CCA, only stating debt owed to International Credit Registry/Cedar etc. I did receive a default notice in 2005, but it was sent regular mail from Barclaycard - so they have no proof of receipt. The debt is stated at over $9k + interest/costs.

 

Do you think I can counter-sue them for knowingly wasting mine and the courts time ?

 

I have followed your advice and posted on the US forum, I'll report back with my results in case it helps others in a similar position.

 

Thanks again.

Edited February 5, 2011 by ukdebtinus

[cerberusalert]

Do you think I can counter-sue them for knowingly wasting mine and the courts time ?

Probably yes, also you should check the Statute of Limitation for the State you live... some are only 2 years others are six.

[ukdebtinus]

Probably yes, also you should check the Statute of Limitation for the State you live... some are only 2 years others are six.

 

I live in CT, but joint-own a business in MA - they are suing in MA where the SOL is 6 years (as is CT), ie. due to expire on Feb 11th 2011, which I guess is why they filed suit a few days back.

[cerberusalert]

I don't know whether you can do the same in the US but in the UK you could file a 'Embarassed Defence' which makes the plaintiff have to provide evidence of the debt, i.e all the agreements, statements etc.

[BlueRaider]

I was told by the National Debt Line in the UK that going the UK-Canada-US route was a possibility for DCA's/Creditors for United States residents. However from my understanding this would require a CCJ in the UK for which I don't think the OP has mentioned yet.

[cerberusalert]

There are reciprocal agreements between the UK & Canada yes & they would need to obtain a CCJ in the UK first to be able to do it legitimately, however they cannot do that against a non-UK resident. Even if they could the cost would be phenomenal and that route would only be taken if they were chasing many tens if not hundreds of thousands.

 

It seems as if they are testing the water with a US court to see how they can circumvent the legal system in the hope they've found a loophole and that the US judiciary are ignorant of jurisdiction. .

[Daz2011]

Just inquiring to see how you are getting on with this

[ukdebtinus]

[charliesheen] Winning ! [\charliesheen]

 

The case was dismissed before reaching court.

 

Thanks for all of the input.

[cerberusalert]

I've updated your thread title to **case dismissed**.

[cirian75]

cool, what reason did they give ?

[citizenB]

[charliesheen] Winning ! [\charliesheen]

 

The case was dismissed before reaching court.

 

Thanks for all of the input.

 

ukdebtinus, yes please can you give more details as this will help us help others who may well find themselves in this situation.

 

 

cool, what reason did they give ?

[ukdebtinus]

I would love to give full details, but part of the settlement was that no details would be released...they met my demands and as such I must respect the confidentiality clause (sorry).

 

As a general comment, make sure that you read the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act very well (I don't have url posting privleges, so go to the US FTC website to read) as you may find numerous instances where people act outside of this federal law - and federal law supercedes state law in this instance...and always reply to a legal complaint - many times people don't and will end up with a default judgement against them.

[citizenB]

Confidentiality clauses are quite common, so we wont press for more details

 

Many thanks for responding.

[BrokeBob]

From the US:

 

First, for people in danger of getting sued in the US, the advice to look up the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) is VERY wise. Let's just say I've had several cases dismissed in the US, and I cannot give details due to non-disclosure agreements.

 

Second, for people living in the US, I want to give the same advice I gave on the original thread: look at the web site:

 

http://www.debtorboards.com/ (I cannot post links now. Look up debtorboards on the USA Google!)

 

This site will give LOTS of advice about statutes of limitations, FDCPA, FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) and arbitration provisions. This is stuff I have used to make a lot of alleged debts (I won't admit them!) disappear.