Indianapolis, IN asked in Collections for Indiana

Q: Can I settle out of court and who do I contact?

I just got served papers that being sued for owing a creditor money beginning back in 2005. The company suing me I believe is a collection agency and I have never received or heard of this company nor have I received any information, letters or phone calls stating that I owe this amount or about this debt.

I am assuming that it is from a student loan I took out while in school during 2005-2008.

Needless to say I would like to settle out of court and come to some form of an agreement with the Plaintiff.

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3 Lawyer Answers

A: Contact the attorney for the creditor. However, its not uncommon for bad debts to get bought up by a junk debt buyer, even bad student loan debt. So it is not remarkable that you have not heard of the company suing you.

Before you settle though, I would seek out an attorney specializing in defense of consumer debt/FDCPA violations. There may be a statute of limitations issue if this was a private student loan debt. There may also be issues concerning proof if the debt was bought by a junk debt buyer - they may not be able to prove its your debt at all. Without filing an answer and engaging in discovery, you will not know. So don't just pay without talking to a lawyer first.

1 user found this answer helpful

A: Contact the attorney for the creditor. However, its not uncommon for bad debts to get bought up by a junk debt buyer, even bad student loan debt. So it is not remarkable that you have not heard of the company suing you.

Before you settle though, I would seek out an attorney specializing in defense of consumer debt/FDCPA violations. There may be a statute of limitations issue if this was a private student loan debt. There may also be issues concerning proof if the debt was bought by a junk debt buyer - they may not be able to prove its your debt at all. Without filing an answer and engaging in discovery, you will not know. So don't just pay without talking to a lawyer first.

1 user found this answer helpful

A: Contact the attorney for the creditor. However, its not uncommon for bad debts to get bought up by a junk debt buyer, even bad student loan debt. So it is not remarkable that you have not heard of the company suing you.

Before you settle though, I would seek out an attorney specializing in defense of consumer debt/FDCPA violations. There may be a statute of limitations issue if this was a private student loan debt. There may also be issues concerning proof if the debt was bought by a junk debt buyer - they may not be able to prove its your debt at all. Without filing an answer and engaging in discovery, you will not know. So don't just pay without talking to a lawyer first.

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