Help With Summons

I received a summons for a debt I didn’t even know existed. I went to the hospital for a minor issue a couple years ago and they were too busy to really help so I basically sat there forever they gave me some medicine and I thought that was the end of it.

I’m pretty good with my money and make sure my debts are paid and so I was surprised that I even had any debt in collections. It hasn’t showed up on any credit report. I have never received any letters, calls, or contact from the collection agency until I was served with a summons.

I looked into the laws for my state regarding debt collection and found on the states website that “Before a debt collector can file a court case, they must send the debtor a written "validation notice" telling the debtor how much they owe, the name of the creditor, and how to dispute the debt or to seek verification of the debt.”

Like I said earlier I have never had any communication from the agency until the summons. I’m not disputing the debt necessarily but I absolutely do not want to have to pay their attorney and court fees. Also part of the law states, “The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires debt collectors to send this validation notice. If they debt collector does not send the notice it is not a defense to the debt collection case. However, it could give the debtor an opportunity to sue the debt collector for violating the Fair Debt Colleciton Practices Act. “ So my question is, while I understand that I have to pay the debt, how would I respond/proceed with a countersuit to make sure this company learns its lesson for not properly informing people of their debts?