credit card co. suing me in civil court for old debt

My jurisdiction is: north carolina, usa

story:when i lived in las vegas i had cap one credit cards. in 3/2005 i was disabled and have not been employeed since. after being denied twice, in 2008 my social security disability was awarded, and recieved funds for back benefits. then i paid all the debts i could and relocated to NC in 09/2008, with basically no funds left and future monthly benefit of $1200. now cap one has sued me for a balance of about $1500. the notice was not brought to my attention for a week, so i'm a bit behind on the deadline to respond (30 days), and i have no idea how i should respond. i must file an answer to avoid a default judgment, that much i understand, but have no idea what or how.
extra details: no other family except my wife and she is also disabled (from breast cancer) with only SSD for income. we have no real property or assets to speak of, and cannot afford a lawyer.
what do i do?
happy trails, ed.

Hi there - I'm sorry that there isn't much I can think of that you can do except perhaps discuss with them the way you can work this out. You don't need to respond much in the answer and the less the better. After you file, see what you can do to work things out with the law firm / creditor. Frequently they appreciate they aren't getting blood from a stone and may agree to a settlement, provided you can pay something relatively quickly and agree to a "stipulation of settlement." You don't want to go to court because each time you end up paying for the cost of appearances as a result of your original default. Good luck.

Dave Ramsey had a guy on the other day with a problem like yours. Flat broke and only a disability income. He basically told the guy to not have any money deposited in a bank account by disability. They cannot garnish cash. You are what he said destitiude and they will never be able to collect. Coming from Dave this is quite an announcement as he advocates people to never file bankruptcy or avoid any debt. Just don't leave any money in the bank and you should be fine as they cannot garnish your disablity payments.

What was the last date you made a payment or used that credit card? Had you stopped making payments before you were disabled?
Brian

Is the debt still with Capital One, or was it assigned to a collection agency?
If it is an agency that is coming after you, send them a request to validate the debt. Here is an example of a short and sweet DV request:

Date

Your Name Address City, State Zip

Debt Collector's Name Address City, State Zip Re: Account Number

Dear Debt Collector:

I am writing in response to phone call/letter received from you on date xx/xx/xx. Pursuant to my rights under federal debt collection laws, I am requesting that you provide validation of this debt. Note this is not a refusal to pay, but a request that your offices provide me with evidence that I have a legal obligation to pay you.

You are hereby notified that if you do not comply with this request, I will immediately file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and the [your state here] Attorney General's office.

Sincerely,

Your Name



This will at least buy you some time.

-Nick