Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Massachusetts

credit card bill

I am on social security disability. I suffer from clinical depression and have not been employed for ten years. Citibank South Dakota offered me a credit card, which at the time my fiancee agreed to help pay, so I accepted the card. He's gone, between rent and bills I'm usually broke before the end of the month and now Citibank is suing me for $4,003.37. I wrote them a Mass Gen Laws letter stating that I am lien proof and have no assets or personal property. They ignored the letter. What should I do, I received a summons 5/25 that requires a response in five days. They already ignored the only response I have. Currently I have fifty one cents in the bank, hardly enough to mount a defense. Please Help. I'm 58 years old, unemployed and suffering from a mental illness and I am terrified by this entire process. What should I do? This is making me physically ill.


Asked on 5/29/07, 10:41 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Craig J. Tiedemann Kajko, Weisman & Colasanti, LLP

Re: credit card bill

Send them another copy of your previous letter in response to the present demand for a reply. Also clearly state that the amount in question is "in disupte." Keep a copy of anything you send to them from here on out, and always note that the balance is "in dispute."

Then, you might call Greater Boston legal Services, explain your situation and see if they can help you for free.

Or, after you've claimed in writing the debt is in dispute, you can either try to negotiate with them to discount the debt down and agree to a payment schedule that you can live by. Or, if you're truly judgment proof, just ignore future correspondence from the bank (after you send the letter I suggested at the top). The worst thing that can happen if you simply ignore it is that a judgment can enter against you, but if you have no assets, a judgment is merely a piece of paper.

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Answered on 5/29/07, 11:13 am


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