Was an Affidavit Attached to Petition?

As we have often pointed out, having a counterclaim can be extremely helpful in getting a claim dismissed so that you no longer risk being sued on the debt and your credit report is no longer being harmed. If the debt collector has used an affidavit in its efforts to collect from you–especially in a lawsuit–this may have given you a great opportunity to counterclaim or sue in a different lawsuit. This video explains what that opportunity is and what to do about it. For more, get the Debt Defense System.

 

When you received the summons and petition to your lawsuit, was there an “affidavit” attached? That is, was there a statement of some sort, usually sworn and notarized, that said that the records of the original creditors were true and accurate?

Debt collectors often include such documents in their petitions – affidavits from their own records keepers about the records compiled and maintained by the original creditors. This misleads the recipient of the lawsuit into believing that the debt collector has a better case than it does, and it violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in most jurisdictions. That’s because debt collectors are not, in most jurisdictions, allowed to testify to the accuracy of records they did not have responsibility for – and records created by the original creditor could not be known to be accurate by debt collectors. They try to hide this fact by using all sorts of legalese in the affidavit. This video shows how the practice violates the FDCPA and what to do about it.