Junk Debt Buyer Summons

Hi.  I received a summons at a New York address I have not resided in for over 18 years.  I am currently out of state in Maryland.  My parents  still reside at the New York address and sometimes resends letters I get there.  Is it safe to let these collection agencies know my new address?  I definitely know these are not my debts.  There is someone out there with my same first and last name running up debts within the last 10 years. 

Discover Card first associated my address to this guy with the same name when they couldn’t reach him at the original account address.  When they sold the account to a collection agency, they didn’t delete my address, so now every collection agency gets my old NY address each time this name shows up.  Discover Card sent me copies of this account before they sold it to the collection agency so I have this guys SSN and birthday.  I’ve been telling these agencies that this SSN is not mine over the phone.  I have tried writing to them requesting copies of the billing info and application info be sent to the old NY old address but have never received a response – I’ve been hesitant to give them my new address because of their lack of response and bad reputation of these agencies in general.

However, being out of state and having my parents resend their mail is time consuming and the delays result in missing their deadlines.  So is it safe to let them know my new address?  Also, is the summons to the NY address still binding since I haven’t lived there for over 18 years?  What do you recommend?  Thanks in advance.

Henry

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Hello Henry,

Sounds like another creepy debt buyer trying to obtain a quickie judgment.  I wouldn’t have a problem with giving the JDB my address [but I wouldn’t give them my SSN].  More importantly, you need to file an answer and contest the claim with the court.  Otherwise, the junk debt buyer wins a default judgment and tries to export the judgment to Maryland and tap your bank account. 

Henry, talk to the attorneys at Naca.net about how to handle this.  After this is done, file a complaint against this Junk Debt Buyer with Attorney General Cuomo.

Thanks for the questions and hope this helps.

Paul

This author is not an attorney and this information should not be considered legal advice.  Please consult an attorney for legal advice.