They Bought
A Spreadsheet. Then they sued you as if they'd bought a file. Here is the difference — measured, cited, and countable.

Findings — Litigation Sample, 84 contracts, 2001–2013

• 81 of 84 waived all warrantiesNot merely "without recourse." The sellers disclaimed warranties implied and express, selling the accounts as is and with all faults.
  96%
• 18% made no affirmative representation of titleThey transferred whatever right they had — without stating that they had any. Two contracts represented title and disclaimed title warranties in the same document.
  18%
• Over a third disclaimed accuracy or completenessSellers expressly refused to stand behind the numbers the buyer would later ask a court to enter as a judgment against you.
  >33%
• Six contracts disclaimed compliance with lawThree renounced all representations that the accounts complied with any state or federal rule — while requiring the buyer to comply with those same rules when collecting.
  6
• Blank affidavits were bundled into the contractsRead that twice. Several agreements included unsigned affidavit forms for the buyer to fill in and send to the seller for signature. The affidavit was a template before it was ever sworn.
  SEE n.112
• 70–90% of filed cases end in default judgmentNot because the proof was strong. Because nobody appeared to ask for it.
  70–90%

Answer deadline clock

This window is set by your state and your court, and sometimes by how you were served. Do not take the default from this menu as your deadline. Confirm it against the summons in your hand and your court's own rules — the Rules Lookup below tells you exactly what to search for.

The media request — and the odds they can answer it

• Monthly account statementsObtained post-sale for roughly 6% of accounts in the FTC sample.
  ~6%
• The account application you signedUnder 1% at sale; ~6% after. Most creditors never kept applications taken by phone or online.
  <6%
• Terms and conditions in force at the timeRoughly 8% post-sale. Without it, there is no contract term authorizing the interest they added.
  ~8%
• Complete payment historyUnder 1% of accounts. This is the document that proves the balance. It is almost never there.
  <1%
• Bill of sale naming YOUR accountA bill of sale that references a portfolio is not a bill of sale that references you. Ask which exhibit lists your account number.
  ASK
• The purchase and sale agreement itselfBuyers resist producing it. Courts have ordered it produced. Some plaintiffs would rather dismiss the case than hand it over.
  ASK
• Every assignment in the chainNot the first and last. Every one. See rung I.
  ASK
• Amount at charge-off vs. amount sued forCharge-off amount was present for 72% of accounts. Principal was missing from 89%. Those two numbers are not the same number.
  72% / 11%

Checked items are the ones you intend to ask for. This is a study checklist, not a court filing. Every jurisdiction has its own form and timing for requests — that is not something a book can fill in for you, and any book that offers to is selling you a hazard.

Twelve questions for any affidavit

• Who is this person, and who employs them?If the answer is "the plaintiff," they were not present when your account was created.
  1
• What personal knowledge do they claim?Personal knowledge of the plaintiff's records is not personal knowledge of the original creditor's records.
  2
• Have they ever seen the original creditor's system of record?Two systems of record, never synchronized in real time. The CFPB said so out loud.
  3
• Who prepared the document they are swearing to?If the buyer filled in the form and the seller signed it, the affiant swore to someone else's arithmetic.
  4
• How many of these did they sign that day?This question has ended cases. It is the question at the center of every robo-signing consent judgment.
  5
• Does it state the amount at charge-off, or a computed balance?Interest is rolled back and re-added at each resale. Two buyers can demand two different sums for one debt.
  6
• Does it identify the original creditor by name?Absent from 54% of accounts at sale.
  7
• Does it attach the records it describes?An affidavit describing a document is not the document.
  8
• Does it recite the business-records elements?Made at or near the time, by someone with knowledge, kept in the ordinary course, as a regular practice. All four, or none.
  9
• Is it notarized in a state nobody in the case lives in?Not fatal. Interesting.
  10
• Does the seller's contract disclaim the accuracy of what the affidavit asserts?Over a third of the contracts did exactly that. Put the two pages side by side.
  11
• Was the affidavit form an exhibit to the purchase agreement?In several contracts, it was. Ask for the exhibit.
  12

Chain of title inspector

Enter every entity named anywhere in the plaintiff's paperwork, in order. Start with the bank whose name was on the card.

Paper strength estimate

Answer from what is actually in your case file today. Not what they promise to send.

• Statements for the account are attached
  18
• The signed agreement or application is attached
  16
• A complete payment history is attached
  18
• Every assignment names your specific account
  16
• The affiant works for the original creditor
  12
• The sued amount matches the charge-off amount
  10
• The original creditor is named in the pleadings
  10

Build your five searches

Most county law libraries will help a self-represented person find these at no charge, and many courts run a self-help center. Neither this app nor its author is a law firm, and none of this is legal advice.