IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR DICKSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE

 

 

CHASE MANHATTAN BANK USA, N.A.,

 

Plaintiff,

 

v.                                                                                             Civ. No. CV-2671 ??

                                                                                                (docket number not legible on the

XXXXXXXXXXX,                                                               summons or the Complaint)

 

Defendant.

 

ANSWER

 

Comes the Defendant and answers the Complaint of Plaintiff as follows:

1.  The Defendant acknowledges that she has an account with Plaintiff; however, Defendant disputes that the amount she owes Plaintiff equals the relief sought in the complaint.  In particular, the amount sought by Plaintiff appears to include excessive interest charges (the effective annual rate of interest is NOT readily apparent from the documents filed by Plaintiff) and attorney fees designed to exploit profits at the expense of unsuspecting members of the general public. 

2.  Defendant has rights under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692(g) (2002), that must be respected by this court.  In particular, Defendant hereby demands verification of the debt, and a strict accounting of all interest and fees charged by Plaintiff expressed in an effective annual percentage rate, so that she can determine whether the Plaintiff is charging usurious and unenforceable amounts of interest and fees. 

3.  The Defendant is suffering severe financial hardship but does not wish to file bankruptcy.  She has engaged the services of a for-profit consumer advocate organization, Knockout, which is authorized to attempt settlements of Defendant’s debts on behalf of the Defendant.  Defendant is trying to save up enough through Knockout to settle this claim out of court. 

4.  Defendant has set aside funds each and every month in a fund with Knockout debt resolution company, but she has insufficient funds as of today to settle this account.  If the plaintiff does not cease its collection action, Defendant will be forced to file for bankruptcy, and Plaintiff will receive far less from a bankruptcy trustee than what Knockout would offer as settlement.

5.  Plaintiff, being fully aware of Defendant’s financial situation, could and should have granted Defendant more time to accumulate funds for settlement, as they have been doing business for many years.  Instead, Plaintiff refused to work with the Defendant or her representative and proceeded to charge the Defendant more than what she was legally obligated to the Plaintiff.

6.  Defendant was hit with unfair surprise by the demand for the bank’s attorney fees of more than $5,000.  Any contract provision calling for the transfer of attorney fees was buried deep within the legalese of the credit card agreement.  Tennessee law requires a prominent display of such terms in boldface to alert consumers to this potential fee transfer, before it can be enforceable in a court of law.

            WHEREFORE, Defendant prays that judgment for Plaintiff be denied at this time, so that Defendant may have additional time in a sincere attempt to settle this matter and avoid the necessity of filing for bankruptcy.   Respectfully submitted this ___ day of May, 2005.

 

______________________________________

XXXXXXXXXXX, Defendant pro se

XXXX  Pruitt Rd
Dickson, TN, 37055

(615) XXX-XXXX

 

Certificate of Service

            I certify that a true and exact copy of this Answer was sent via first class mail to Mark Sexton,  P.O. Box 3397, Little Rock, AR, 72203 on May ____, 2005.

 

 

                                                                        ______________________________

                                                                        XXXXXXXXXXX, Defendant pro se