A complaint is the initial document filed by the plaintiff in a civil case stating the claims against the defendant.

Here the plaintiff lists things such as:

• The plaintiff is the assignee of ___________ Bank.
• The defendant is indebted to the plaintiff for $15,000.00
• Wherefore, the plaintiff seeks judgment for $15,000.00 plus $12,000.00 interest and all other proper relief provided by law and the contract.

Every complaint is different. The above is a simple example.

You need to pick at the complaint

Are you indebted to the collection agency or were you indebted to the original creditor? Most likely you never signed a contract with this plaintiff. That is where the assignment comes in. The plaintiff needs to prove they were assigned this debt by the original creditor. Make the plaintiff prove the assignment.

When you signed the contract with the original creditor somewhere in the terms and conditions it must have stated that they have the right to assign your debt. If so, the plaintiff claiming you are indebted to them must show you a copy of that assignment proving that the original creditor did indeed sign over all their rights to the plaintiff to lawfully sue you.

Think about how old your debt is

If it is really old, let’s say five to seven years, this debt could have gone through a lot of collectors before it reached this one. Therefore, this collector could be one of the following:

• The assignee of the assignor
• The assignee of an assignee
• The assignee of an assignee of an assignee.

You need to make them prove that the original creditor signed this over to them.