How to Avoid Getting Served

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Being served with process means that you are being taken to court. When it comes to debt, it means that you have defaulted on your payments and a debt collector or creditor is attempting to bring you to court to force you to pay.

When it comes to being served there are a few methods in which they may attempt to do so. There are also requirements of the person serving the papers. First off, the person who is serving you with the papers must be at least 18 years old. There are also different requirements depending on the state.

If a debt collector has attempted to collect on debt but cannot, then there are usually other ways that they can serve you. Despite this, if you are looking to avoid getting served, there are methods of doing so. Although it may not completely stop the process, it may delay it a bit.

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What it means to avoid being served

Essentially, being served is being told that you are being summoned to court and that you are being sued. Most Americans know what a process server is, mainly from television. Hopefully, you never meet a process server, but if you do, you will realize it is much different from what you see in the movies.

Typically in the movies, you will see a process server pretending to be delivering pizza, giving the papers, and stating “you have been served”. Similar to real life, those in the movies avoid being served and go to great lengths to avoid it.

Common methods to avoid being served

• Not answering the door
• Lying about their identity
• Hiding in the closet until the process server leaves
• Staying at a family member or friend's home

Although this may work, there are additional fees and expenses that are caused by avoiding service. These may include additional service charges for process server attempts and can be charged to the person that avoids being served.

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How to avoid being served

The first step to avoiding a process server and being served is to research the rule in your state. Check into the rules of civil procedure, as well as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure if it is a Federal matter. This will allow you to know exactly what you are dealing with, and the consequences.

In some cases, you might get lucky and the process server may only be allowed to serve you. In other cases, they might be only required to post it to your door. In other cases, they may only be required to do sub-service. In this case whoever answers the door will be served and is required to give it to you.

You must realize that you can be served at your work. Even if sub-service is allowed, they can serve it to the front desk, or whoever owns the establishment. You can also be served with a notice on your door, in certain states. Despite this, it is considered an obstruction of justice to avoid a process server.

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When only personal service is allowed

Don't answer your door to anybody. You should also let your family, roommates, and kids not answer the door to strangers. This is essential because if someone in your home states that you do not live there, they may not come back. They may then write it off as “non-service”. Be sure to keep the same story from one person to the next.

If you have visitors coming over be sure to have them let you know when they are on the way. You do not want to accidentally open the door to the wrong person. This also means you need to be aware of your surroundings. If you see a random person outside, do not open your door.

Consider telling your workplace. Tell your bosses, coworkers, and front desk personnel not to tell anyone asking for you that you are there. They should state you are unavailable. This will allow you to remain inconspicuous since it may be public knowledge where you work. They don't know your schedule and have no way of proving where you are. Despite this being a good way to avoid it, it may affect your work reputation which you might want to avoid.

Why you shouldn't avoid getting served

Although going to court is never fun, it is not a good idea to avoid getting served. Avoiding being served does not mean that the case against you disappears. Even if personal service does not occur, there are other methods of proceeding with a case. Most states have laws that require multiple attempts to be done in person before moving to substituted service.

Additionally, failed attempts require documentation, and there are processes to submit all of this. Despite this, any good debt collector will put the effort in to serve you with an alternative method. In some states, it is legal to have documents posted on your windshield, or place mail on your door. This is why it is better to make a plan and respond promptly.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit: A Student Solution To Give Utah Debtors A Fighting Chance

How to answer a summons for debt collection in your state

Here's a list of guides for other states.

All 50 states.

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri

Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah; File a Motion to Satisfy Judgment Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

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