getting information on my debt when a lawyer tries to sue you

Tip: Consult an attorney in your state to learn more about your rights if you are sued on a debt. Some attorneys may also offer free services, or charge a reduced fee, such as through your local bar association. You may wish to find an attorney who has experience in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and debt collection issues.

Full Answer

Do you need a lawyer to file an answer to debt?

A lawyer to help you figure out if you have any defenses, prepare the answer and file it, and represent you in court. If you can’t afford to hire an attorney (or paying for a lawyer would cost more than the collector is seeking in the lawsuit), you can prepare an answer, file it, and represent yourself.

What to do if you are sued for not paying debt?

If you think you may have an evidentiary defense or objection, contact an attorney who understands the rules of evidence in your state. If there is some other reason why you do not owe the debt, you should raise that defense in the collection lawsuit. Often, debt buyers sue for:

When does a creditor have to sue you for a debt?

“Typically, a creditor or collector is going to sue when a debt is very delinquent. Usually it’s when you’re falling at least 120 days, 180 days, or even as long as 190 days behind,” says Gerri Detweiler, personal finance expert for Credit.com, and author of the book Debt Collection Answers.

How do I get a lawyer for debt collection?

You may wish to find an attorney who has experience in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and debt collection issues. There may also be legal aid offices or legal clinics in your area who will offer their services for free if you meet their criteria. Servicemembers should consult their local JAG office .

How do I respond to a collection letter from a lawyer?

Four Steps to Take if You Received a Debt Collection Letter From a LawyerCarefully Review the Letter to Determine the Claim. ... Consider Sending a Debt Validation Request. ... Gather and Organize All Relevant Financial Documents and Records. ... Be Proactive: Debt Does Not Go Away on its Own.

How likely do debt collectors sue?

About 15% of Americans said they had been sued by a debt collector, according to a 2017 report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Of those, only about 26% attended their court hearing.

What should you not say to debt collectors?

3 Things You Should NEVER Say To A Debt CollectorAdditional Phone Numbers (other than what they already have)Email Addresses.Mailing Address (unless you intend on coming to a payment agreement)Employer or Past Employers.Family Information (ex. ... Bank Account Information.Credit Card Number.Social Security Number.

Can debt collectors take money from your bank account?

A bank account levy allows a creditor to legally take funds from your bank account. When a bank gets notification of this legal action, it will freeze your account and send the appropriate funds to your creditor. In turn, your creditor uses the funds to pay down the debt you owe.

How to defend against a debt collection lawsuit?

First, you may defend yourself against the lawsuit. If you have a potential defense, it may be worth making that argument in court. Common defenses to debt collection lawsuits include: 1 The lawsuit is time-barred because of the statute of limitations. 2 The plaintiff is suing the wrong person. 3 You’re being sued in the wrong court. 4 The plaintiff doesn’t have the necessary paperwork to prove that you owe the debt.

What happens if you win a debt collector case?

If you win your case, you can recover actual damages, such as lost wages or medical bills. If you don’t have these damages or can’t prove them, a court may still award you up to $1,000, plus attorney fees and court costs. Besides bringing your own lawsuit, you can also file a complaint against the debt collector.

How long can a plaintiff sue a defendant?

These time limits vary by state and by the type of lawsuit, but they often range from three to six years for most debt recovery suits (often brought as a breach of contract action).

What happens if you are sued in the wrong court?

The plaintiff is suing the wrong person. You’re being sued in the wrong court. The plaintiff doesn’t have the necessary paperwork to prove that you owe the debt. Second, after getting served with the summons and complaint, you or your attorney can reach out to the plaintiff and offer to settle the debt.

What does it mean when a lawsuit is time-barred?

This might occur in situations where any lawsuit is time-barred by the statute of limitations. This essentially means they ran out of time. Assuming the debt collector follows through with the threat and serves you with papers, you need to respond in some way.

Is debt collection subject to FDCPA?

In this case, the debt collector also isn’t subject to the FDCPA. This might seem like a significant limitation of FDCPA, but the FDCPA isn’t the only consumer protection law concerning debt collection. Many states have comparable laws that provide greater protections.

Can a debt collector sue you if you refuse to pay?

First, the threat to sue must be real. In other words, the debt collector must intend to sue you if you refuse to pay them. Second, they must have the legal right to sue you. Many debt collectors and collection agencies try to recover debts where the right to bring a lawsuit no longer exists.

What happens if you ignore a lawsuit?

If you ignore a court action, it's likely that a judgment will be entered against you for the amount the creditor or debt collector claims you owe.

How to collect a judgment?

Judgments give debt collectors much stronger tools to collect the debt from you. Depending on your situation and your state’s laws, the creditor may be able to: 1 Garnish your wages 2 Place a lien against your property 3 Move to freeze or garnish all or part of the funds in your bank account

What is a judgment in a court case?

A judgment is a court order.

When will debt collectors have to give notice of eviction moratorium?

All debt collectors must follow the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). This can include lawyers who collect rent for landlords. Starting on May 3, 2021, a debt collector may be required to give you notice about the federal CDC eviction moratorium.

Can a judgment be changed?

A judgment is a court order. Only the court can change it. It's very difficult to get a judgment changed or set aside once the case is over. You have a much better chance to fight a collection in court if you defend the case than if you wait until a judgment is entered against you.

How long does it take for a debt collector to sue you?

Usually it’s when you’re falling at least 120 days, 180 days, or even as long as 190 days behind ,” says Gerri Detweiler, personal finance expert for Credit.com, and author of the book Debt Collection Answers.

How long do you have to pay a debt before you stop paying?

In order to prove that your debt is past the statute of limitations, if this is the case, have at least your last six months of payment statements before you stopped paying available.

What happens if you don't show up for court?

Show up for court. “If you don’t show up, the court will probably issue a judgment against you for the amount that the debt collector is suing you for. Consequently, the debt collector can attempt to find out where you work and garnish your wages.

How long does a judgment stay on your credit report?

Furthermore, the judgment will end up on your credit report for seven years. Even if you pay off the judgment, it doesn’t remove the judgment from the credit report, it just changes how it is reported.

Can a debt collector sue you?

“Once the statute of limitations on a debt has expired, depending on state law, they either can’t sue you, ...

Can you write a letter to a debt collector?

Although it’s your right under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to write a letter to a debt collector stating you don’t wish to be contacted, this could potentially cause more harm than good. “Sometimes you’ll hear people say you should send a letter to the debt collector stating you don’t want to be contacted anymore.

Do you need a credit report to win a case?

You need to have information that was provided directly from the creditor, not a third party. A credit report may help as far as throwing the statute of limitations in question, but it might not be enough to automatically win your case.”. Show up for court.

When A Debt Collector Threatens To Serve Papers

Has a debt collector contacted you and threatened to serve papers? If so, it means they’re trying to collect the money they claim you owe them. It also means they’re willing to go to court to do it. The process of getting served varies by state and county.

Your Rights Against Creditor Abuse

When it comes to legal protections against abusive debt collectors, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is the primary law that will apply.

How To Stop Collection Phone Calls From Creditors

If a creditor or debt collector won’t stop calling you, the simplest way to tell them to stop contacting you is by writing a letter to the debt collector. Tell them that you want them to stop contacting you.

What Happens if a Creditor Sues You?

A debt collector will sue you for nonpayment of debt to try to collect from you. If this happens, you have several ways to respond.

What happens if a debt buyer sues you?

If a debt buyer sues you for collection of a debt, there are a number of defenses you may be able to use to challenge the debt buyer's right to collect on the debt. Here are some of the most common defenses to a debt buyer lawsuit.

Why do debt buyers not know when to pay their debt?

Because many debt buyers purchase debts "as is" from original creditors, they don't know if the original creditor properly credited your payments. They also might not have your billing statements or documents demonstrating when you incurred the debt.

What is the paperwork required to buy a credit card?

In many states, a debt buyer must have paperwork demonstrating the agreement between you and the original creditor in order to sue you or to add interest or attorneys' fees onto the balance. For credit card debts, this paperwork is often in the form of a cardmember agreement. Cardmember agreements have information about which state law applies to the case and how much the debt buyer can collect in interest and attorneys' fees.

What does standing to sue mean?

No Standing to Sue. "Standing" means a person or business has a legal interest in a case. In collection suits, it means a debt buyer must prove that it legally owns your debt.

What happens after the statute of limitation passes?

After the time limit passes, the law bars the legal claim. The applicable time period to collect on a debt varies by state. Determining what the statute of limitation is in your case can be complex for several reasons. It can be tricky to figure out which state law governs.

What is statute of limitations?

The statute of limitations is the time period that a party has to bring a legal claim. After the time limit passes, the law bars the legal claim. The applicable time period to collect on a debt varies by state.

Can a debt buyer know when you made your last payment?

Often a debt buyer won't know when you made your last payment or what statute of limitation period applies to your debt. If you can get your cardmember agreement and determine which state law applies, you have a good start on determining whether this is a valid defense in your case.

What happens if you win a debt buyer lawsuit?

When you win your debt buyer lawsuit it normally means that you do NOT owe the debt buyer any money. A judge has ruled that there is no obligation for you to pay the debt buyer. If you don’t owe the debt buyer any money, then the debt buyer must take this off of your credit reports. They hate doing this!

What does a debt buyer say?

The debt buyers say that they “stand in the shoes” of the original creditor so if you owe, for example, Bank of America or Chase or Capital One, then the debt buyer says you owe the debt buyer. This is now a huge business – suing consumers on purchased debt or “junk debt.”.

What happens if you buy debt from another debt buyer?

If it bought the debt from some other debt buyer then you need to see the proof that the other debt buyer owned the debt at the time it sold it to the one suing you. Sometimes there are multiple debt buyers – they all need to prove that they owned the debt.

What is debt buyer in Alabama?

Debt buyers (debt collectors) are flooding our Alabama courts with lawsuits where they claim to own the debt that they are suing on. Often, when you are sued, you are confused as you never did business with the debt buyer (Cavalry, LVNV Funding, Midland Funding, Unifund, Velocity, and many others) but you find yourself in the middle of a lawsuit.

What is trial in debt?

Trial is time for debt buyers to “put up or shut up.”. They can’t just claim or wish or hope – they now have to prove. One of the most basic things they must prove is something they do not want for you to know. This is the second secret they hope you never discover – that the debt buyer must prove it owns the debt!

Why don't debt buyers want you to do this?

This is what the debt buyers don’t want you to do because it tells the court that your case needs to be tried. When a case is tried the debt buyer must prove that it is entitled to get a judgment against you. This idea of proof leads to the next secret that debt buyers don’t want you to know…..

How many debt buyer lawsuits result in default judgment?

Think of it this way – about 90% of all debt buyer lawsuits result in a default judgment against consumers. The others get settled. The few that don’t get settled go to trial, but normally about 50% of the people who have made it to trial don’t even show up. So they lose.

How many people do not answer third party debt collection lawsuits?

An estimated 97% of people facing third party debt collection lawsuits do not answer the lawsuit. Therefore, thousands of lawsuits result in default judgments against consumers and the debt buyers almost never have to prove their case.

What does a junk debt buyer do?

Usually the junk debt buyer receives no more than a spreadsheet with thousands of names, addresses, telephone numbers, account numbers, and charge off amounts. Basically, they receive just enough to send you letters demanding payment or to file lawsuit against you. Junk debt buyers file lawsuits by the thousands.

What happens when a creditor sells a charge off account?

The original creditor sells the account with thousands of other accounts to a debt buyer. When the original creditor decides to sell these charged off accounts to third party debt collectors. They “package” the accounts into portfolios. Each portfolio typically contains thousands of charged off consumer accounts.

What is a third party lawsuit?

What is a “third party” debt collection lawsuit? These lawsuits are typically filed by the thousands by a debt buyer who possesses typically little or no documentation of the underlying debt. You get a credit card, charge account, or retail loan. The bank you have the account with is called the “original creditor”.

Can junk debt buyers sue you?

Junk debt buyers will sue you for the full amount and sometimes more. Just because the junk debt buyer has bought these accounts at a discount, doesn’t mean they aren’t going to try to collect the full amount owed from you.

Can you pay over the phone for something you received?

Never pay over the phone for something you received over the phone !#N#Could be SCAM. Could be legitimate debt.#N#Demand anything they have in writing and take what you are provided to a lawyer...

Can a collection lawyer call you?

Most collection lawyers (or their firms) won't actually call you. They usually just sue and try to get the fastest judgment possible.#N#You should talk to a consumer rights attorney. You will want to find out if the plaintiff and their lawyer are both licensed to collect debt. You will also want a thorough...

Can you sue a debt collector for more than you owe?

Threatening to sue you for more than the actually amount owed is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA.) You can actually sue this debt collector under FDCPA to have the debt cancelled and even for money damages. I urge you to find a consumer protection lawyer who handles FDCPA cases and consult.

What to do if you doubt a debt?

If you doubt that you owe a debt, or that the amount owed is not accurate, your best recourse is to send a debt dispute letter to the collection agency asking that the debt be validated.

What should a debt dispute letter include?

The debt dispute letter should include your personal identifying information; verification of the amount of debt owed; the name of the creditor for the debt; and a request that the debt not be reported to credit reporting agencies until the matter is resolved or have it removed from the report, if it already has been reported.

How to pay a debt collector?

Should I Pay Debt Collectors or Original Creditor? 1 A creditor may have an in-house collection division. In this case, you are still in debt to the original creditor and that is who gets paid. 2 Sometimes the creditor will hire a collection agency to chase the money for them. Ask the debt collector if they own the debt. If not, you still might be able to negotiate with the original creditor. 3 Often the last straw, the original creditor might sell the debt to a collection agency. In this case, the debt collector owns the debt, so any payment is made to the collection agency.

How many people have been contacted by debt collectors in the past year?

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), one in three consumers – more than 70 million people – were contacted by a creditor or debt collector in the past year. The CFPB says that 250,000 debt collection complaints have been filed since 2011, about 88,000 of them in 2016 alone.

How long does a debt collector have to send a validation notice?

In addition to the “validation notice” that debt collectors must send, there is a “statute of limitations” on most debts. The statute of limitations varies from state-to-state, from as little as three years to as many as 15. Most states fall in the range of 4-to-6 years.

How to stop a collection call?

You can stop calls from collection agencies by sending a certified letter asking them to stop calling. Debt collectors must send you a written “validation notice” that states how much money you owe, the name of the creditor and how to proceed if you want to dispute the debt.

How long does unpaid debt stay on your credit report?

However, the unpaid debt remains on your credit report for seven years from the last time you made a payment on it. Many of the problems start with the fact that debt collection agencies often buy debts from several sources and either collect the money or sell the debt a second, third, maybe even fourth time.