As soon as the decision is made to sue a particular outstanding account then someoneâeither the creditor or the collection agentâis taking a financial risk of losing money because it will have to incur out-of-pocket expenses with no guarantee of ever recovering a penny from a debtor it has sued.
Did you know you can sue a creditor or a credit bureau for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act? Violations happen all the time to unsuspecting⌠Violations happen all the time to unsuspecting consumers who don't have a clue as to whatâŚ
 ¡ As soon as the decision is made to sue a particular outstanding account then someoneâeither the creditor or the collection agentâis taking a financial risk of losing money because it will have to incur out-of-pocket expenses with no guarantee of ever recovering a penny from a debtor it has sued.
If you don't repay or settle the debt, the debt collector can sue you. At this point, you will receive a notice from the court regarding your appearance date. If you fail to show up for your court date, the court will likely rule in favor of the debt collector.
A debt collection lawsuit begins when a creditor files a complaint with a state civil court listing you as a defendant, along with your co-signer if you have one. The complaint will say why the creditor is suing you and what it wants.
Your creditors, or any collection attorney or agency your debt is turned over to, may not sue you because they know it's unlikely they could collect the money judgment. That's called being "judgment proof."
You can sue someone even if they have no money. The lawsuit does not rely on whether you can pay but on whether you owe a certain debt amount to that plaintiff. Even with no money, the court can decide that the creditor has won the lawsuit, and the opposite party still owes that sum of money.
Debt collectors don't have any special powers that can help them to collect a debt. You might find that they contact you through phone calls and letters however in some cases they may visit your home too. If a debt collector shows up at your house, you don't have to open the door to them or let them in.
Can You Go To Jail For Not Paying Debt? (including student loans & credit card debt) The short answer is no â you will not go to jail for failing to pay back your debts.
Unpaid credit card debt will drop off an individual's credit report after 7 years, meaning late payments associated with the unpaid debt will no longer affect the person's credit score.
Options for asset protection include:Domestic asset protection trusts.Limited liability companies, or LLCs.Insurance, such as an umbrella policy or a malpractice policy.Alternate dispute resolution.Prenuptial agreements.Retirement plans such as a 401(k) or IRA.Homestead exemptions.Offshore trusts.
If you are receiving collection calls and written collection notices from your creditor or a collection agency then chances areâat least in the short termâyour creditor has decided not to sue you, but to attempt to collect monies from you by making payment demands. Nine key reasons why your creditor might never sue you.
During the first three to six months that your account has not been paid your creditor will typically contact youâboth on the phone and in writingârequesting payment of your outstanding account. During this initial period, anywhere between three months and six months, the payment demands will be made from employees working for your creditor. At some point after your account is six months overdue your creditor might decide to do one of the following: 1 Continue to attempt to collect the account using the creditorâs in-house collection staff 2 Hire a collection agency to collect your account on a commission basis 3 Sue you 4 Sell your outstanding account to a debt buyer
To assist you in settling, you'll be scheduled to meet with a judge or attorney who has some familiarity with the area of law your case involves. You don't have to settle, but the judge or attorney will usually give you an honest indication of your chance of winning in a trial.
If you need help responding to a lawsuit for nonpayment of a debt, consider hiring a lawyer. But keep this in mind: If it costs more to hire a lawyer than what the creditor seeks in the lawsuit, it makes little sense to seek attorney assistance. Talk to a Lawyer.
Discovery refers to the formal procedures used by parties to obtain information and documents from each other and from witnesses. The information is meant to help the party prepare for trial or settle the case. In routine debt collection cases where you don't have any defense, don't expect the plaintiff to engage in discovery. Discovery can be expensive, and, quite frankly, there is often nothing for the plaintiff to "discover." You owe the money. You haven't paid. (Read about different options for dealing with your debt .)
In some courts, however, you will be sent a notice of a settlement conference before the trial date. Be sure to attend the settlement conference or trial. If you move, make sure you notify the plaintiff and court of your address change. Non-routine cases.
Deposition. A proceeding in which a witness or party is asked to answer questions orally under oath. A court reporter is present and takes down the entire proceeding. If you schedule a deposition of someone, you will probably have to pay for the court reporter, which can be very expensive.
Request for inspection. A request by one party to look at tangible items (other than writings) in the possession of the other party. For instance, if you raise as an affirmative defense that the painter who sued you spilled paint on your rug and it cannot be removed, the painter may request to inspect the rug.
A request by one party to look at tangible items (other than writings) in the possession of the other party. For instance, if you raise as an affirmative defense that the painter who sued you spilled paint on your rug and it cannot be removed, the painter may request to inspect the rug.
Summary Judgement. If your response didnât do an adequate job offering a defense, the creditor may ask the court to issue a summary judgment and rule in their favor. You should have an opportunity to file a response to the creditorâs motion for a summary judgment.
If you donât respond in the given timeframe, the creditor can then ask for a default judgment. If the court agrees, the creditor has essentially won the case and will be able to collect the judgment amount, usually through a wage garnishment .
You Respond. The summons should set a timeframe for when you need to respond to the creditorâs complaint, but itâs usually within 30 days or less. If you want to fight the lawsuit, your response should cite any and all applicable defenses.
Itâs entirely possible that you ignore a debt forever and the consequences never go beyond repeated phone calls and letters. There are costs associated with taking a case to court, after all, so the debt needs to be worth the effort and the cost.
The summons is basically a notification that youâre being sued, and should provide some direction on the steps you need to take to address this.
Depending on the rules of the court, the summons may need to be hand-delivered, or it may simply be mailed with a form you can send back, acknowledging that you received the summons. Thereâs no benefit to ignoring a summons or making it difficult for the summons to be served.
Settlement Conference. You may be required to attend a settlement conference in the hopes of preventing the case from going to trial. If you reach a settlement agreement, thereâs no need for a trial. If you decide not to settle, the case will likely proceed to trial.
If you donât respond, the court will likely issue a judgment against you as requested in the lawsuit. Warning: While you must be properly âservedâ with a lawsuit, you wonât be able to stop the lawsuit by refusing to accept delivery or âserviceâ of the 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. Often the court also will award additional fees against you to cover collections costs, interest, and attorney fees.
Judgments give debt collectors much stronger tools to collect the debt from you. Depending on your situation and your stateâs 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
A judgment is a court order.
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.
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.
Easily the number one mistake that people make when they are being sued by a creditor is failing to respond to the summons and complaint. They do this for the same reason that they donât respond to the creditor knocking on their door asking for payment: they hope that the issue will just go away, which unfortunately, is simply not going to be the case.
As a golden rule, however, you will have up to thirty days to file a written response to the lawsuit. For some states, youâll have only twenty days. In court, this written response will be referred to as the âanswer,â and you will have to pay a small fee when you file it.
The complaint is also sometimes referred to as a petition. You will be listed as a defendant under the complaint, in addition to anyone else who cosigned onto the loan of the account. The complaint will also clearly state why you are being sued and what the creditor is seeking. Usually, it will be three things:
The summons will also indicate when you need to file a formal response to the court. Many courts will require the summons to be given to you in person, which will usually be done either by your local sheriff or by a professional process server.