civil summons

Aug 17, 2010

Summons and settling debt after a lawsuit has been filed
by: Mary and Gerri

Thanks for submitting your debt collection question on our Q&A page.

There is always a chance that Capitol One will agree to a settlement after it's sued you. So, what do you have to lose? The worst that can happen is that it refuses your settlement offer.

Whether Capitol One agrees to settle will depend on a number of factors including:

? the attractiveness of your settlement offer
? how anxious the company is to minimize its lawsuit-related expenses
? how strong it believes its case against you is and how easy it believes it will be to collect the money it's suing you for, assuming it wins the lawsuit.

However, at this stage in the collection process I imagine that Capitol One will not be particularly open to agreeing to a settlement that involves your making a series of payments over time. You will probably have better luck if you can afford to make a lump sum settlement offer. Whatever offer you make, if you make it by phone, be sure to follow up right away by putting your offer in writing.

If the summons says Capitol One, then that is probably who has sued you. However, you may want to call the court where the lawsuit will be heard to make sure. Finally, if Capitol One rejects your offer and the lawsuit moves forward, it's a good idea to consult with a consumer law attorney. Find out how to get FREE or low cost legal advice about debt collection from a consumer law attorney here.

Also, be sure to show up in court on the date indicated on the summons. Otherwise, the judge will probably grant Capitol One a default judgment, which means that you will automatically lose the lawsuit.

Please share what happens with your situation in the comments section for this question. We are very interested in hearing how this turns out for you, and your experience can help others who are struggling with debt collectors.

civil summons

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