Sued for a debt

Mar 07, 2010

sued for a debt
by: Gerri

Mark,
Thanks for submitting your question about a debt collection lawsuit on our Q&A page.

First, if you have been served with legal papers, you need to act immediately. If you have been notified that you are being taken to court for this debt, please make sure that a minimum you show up in court. If you don't, the collector or creditor will get a default judgment against you, and that opens you up to additional collection activity.

I can't advise you on how to represent yourself in court, but if you feel strongly that you don't want to get advice from an attorney, you can at least show up and let the judge know if you dispute the debt, what you have been trying to do to pay it, why you can't pay it etc. (I don't know what applies in your situation.) You can find out if the court offers any information that may help you prepare.

Depending on the amount they are suing you for, it may not hurt to talk with a bankruptcy attorney. The consultation will be free and confidential, and at least you'll have the opportunity to find out what they can do to collect if they are successful in getting a judgment against you. It is very important that you understand your rights. In many states, creditors who obtain court judgments have additional ways to collect from debtors, including the ability to seize funds from their bank accounts, obtain liens against property etc.

If you know you owe the debt, it may or may not be too late to negotiate some kind of payment plan or settlement to keep the debt out of court. If you are successful, make sure you get something in writing stating they will drop the legal action against you before you pay a penny.

All this is based upon the assumption that the court date has not already passed. If it has, there may be a default judgment against you, and that requires a different approach.

Please let us know how this turns out.

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Mar 07, 2010
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Submitted by: Gerri

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Mark, <a href=" http://www.debtcollectionanswers.com/http://www.debtcollectionanswers.com/Debt-Collection-Questions.html">Thanks for submitting your question about a debt collection lawsuit on our Q&A page. </a> First, if you have been served with legal papers, you need to act immediately. If you have been notified that you are being taken to court for this debt, please make sure that a minimum you show up in court. If you don't, the collector or creditor will get a default judgment against you, and that opens you up to additional collection activity. I can't advise you on how to represent yourself in court, but if you feel strongly that you don't want to get advice from an attorney, you can at least show up and let the judge know if you dispute the debt, what you have been trying to do to pay it, why you can't pay it etc. (I don't know what applies in your situation.) You can find out if the court offers any information that may help you prepare. Depending on the amount they are suing you for, it may not hurt to talk with a <a href=http://www.DebtCollectionAnswers.com/bankruptcy-attorney.html>bankruptcy attorney</a>. The consultation will be free and confidential, and at least you'll have the opportunity to find out what they can do to collect if they are successful in getting a judgment against you. It is very important that you understand your rights. In many states, creditors who obtain court judgments have additional ways to collect from debtors, including the ability to seize funds from their bank accounts, obtain liens against property etc. If you know you owe the debt, it may or may not be too late to negotiate some kind of payment plan or settlement to keep the debt out of court. If you are successful, make sure you get something in writing stating they will drop the legal action against you before you pay a penny. All this is based upon the assumption that the court date has not already passed. If it has, there may be a default judgment against you, and that requires a different approach. Please let us know how this turns out.

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