Answered a lawsuit ... is it better to settle?
Date: Sat, 03/27/2010 - 08:30
It's been a rough few years. In college, I got sucked in to having my own lines of credit. Of course, I thought that I would have a job upon graduating and things would be OK. That didn't happen. I tried like hell to keep up on everything even with a low-paying part time job.
To cut the middle fluff, I was laid off a job for 16 months. I wanted to pay off these debts so bad, but I couldn't really do much on just several hundred dollars a month. I was lucky I could still pay my rent, utilities, and somehow find a few dollars to eat.
Fortunately, I received contract work this November, which is allowing me to keep up with my student loan payments (they never went into default, thankfully) and start paying off some of my unsecured debt.
Unfortunately, one of them is now suing me for more than $3,000. I answered the summons because I know I shouldn't just let it go to an automatic default judgment, but I'm wondering if it would be better to settle out of court now (the court date is at the end of next month) or let it go to the hearing. The hearing is in my area, but the lawyer is in another county.
I can't really take off work because it's money I lose (since I'm on contract), but I would like to avoid court if I can. I was thinking of proposing a settlement of either 60% of the debt plus the filing fee, or two installments equal to a little more than what is owed. Does that sound reasonable?
It doesn't seem like there's any formal process for this through the court.
Any advice would be appreciated. I can't really afford a lawyer and the local legal aid office said I make too much money, but I could see if I qualify when I'm off my contract at the end of May (what a joke).
Thanks.
Hi there and welcome, I just wanted to acknowledge your post, pl
Hi there and welcome, I just wanted to acknowledge your post, please keep checking back for more replies.
You can try to settle outside the court if your objective is to
You can try to settle outside the court if your objective is to avoid the court date. You can educate yourself about negotiating outside the court settlement through the following link.
"http://www.nedap.org/hotline/settle.html"
Just let me add a note, an outside the court settlement might not always work to your favor. So, look before you leap.
I would call DS Financial they settled my debt for pennies on th
I would call DS Financial they settled my debt for pennies on the dollar and got most of the items removed from my credit report. They can be reached at 866-833-6398
i tried to settle with Asset Acceptance out of court, but they j
i tried to settle with Asset Acceptance out of court, but they just did a continuance..they are also suing me for one amount but when i call them they say i owe another amount which is several hundreds more..i alredy paid 350 and i think it will be cheaper for me to stop making payments and just wait for the continuance to see how much the balance is minus my 350..because i am being sued for 887 but they just reported to my credit report that i owe 1298..im in the process of sending them a subpoena duces tecum to get proof that it is my debt and to also see what my true amount is..ao make sure they do not charge but loads of intrest..and get it in writing before you pay anthing..have you checked the sol for this account?
Yes, I would call the attorney and offer a settlement, I would o
Yes, I would call the attorney and offer a settlement, I would offer 30-40% and see what happens, it's like anything else, don't start too high
I did a lot of research before I wrote my letter to offer a sett
I did a lot of research before I wrote my letter to offer a settlement. I know I could have called, but I wanted to have a paper trail. Much of my research was actually based on links like the one SC posted and reading other experiences.
I think my letter was pretty reasonable. Stipulated the complaint should be dropped with prejudice if the agreement was accepted and that the balance could not be sold or transferred to another division within the company (and it does operate under many names). I would provide payment within ten business days upon returned signed agreement. Sent it with signature confirmation to ensure it gets there.
I'm hoping the outcome is good. I just want this nightmare to be over.