What is the worst thing that can happen when you are sued?

Darla, you can use the sample cease and desist letter available here. No, you don't need an attorney to write a C&D.

Unregistered,

In a worst case scenario, the creditor may sue you and Citi bank is quite famous for doing so.

You can wait till they charge off the account and then try a deal with the collection agency. You can also wait to see if Citi comes up with a better offer or not. Anyway, always be polite but persistent with them while talking over the phone and express your eagerness to settle. It would increase your chances to get a better deal

I was able to pay bills until i became ill with chonic sickness no longer able to work, i only receive social security which is only enough to pay for living expenses, and copays for medicine, what can I do?

Wanted to share this post from another thread. This is from "anonymous" who said they worked 7 years for most reputable settlement company.

"Out of approximately 50,000 clients and over 41.2 billion debt under management for over 6 years , only 1% have gone to legal status and only 3.3% have gone to any kind of pre-legal status.

Being sued has been my biggest fear but not such much anymore.

i have a judgement against me in 2007 now i have received a settlement offer.from an attorney pc. I have a choice to pay half the amount owed in full or the full amount in payments. total is $2,256.

My wife got the summons from the Hyat, Hyat & Landau that "represents" Capital One. She didn't go to the court. It was March 2008 and I think the debt was about 4 years (close to the SOL in FL).

Now they are trying to collect on the judgement $1200 debt +court fees & interest. About $2600 plus interest of 2 years. But they claim the ballance is about $3800. We are trying to pay it off, but dispute their math.

What are our options?

Try to sue them to reverse the judgement if it was past the SOL (is it 4 years in FL)?
Try to settle with something closer to the original $1200 debt?
Take whatever they offer because we didn't go to the court date?

It seems several people seem to have the same problem with this company and judgements.

Joe, your first big mistake is that you didn't responded to their summons and that has allowed them to get a default judgement against you. You also have lost your rights to question the debt amount.

Anyway, if the debt was well within the SOL when you were sued, you probably can't get the judgement vacated.

IMO your only option now is to work out a settlement with the collector.

joe you also might consider BK, now if you seek a BK attorney and he says you still have to pay your debts back you need to re think things.

seems like a small amount considered i dont know your debt to income, im not passing judgment on you.

if you have funds to settle i would recommend calling the lawfirm and seeing what can be worked out.

if nothing can be worked out, please remember this: being sued on the full balance is much better than paying the minimums for sometime, tripling the amount you owe.

aka

the credit card companies are to blames for giving out too much credit due to their greed. they deserve to be stiffed. thats why they charge so much interest. to make up for the defaults. but they still want it all greedy pigs. i just refused to pay and they went away.

can a credit card company sued me for debt since 2001 and now its 2010 without warning seize my car

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A credit card company sued us six years ago. We could not make any arrangements at the time, nor have we since then. The debt has been purchased by others. Does the new owner of the debt have the judgement rights of the first owner? We've had calls from the new owners on this so we want to know how to handle this.

I have a credit agency thresting a law suit. I can't afford a wage garnishment, nor a lein on my home. I tried to work woth the creditors when I began having problems. They asked me what I could afford monthly. I told them and I was told it wasn't enough...How is it not enough. Mind you at this point I was only one month in the rears. The debt is only $500.00 a court case will be so much more. I don't understand why they won't work with me. If I can't afford $500 how am I going to afford $700.00 for a bankrupcy?? I don't know what to do. My credit used to be good until this. I've had rising cost of Healthcare and such that have cut into my pay, I used to work two jobs, but know only work one. What am I supposed to do?

Is this a credit card? If you are only 1 month late no one is going to sue you. Who said this?

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my date of last payment was 1/2006 date of first delinquency was 2/2006. There is a 4 year sol where I live date as of today 2/2010. Is this within the time legal. I was filed suit against the 2nd week of 1/2010.

I followed the Bill of Rights Artical 7 I made sure and payed by Certified mail to card companies what I could afford. They always on my next statement thanked me for my payment. They sold the debt to some collection agency. What are my rights? cAN Can they sel it and if so does the Collection of whom I have no contract with Collect?

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Well sorry, but someone who followed the Bill of Rights Article 7th probably didnt bother to read it...it has nothing to do with paying bills.

I have been in other peoples shoes....I grew up in other peoples shoes...however I wont be gulliable and will ask questions if I dont understand what I am reading or signing.

Debts are not aways sold. Major creditors place accounts third party for collectitons which can and does result in being sued.

My employer received garnishment papers today, served by a constable. The account is ancient; over 5 years but my ex discarded all old statements to prove. No court order in papers; have never been notified to appear b4 judge...is this smoke and mirrors by attorney?

I too have been put off or scared away by the rudeness of certain Mods
This is not right.
I am glad you all are smarter than us "regular folk". But please do not treat us like garbage,

if YOU have been garnished wages that means YOU have ignored all contacts with your creditors and local law offices.

this being said: its better to be sued on your full balance than to pay minimums forever tripling what you owe!

its even better to pay back your full balance than paying a debt consolidation company that will take your money plus pay off your interest over a period of time which is a 90% failure.

Vegasgirl,

You must check with the county court to see if there were indeed a lawsuit been filed against you or not? If you were improperly served you may have an option to contest the judgement based on that ground.

If you get sued, is it required/recommended that you get a lawyer or can we do this in court ourselves?

A law firm allegedly representing my cc company, sued with an S&C, which I answered timely with an Answer. They have now sent my Interrogatories, etc. that could take a lifetime to answer. I called the Clerk of Court in our County, and was advised that nothing was filed with the Court
What should I do with the Interrogatories...answer or not. I am preparing some Interrogatories for them also but maybe there is a better way to reach a settlement.
The Summons said the lawsuit would be handled by ADR but the lawsuit has not been filed?????
HELP!!!

who to contact to stop phone calls to family & friends about a debt owed?

I cant pay my credit card , sent to collection agency I HAVE NO INCOME OR ASSETS ONLY A MONTHLY SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY CHECK.
CAN I BE MADE TO PAY OR SUED
wHAT SHOULD i DO

The credit card company can sue your as long as the debt is under the legal statute of limitation. However, if you are living on social security disability income then it is exempted from garnishment.

Can unemployment payments be garnished for credit card debt?

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hi, i received a letter from bank of america credit card they going to sue me, if that happen, and separated but not legal yet because i dont have money im not living in the same place with her, she has a car that is pay in full and she is working, the sue can affect her? a friend told me that the bank can take her car, and get a portion from her job, that is true? im not working right now im almost homeless, dont know what to do if they sue me i dont have money to pay a lawyer, im in miami, florida, excuse for my writing thank you...

I have been summoned to court for credit card debt I owe. The actual amount I owed on card was half of what collection agency is asking for. I was layed off from work 5 yrs. ago from full-time job and since have only been able to get part-time. I've been researching similiar cases and noticed in most cases the summons asks for an answer within a 20-30day after receiving summons. No where on summons does it state this. I am a week away from appearing in court. Any suggestions?

The standard time to reply in every state's civil procedure code is 30 days from the date of service. The summons will usually state the time for reply on the second page near the end, in Illinois. If your time to reply has expired then the best thing you can do is go to court on the day of the hearing with your summons and speak to the judge. If you can show that you have a valid reason for not responding then he may give you time to respond. Different states may have different procedures, so if your local court house has an advice desk for civil matters, it would be a good idea to pay them a visit.


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if you are in debt in one country and move to another country can the debt be collected?

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You can be sued but it doesn't mean that they would win. And don't let it get to that point - talk to your lenders and work out an agreement. If you don't know what to say or how to deal, attend a credit counseling session. It is free.

Can you be sued for credit card debts? -yes, but only for a judgment, which could be anything from wage garnishment, bank levy, or property lien. And they are subject to state laws. Can you go to jail for credit card debts? Not really.

All states allow garnishment, but the creditors have to go to court
and win a judgement first, and there are very strict rules governing
how much the creditor can take.

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DELETED.PM

what is the sol in sc. does sc garnish wages for c/c balance. gotten plenty of calls but no court letters. thanks

[QUOTE=Anonymous;725056]what is the sol in sc. does sc garnish wages for c/c balance. gotten plenty of calls but no court letters. also have a repo on second home.paying 25.00 a month but know that will not last. single and stuck

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"what is the sol in sc. does sc garnish wages for c/c balance. gotten plenty of calls but no court letters. thanks"


I'm in S.C. as well. No garnishment is not allowed here for these types of civil matters (only student loans/alimony/childsupport/back taxes UNLESS youve gotten sued while living in another state and they got it domesticated to here. It does not count if they sue you in a state where you dont live (for example their state) and then try and domesticate. No garnishment.

SoL in S.C. is three years across the board. Written acknowledgment of debt restarts it (for certain) as does (I believe but not certain) a payment. Hope this helps.

P.S. they DO sue here in S.C. however as a brief perusal of my county's website reveal. All the big players are shown as plaintiffs (Asset, LVNV, Midland, etc etc)

Im assuming they are doing it to throw liens on property or steal unprotected bank accts as they cant garnish.

Hi Rown:

You state you've gotten phone calls but no court letters. Collection Agencies always call in hopes of talking to you - to establish an agreement/contract, by a payment arrangement plan with you.

Eventually after several weeks, they will send you a demand statement, and that unless you dispute in 30 days, they will assume debt is valid, etc.

When this occurs, you need to send them a Cease & Desist letter immediately. Are you still making payments on the above CC?

If not, please contact me at deleted...pm I do have a cease & desist letter that I use; and I also have another letter you may be interested in.

I am not an Attorney; but I have fought two lawsuits on my own with out one. I have also helped many people with lawsuits, in which they've had favorable outcomes. I can not give legal advice, but I can tell you what I've learned, by extensive research and study on my own of Consumer Protection Laws. I can only advise what I would do in a given situation, if it were me.

well you are not going to be giving out your email for that as it is not allowed per TOS rules.

Hello everyone...
I received a summons today for a debt I owe Capital One- $5000. I don't have the money, or I would have paid the d@mn thing already. My husband and I have been eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches three times a day for a year now. Things are not. good. I have been reading this site, and I'm happy to have people to discuss this with, since I am terrified. Here are a few details about my problem:
1. I stopped paying on my account around January of last year. In June, I got a call from Cap 1's collections department. I set up a payment plan. I paid $100/mo (after making a $460 first payment) I paid them on time until September of last year, when they took $2000 out of my bank account. That stripped me of almost everything I had. I was a student, so I did not have much. I could not continue to make my payments and still eat.
2. For some odd reason, my birth date on the contract is wrong. It's the correct day of the year, wrong year. Will this help me in any way? It IS my debt. But if I can get them to wait a little while longer, I may have the money to pay.
3. I have been paying my other cards since I don't want this to happen again.
4. I do not own anything. I have no assets. I have approx. $35 in my bank account. I own nothing, not even my car. It's in someone else's name. I don't even have a job (or wages to garnish) What is the worst case scenario if they win?
I fully intend on appearing in court. However, I have no idea what is going to happen. If they will work out a payment plan with me, I will be fine, but I don't have $5000 or anything close to it.
Thank you to anyone who replies! I need some reassurance.
-Arina

Research arbitration. They have this clause in their contract and if you elect it, it can take out of the court system.

I am scared about my credit cards "sueing" me. It makes me very, very tenative to ever use them. EVER.