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Sued for PayPal Synchrony Card — How to Win

Chloe Meltzer | December 07, 2023

Chloe-Meltzer
Legal Expert
Chloe Meltzer, MA

Chloe Meltzer is an experienced content writer specializing in legal content creation. She holds a degree in English Literature from Arizona State University, complemented by a Master’s in Marketing from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Hannah Locklear
Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Summary: When you're sued for your PayPal Synchony Card debt, you might not know how to respond. Don't try to hide from your debt. Learn how to make a defense with SoloSuit.

The PayPal Extras Mastercard is issued by Synchrony Bank. It may seem like a great opportunity to score rewards with points on gas and all PayPal purchases. But it can quickly turn into a nightmare if you get behind on bills or forget to pay.

When you do not pay off your PayPal Synchrony Card, you may receive a summons to appear in court. This is because you are being sued to pay your debt. Whether you are being sued for the PayPal Synchrony card by PayPal or a third-party debt collector, there are a few things you need to know to navigate your situation effectively.

Use SoloSuit to win your debt collection lawsuit.

Defend Yourself by Asking for Evidence of the Debt

If you are being sued for an outstanding balance, PayPal or a debt collector must be able to prove that you owe that amount. If they cannot, then you may be able to have your case dismissed. The best way to demonstrate this is by responding to the initial summons and showing up to your court date.

You will need to begin by making your case against theirs. The amount the credit card company is suing you for must be exactly how much you signed on to pay.

Request the Original Creditor Agreement

If PayPal is the one suing you then they most likely have the original creditor agreement. In this case, you will need to move on to a different defense. If it is a third-party debt collector, then they may not have this proof.

If they cannot prove that you even had a contract with someone in the first place, a judge will side with you. Think about it, courts operate on evidence. If there is no physical evidence of a contract, then there is no proof that you owe the debt.

Require Proof of a Breached Contract

Along with the original credit agreement, the credit card company must prove that you breached the contract. Whether this is through account statements and records showing that you did not pay or that they in some way suffered harm due to your not paying. If PayPal did not lose money because of your not paying, then there is no harm done.

Make the right defense with SoloSuit.

Affirmative Defenses That Will Help You Win a Debt Lawsuit

If you do owe the debt, then you will need to find a defense if you are planning to avoid paying it. This cannot be a defense of “I can't afford it” but rather a legal and affirmative defense. It should show that PayPal or Synchrony violated some form of law.

The Statute of Limitations

Every state has a law that governs how long a debt can legally be brought to court. In Vermont, the amount of time you can legally be brought to court for debt is six years, while in New York it is 20. If a few years have passed, and you do not live in New York, then you may be in luck.

When the statute of limitations has expired, the debt will be considered time-barred. Although you cannot be brought to court for the case, the debt collector or creditor may still pursue you for the debt. This may hurt your credit score and continue to follow you.

Other Defenses Include:

  • Failure to comply with regulations of the court: You will be held to specific laws and regulations, therefore PayPal and Synchrony should be too.
  • Failure to attach proper contract or paperwork to the lawsuit: This must include all the documents that support its allegations.
  • Sued over fees not in the contract: This can include late fees, extra charges, collection fees, court costs, lawyer fees, or anything else that is not included in the contract.
  • Charged illegal interest rate: There is a limit to the interest that you can be charged on a loan or credit card. Although this is rare, if you have been overcharged, you need to bring this to court to have your case dismissed.
  • Sued for charges you never authorized: If you never authorized the charges, then you will not be responsible for them. The only time you may be is if you are a cosigner for a different person on their account.
  • Sued for illegal fees: Depending on the state you live in, if you have been charged for something that you believe is illegal, your case will be dismissed.

File a response in 15 minutes with SoloSuit.

Respond Quickly to Correspondence from PayPal Synchrony Card

If you are looking to win your case against PayPal Synchrony Card when being sued for a debt, you must respond to all correspondence. This is essential because if you do not respond within certain periods, you will receive a default judgment.

Default judgments occur after you have been served with a notice to appear in a court (summons) and you ignore it. Typically you will be given 20 to 30 days to respond to a lawsuit summons, and after that period you give up your right to respond. Essentially a default judgment means that you lose the case. It also allows PayPal Synchrony to begin garnishing your wages and pulling money out of your bank account to pay off the debt. You want to avoid this at all costs.

Even if you know that you owe the debt, and feel that you cannot pay off your debt, you must respond. You always have options when it comes to credit card debt.

What to Do If You Owe a Debt and Lose Your Case

Even if you do owe a debt to PayPal Synchrony and do not have a good defense, you have other options. The main option is to settle the debt. Settling the debt is essentially a negotiation. When settling you can either choose to pay in full or by making payments.

Oftentimes if you pay in full, then you can even settle the debt for less than owed. This can allow you to get your credit back on track and start fresh. If you decide to make payments, then you can come to an agreement on how much you plan to pay each month.

Since PayPal Synchrony is an original creditor, you most likely will need to prove your defense or negotiate for a lower settlement. Whatever you do, you must respond to the lawsuit or you will lose any hope at all.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

Respond with SoloSuit

"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James


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