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How to Beat Weinberg and Associates in a Debt Collection Lawsuit

Chloe Meltzer | January 10, 2024

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: Got Weinberg and Associates after you for an old debt? Worried they'll take everything you've got? Learn how to stand up against Weinberg and Associates and win in court.

If you are being sued by Weinberg and Associates in a debt collection lawsuit, you need to take immediate action. If you let a debt collection lawsuit continue, you may eventually face wage garnishment, property liens, or find that money has been taken directly from your account.

In many cases a debt settlement could be your best option, but not always. If you are being sued for a debt you need to know your rights and how to beat Weinberg and Associates in a debt collection lawsuit.

Who are Weinberg and Associates?

Weinberg and Associates is a debt collection law firm based in the Midwest. Often when a borrower defaults on student loan payments, the lender will hire Weinberg and Associates to collect on that debt. Some of the largest student loan services are represented by Weinberg and Associates, as they are a huge law firm that is devoted to debt collections.

Because Weinberg and Associates is a huge law firm, they will not stop at anything to sue you. This means you will need to know exactly what your rights are to beat them or look for a debt settlement.

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What to do when you're sued by Weinberg and Associates

If you have been sued by Weinberg and associates, then you are most likely being sued for student loan debt. In this case, you will need to weigh your options. Rather than deal with wage garnishment or bank levy, you need to respond to the debt. You can and should fight debt collectors, do not allow them to harass you or scare you into a default judgment.

Default judgments occur when you do not respond to a lawsuit. If you do not respond, and a judge resolves the case without you giving testimony, you will automatically be given a judgment of guilt. This means that you lose the opportunity to fight the debt case, which means you need to respond to any debt collection lawsuit.

How to beat Weinberg and Associates

Although you might feel that debt settlement is your only option when being sued for a debt, it is not. If you are being harassed, or have had your rights violated by Weinburg and Associates, then you need to defend yourself and take the following steps.

  1. File a response: This is called an Answer and is a response to the lawsuit. If you do not respond then a default judgment could be filed against you. This will take away your chance to fight it or even settle.
  2. Ask for proof of the debt: In many cases, proof of your debt may not be able to be provided. This means you legally cannot be sued for the debt, because the burden of proof always rests with the debt collector that is suing you.
  3. Look to the Statute of Limitations: The statute of limitations is a set of laws that governs how long you can be sued for debt. This length of time varies from state to state but is typically between four to six years.
  4. State improper service: This would be in terms of notifying you of the lawsuit if they improperly served you.
  5. Examine violations of the FDCPA: You may be able to file a counterclaim if there have been violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Weinberg and Associates have had class-action lawsuits filed against them in various debt collection cases of the past.

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What to do if a default judgment has been filed against you

If a default judgment has been filed against you then you need to take action.

Step 1: Gather information on the debt

The process of debt collection can be a process that takes many years. Your debt may have been resold a few times. This means that the debt collector may not be able to prove that you legally owe the debt. It also means that the amount might be wrong, so you will need to collect all the information you have. This should include:

  • Bills from the original creditor
  • Notices from the debt collector
  • Any documents, such as a validation letter and court papers

If you have never before received any notices or served a notice before the lawsuit, then this is a violation of your rights. You can challenge the judgment based on this as a counterclaim.

Use SoloSuit to make the right affirmative defense and win in court.

Step 2: Make the right decision for you

When you have been served with a default judgment you have a few options. You can either accept the judgment, settle the judgment for less than you owe, challenge it, or look into debt relief.

If you owe the money then you may decide to accept the judgment. You can either pay in a lump sum to the creditor, or you can look into a payment plan. If your wages are being garnished you must have a legal notification of this, If you did not get one, then you can file a dispute.

If you feel that you should not pay the full amount, then you can settle the judgment. This is typically for less than you owe. You can also threaten to file bankruptcy, which can offer you a chance at negotiations and a lower settlement. Often the debt collector will want to settle because they will at least get partial payment for your debt rather than nothing if you file bankruptcy. If you do decide to settle, you need to get a written agreement that states exactly how much you will pay and when it is settled.

Should you think that you do not owe the debt, you may want to challenge the judgment. Especially if you never owed the debt, or you were not notified properly of the lawsuit, this may be an option for you. Although this can take some time, it may pay off eventually. As long as you bring together all of the information that you have and make your case, you may be able to have the lawsuit thrown out.

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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