Chloe Meltzer | December 01, 2022
Summary: Being sued by a debt collector can stress you out. You might not know what to do. Should you ignore them? Should you pay? Find out how to react when you're served with a debt collection lawsuit.
If you are a few months past due on your credit card or haven't paid off a loan for a while, your creditor may decide to assign or sell the debt to a third-party debt collection agency. In this case, the debt collector will then attempt to collect the debt. If you continue to ignore the requests of the debt collector to collect this debt, you may find yourself being sued.
If you receive a summons for a debt lawsuit, then you may be confused about what to do next. The most important thing to do is respond. Follow the guidelines outlined below to ensure you make the right move if you are being sued by a debt collector.
Respond to a debt lawsuit fast with SoloSuit.
If you're being sued by a debt collector, you must understand exactly the timeline of the events you will be going through. Although this might be different from case to case, generally the steps outlined below will be what you will experience.
Use SoloSuit to respond to debt collectors and win in court.
As long as you have verified the legitimacy of the debt, then you must respond to the debt collection lawsuit. This might be something you want to avoid, and ignoring it may seem like a good option. Ignoring is not a good option at all. It's the worst option. Just because you do not respond does not mean that the collector will drop the lawsuit. Instead, it will cause you to miss deadlines and make it more difficult to fight your debt later on.
Debt collectors are typically third-party agencies. Whether your debt collector was hired by the original creditor after you defaulted, or they purchased your debt, the debt has changed hands more than once.
You may want to challenge the lawsuit if:
The statute of limitations is the amount of time that a debt collector can legally collect a debt. It ranges from three years up to 20 years depending on where you live and the type of debt you owe.
If you're being sued for debt and you disagree with any of the information given to you in the lawsuit, you may want to file a response. This means you will need to ask for validation of the debt. If they cannot prove the debt, where the debt originally came from, how much you owe, and that it is you who owes the debt.
If your rights have been violated by a debt collector, then you need to bring evidence of this to your trial. As a consumer, you are protected by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Truth in Lending Act for specific violations.
Under the FDCPA, debt collectors may not:
There are many ways you can proceed when it comes to accepting a debt collection lawsuit. If you decide to accept the judgment but do not want to go to court then you will probably want to negotiate out of court.
If you have limited wages and assets then you may actually be judgment proof. This means that your wages cannot be garnished. Additionally, if your debt is so high that you cannot manage it, your final choice is to file for bankruptcy.
If your debt is legitimate, then you may be able to have your lawsuit dropped by negotiating a settlement. This is a good option if you know that the debt is yours, and you can afford to pay some of it. This will allow you to avoid going to court altogether.
Make the right defense the right way with SoloSuit.
Being served with a debt lawsuit may feel scary, but you have options. Do not give in to a debt collector and admit to the debt. Instead, follow the steps to negotiate and force the debt collector to prove your debt. You never know, you may be able to avoid paying your debt or settle for less.
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.
"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
>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit: A Student Solution To Give Utah Debtors A Fighting Chance
Here's a list of guides for other states.
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Being sued by a different debt collector? We're making guides on how to beat each one.
Is your credit card company suing you? Learn how you can beat each one.
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New Hampshire Statute of Limitations on Debt
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West Virginia Statute of Limitations on Debt
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