🪩 Dancin' in September Debt Payoff Giveaway 🪩 - Enter for a chance to win up to $4700! 🪩 Dancin' in September Debt Payoff Giveaway 🪩 - Enter for a chance to win up to $4700! 🪩 Dancin' in September Debt Payoff Giveaway 🪩 - Enter for a chance to win up to $4700!
Start My Answer
loading...

Is Debt Settlement Right for You? Expert Q&A with TurboDebt’s Sheldon Banker

The Debt Hotline | September 17, 2025

Summary: Debt settlement is worth it if you've been struggling with minimum payments for years and see no way out. It works best for people with over $7,500 in debt who can't afford current payment plans. Solo can help you respond to debt lawsuits and negotiate settlements to resolve your financial challenges.

Drowning in debt and wondering if debt settlement is your lifeline? You're not alone. Millions of Americans are trapped in a cycle of minimum payments that never seem to make a dent in their balances. With interest rates climbing and living costs soaring, what used to be manageable debt has become an impossible burden.

That's exactly what Sheldon Banker from TurboDebt discussed in a recent episode of Solo's The Debt Hotline podcast. With nearly eight years of experience helping thousands of people escape debt, Sheldon shared real insights about when debt settlement makes sense and when it doesn't.

Settle with SoloSettle

Make an Offer

Debt settlement is worth it when you're trapped in minimum payment cycles

The typical debt settlement client has been struggling for years. Two, three, four years—sometimes longer—just trying to keep up with minimum payments. But here's the harsh reality: if your income stays flat while your debt keeps growing, those minimum payments will eventually become impossible.

"Most people can see the writing on the wall," Sheldon explained in the podcast. "Your debt can't keep going up and your income stay the same and you still be able to long-term make your payments."

Even worse, many people stuck in this cycle aren't just paying bills. They're using credit cards for basic necessities like groceries, gas, and utilities. When you're borrowing money just to survive, traditional advice about "paying off your debt" becomes meaningless.

Professional debt settlement requires at least $7,500 in unsecured debt

Not everyone is a good candidate for professional debt settlement services. Companies like TurboDebt typically require a minimum of $7,500 in unsecured debt before enrollment makes financial sense.

Why the minimum? Debt settlement companies charge fees for their services, and below that threshold, the costs might outweigh the benefits. If you only have $3,000 in credit card debt, you're probably better off trying to negotiate directly with the creditor or using a tool like SoloSettle to handle the negotiation yourself.

But once you cross that $7,500 threshold—especially if you have multiple credit cards, personal loans, or other unsecured debts—professional debt settlement starts making more sense.

Debt settlement companies have negotiating power individual consumers lack

When Ry from Georgia called the Debt Hotline asking about negotiating with debt collectors himself, Sheldon acknowledged that anyone can attempt debt settlement on their own. But there are real advantages to using professionals.

"One of the benefits of using a big company is that they have negotiating power," Sheldon noted. "When you're dealing with billions of dollars of debt annually, you have back roads into these companies."

Think about it from the collector's perspective. When a major debt settlement company calls representing thousands of clients, they get through to decision-makers immediately. When you call as an individual, you might spend hours on hold or get transferred between departments without ever reaching someone with authority to approve a settlement.

Plus, for many people, calling debt collectors ranks among the most terrifying phone calls of their lives. Having professionals handle those conversations removes the emotional stress and intimidation factor entirely.

Debt settlement isn't worth it if bankruptcy makes more sense

While debt settlement can be a lifesaver for people drowning in unsecured debt, it's not the universal solution. Bankruptcy might make more sense in certain situations.

"If someone's got an obscene amount of medical bills—you have $400,000 in medical bills from a life flight trip—they're never going to pay that off," Sheldon explained. When debt amounts are truly impossible to repay, even with settlement, bankruptcy becomes the more practical option.

Sheldon also pointed out that Chapter 13 bankruptcy puts you under court supervision, with a trustee controlling your finances. If you earn more money, you pay more to the bankruptcy plan. That loss of financial control makes debt settlement attractive for people who want to maintain autonomy over their finances.

The key question: Can you realistically pay off your debt if the monthly payments were cut in half? If yes, settlement might work. If the debt is simply too massive to tackle even with reduced payments, bankruptcy might be your better choice.

Expect increased collection activity during the debt settlement process

One common concern came from Theresa in Colorado, who enrolled in a debt relief program but was still receiving summons and threatening letters from collectors. This actually highlights a crucial point about the debt settlement process.

When you stop making minimum payments to save money for settlements, collection activity typically increases. Creditors will send more letters, make more calls, and sometimes file lawsuits. This is normal and expected, and it doesn't mean your debt settlement plan is failing.

"The letters and the threats, they're really not the scariest part," Sheldon reassured listeners. "The scariest part is why you decided to do it in the first place"—being trapped in endless minimum payments with no escape plan.

Most debt settlement programs take four to six months before you start seeing actual settlements. During that time, you're saving money in a dedicated account while your debt settlement company negotiates with creditors. The temporary increase in collection pressure is worth enduring for long-term financial freedom.

You must still respond to lawsuits during debt settlement enrollment

Here's something crucial that many people don't realize: being enrolled in debt settlement doesn't protect you from lawsuits. Creditors can still sue you during the settlement process.

Take JD from Washington, who was being sued for $37,000 ($23,000 principal plus $14,000 in interest and fees). He had tried negotiating with the collection agency multiple times, but they demanded full payment and refused to work with him.

The most important step when you're sued is responding to the lawsuit—regardless of whether you're in debt settlement, planning to file bankruptcy, or trying to handle things yourself. If you don't respond, you'll lose by default, and the creditor can garnish your wages or freeze your bank accounts.

As George from Solo explained in the podcast, denying statements in a lawsuit isn't the same as saying they're false. You're simply refusing to admit the claims without proper evidence. This legal strategy preserves your right to defend yourself and negotiate a settlement.

Use SoloSuit to respond to debt collection lawsuits fast and protect your rights.

Debt settlement can resolve co-signed loans and student debt

Tom from Texas faced a particularly painful situation: he co-signed a private student loan for his nephew five years ago, and now the loan was in default with a $32,000 balance. The lender was threatening to report the delinquency on Tom's credit and garnish his wages.

Co-signed debts are especially tricky because you're legally responsible for the full amount, even if you never benefited from the loan. Tom had tried working with the lender, but they only offered an aggressive repayment schedule he couldn't afford on his fixed income.

The good news? Private student loans can be enrolled in debt settlement programs, unlike federal student loans. Companies like TurboDebt regularly help people settle co-signed debts, including private student loans, personal loans, and credit cards.

When facing an impossible repayment schedule, settlement often becomes the most realistic option for protecting your financial future.

Debt settlement is worth short-term credit damage for long-term freedom

One of the biggest mental hurdles people face with debt settlement is the impact on their credit scores. Our entire culture teaches us that maintaining good credit is paramount, but what happens when chasing good credit means sacrificing your retirement, your daily quality of life, and your financial security?

"Most people who do this are scared," Sheldon acknowledged, "but anything is better than making minimum payments for the rest of your life."

Here's the reality check: if you're already struggling with minimum payments, using credit cards for basic expenses, and watching your debt grow every month, your credit is heading downward anyway. The question becomes whether you want to control that decline through strategic debt settlement or let it happen slowly through missed payments, charge-offs, and eventual lawsuits.

Debt settlement will impact your credit in the short term, but it also gives you a clear path to financial recovery. Once your debts are settled, you can focus on rebuilding your credit from a position of strength rather than constantly playing defense against mounting balances.

Debt settlement offers a realistic path to financial freedom

Debt settlement isn't a magic wand, but it can be a powerful tool for people trapped in the minimum payment cycle. It works best when you have significant unsecured debt, can't afford your current payment obligations, and want to avoid bankruptcy.

The process requires patience—expect four to six months before seeing results—and you'll likely face increased collection activity during that time. But for people who qualify, settlement offers a realistic path to financial freedom without the long-term restrictions of bankruptcy.

Whether you work with a company like TurboDebt or handle negotiations yourself using SoloSettle, the key is taking action before your situation gets worse. Debt rarely improves on its own, especially in today's economic environment.

Ready to explore your options? You can negotiate directly with debt collectors using SoloSettle's secure platform, which connects you with collectors without the stress of phone calls.

For the complete conversation about debt settlement, including more listener questions and expert insights, you can listen to the full The Debt Hotline episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Understanding all your options is the first step toward reclaiming your financial future.

Transcript

George (01:36):

All right, folks. I am George, and this is the Debt Hotline with Solo. And we are here with my friend, Sheldon. Sheldon, can you go ahead and tell us a little bit about yourself?

Sheldon (01:49):

Sure. So I'm Sheldon Banker. I've been in the debt space for Debt Settlement Company for almost eight years now. So I've been with Turbo Debt since the very beginning. We've helped many, many thousands of people throughout the years. We've always taken an interest in really being able to get in there and helped people fix their lives.

George (02:12):

Fantastic. Big question for today is debt settlement right for you? So folks listening in, we're going to go ahead and help you figure out the answer to that question. Sheldon, what does Turbo Debt do exactly? How can Turbo Debt help?

Sheldon (02:28):

Yeah, so we're in the debt settlement space, right? And a typical client of ours has been struggling making minimum payments for typically many, many years, right? 2, 3, 4, maybe more years. And with everything going on in today's economy, rates going up, prices going up, but their finding is it's becoming harder and harder to just struggle to get by and make your minimum payments and without someone there to help people, eventually what's going to happen is three years is going to turn into five years. Five years is going to turn into seven years, and a lot of times if they don't do something to fix it, seven years is going to turn into a bankruptcy or just not being able to retire. Nothing really good happens when you carry a large debt load for a long time.

George (03:24):

So a question here from Patricia in Minnesota, I'm being sued for a payday loan that was bought out by a collection company. The original debt was $1,700, now it's up to $2,500. The court date is in one month, and I still settle out of court before my court date den. What's your take here?

Yeah, I mean, usually by the time there's a court date, it is a lot of times it's too late for most companies to do anything that's already worked its way through the system. They filed whatever they needed to file and now you're on your way to court. So my take is you're probably better off just calling the company ahead of time and getting a handle on it. Most debt settlement companies won't take something you've already been sued on. Oh, I apologize. Patricia, has she been to court? You said George?

George (04:18):

Yeah, she just got sued. Yep.

Sheldon (04:20):

So if she's already been to court, there's not much we can do. If it's before court, we can probably help.

George (04:25):

Right, and yeah, this is where we come into play. So Patricia, you can definitely use Solo to wrap this up. So we specialize in helping people who have been sued for debt and getting those cases resolved. We've helped people resolve over 3 billion in debt lawsuits. Over 300,000 people have trusted us with those resolutions. So you can use us to get that wrapped up. So you've been sued for a payday loan, it was bought out by a collection company. We see that kind of thing all the time, and now you're being sued for $2,500. The first step that you want to do, Patricia, is respond to the lawsuit. So you use our product solo suit to create a response and engage with the collector by creating your answer and then getting it filed in court. We make that real easy. Then you can use our product solo, settle to connect with the collector and get that thing settled with them and hopefully you won't have to show up to court.

Hopefully you'll be able to settle before you go to court. We have another question here from JD in Washington, I defaulted on a credit union credit card. The principal amount is $23,000. Last payment was 18 months ago, the debt was discharged and picked up by a debt collection agency. That collection agency has tacked on another $14,000 in interest payments. Jd, that's a lot of money. $14,000 an interest is a lot. Even for a $23,000 debt, I've made half a dozen offers to the credit agency to enter into a payment plan and they're demanding a lump sum payment in full as the only option they have now filed a lawsuit against me up here. I owe a response to the court next week, what options do I have? Should I respond and deny the debt is mine or should I admit it until the judge? I have tried numerous times to settle, but the collection agency refuses to negotiate.

I cannot afford pay this amount in full. So this one is dealing with a debt lawsuit again. So you're wondering what do you do? So you have $23,000 in principal, another 14,000 in interest. So you're being sued for $37,000 altogether. You have made quite a few offers. You've tried settling, neither you're being sued, wondering what to do. So denying a statement in a lawsuit isn't the same as saying that the statement is not true. So denying a loss a statement is not the same as saying that a statement is not true. So that's an important point here for you to consider. So if we look up the definition of deny in the Oxford dictionary, it says State that one refuses to admit the truth or existence thereof. It is not the same as saying a statement is not correct. So when you're denying something in a lawsuit, the reason why lawyers deny everything in a lawsuit isn't because everything is not true in the complaint document.

It's just that they're refusing to admit. So that's why you can just go ahead and deny things and then position yourself to get things settled is if you admit everything in the complaint against you, you're certainly just going to lose your case and then your wages will be garnished. And all that said, it's important to respond truthfully in these documents and pleadings. So what you do here, jd, is you respond, you create your answer document, you get it filed in court, you're letting people know that you can test if it makes you if more accurate, you can say you deny for lack of knowledge or you can just say, I don't know. Because oftentimes things can be a little bit unclear in the records here. So you can get the answer document generated and then you can file that in court and that puts you in a good position to settle and fully resolve the case. Anything you want to weigh in here with Sheldon?

Sheldon (08:50):

No, I mean I think you covered it right? By the time things are to court, it's just a different ballgame.

George (08:57):

Okay, so we have another question here from Theresa in Colorado, I'm in a debt relief program that takes most of my income, but I'm getting summons, threatening letters and demands for payment for the credit cards. I still have not been paid. How do I make deals with collection companies that want to sue me while I'm in this debt relief program? What's the best approach?

Sheldon (09:21):

So it really depends on how long you've been in it. So if it's something you've been in for a few months, maybe you're late. There's a lot of information I don't have with that statement, but a lot of times it's going to take four to six months to start seeing your debt. Settlement reasons like that are sometimes reasons people don't do it, but it's a part of what's going to happen. You're in a debt relief program, you've stopped making your payments. It's going to take a little bit to start structuring all the settlements and for you to save up enough money in order to get those settlements. And what these companies are doing is what they typically do. So if you've been in there for more than six months, you should start to be seeing settlements. And as you start getting settlements and start paying those off, eventually they'll get through to all of them.

But the letters and the threats, they're really not the scariest part. The scariest part is why you decided to do it in the first place. They go into a debt relief program, and that's the fact that you had all this debt. You are having trouble making your payments, you weren't going to be able to pay anyways and you didn't have a solution. Once you've been in there for long enough, what you're going to start seeing is you're going to start seeing the solution come to life, right? First you'll get a settlement on one, then a second one, and eventually you'll get settlements on all of them. Don't let the letters and the calls deter you from your main goal. Theresa.

George (10:56):

Fantastic. Yeah, Sheldon. I mean, tell us more about that. Why do people enroll in the debt settlement program? What is the scariest part but they're trying to avoid here? Maybe you could give us a little more content.

Sheldon (11:07):

So look, most people who call us, like I said, have been dealing with this for years. Their income's not increasing. Their debt load's increasing every year, every month. So every month their bills are getting a little bit harder to pay. And most people can see the writing on the wall. Your debt can't keep going up and your income stay the same and you still be able to long-term make your payments. Forget about ever knocking the balances down. These people are living paycheck to paycheck, and that's the worst part for them right now. You have absolutely zero way to ever get out of this. And even if you made minimum payments for 20 years, the only way these cards would be paid off is if you never use them again. And by the time you're in that situation, the reality is many people are using their credit cards just to get by with groceries or gas or pay their electric bill.

There's really no way out of it. So going into any sort of debt settlement program, the fear is for these people who have been told their entire life, you have to pay your bills, you have to have good credit, you have to have good credit. But what happens is they keep chasing good credit and paying their bills, and every time they pay the bill, what's happening is their retirement has less money. Their day-to-day life has less money, and the only way to perpetuate it is to continue to put money on there. And it's just not a winning situation for anyone long term to give up your retirement or your savings or the way you want to live just to be able to buy groceries. So keeping up on the credit, this whole thing is what, or borrowing more money to try and keep up on the credit. More of the problem is just never the solution in any walk of life. And most people who do this are scared, but anything is better than making minimum payments for the rest of your life.

George (13:19):

Yeah, it's a real thing. How do you think about people choosing between bankruptcy and debt settlement? When should somebody go into a debt settlement program? When should somebody's going into bankruptcy in your mind?

Sheldon (13:30):

Look, I think there's a right solution for everyone. There's no perfect solutions in the debt space. It doesn't matter what you do, it just what's best for the client. Look, if someone's got an obscene amount of medical bills, you have 400,000 in medical bills from some life flight trip, they're never going to pay that off, and they're probably not going to be able to pay that off. With a death settlement company, a huge payment to pay something off that's more than you make is not a reality. So if it's something that would be impossible for them ever to pay off, bankruptcy can be the right choice in a lot of choices. If it's something where you're fumbling and you could make it, if only your payments weren't $2,000 a month, if your payments were whatever cut in half and now all of a sudden that gives you enough money to pay your bills and live your life and knock this off in three or four years, that's going to be a better situation. Most people are going to get a chapter 13 bankruptcy and you give up a lot of your life control by going to a chapter 13 bankruptcy, right? You're under the thumb of a trustee and you start making more money, you start paying more money. But bankruptcy is always kind of the nuclear option, but it's still right for some people. It just depends on where they're at financially and how much in bills they have.

George (15:02):

Great. Well, we have another question from someone who left us a voicemail on our hotline.

Guest #1: Ry (15:11):

Hello, my name is Ry. I am in the state of Georgia. My debt question today is with reference to debt settlement, I wanted to know what will be the best strategy to use if I'm contacting debt collectors in reference to settling accounts. For example, I have different credit cards that have gone into collections. Some have been charged off. I would like to pay everything off. However, I know I don't have all the funds available, so I'm going to do this one by one. But what could I ask for? What could I state in order to get them to settle for a significant amount less than what is actually owed?

Sheldon (15:58):
Hello, Ry. So look, you can always do a debt settlement by yourself. Everyone can do anything by themselves. One of the benefits of using a big company is that they have negotiating power, right? When you're dealing with billions of dollars of debt annually, you have back roads into these companies. To me, with the fact that you haven't paid, these companies are most likely going to accept something because it's better than nothing. And what they're going to do with the money they get is they're going to loan it out to the next person at 29.9% a PR. So you can call 'em, they're going to be pretty amenable to doing any sort of settlement because you haven't paid them in so long. And it sounds like everything's in collections. But my recommendation is always to have professionals do it for you. It's a lot of stress and it's a lot of time to go through and do this all on your own. And if there's 10 or 15, you're dealing with 10 or 15 different people, 10 or 15 different yeses, it can be very overwhelming to do on your own.

George (17:14):

That's pretty fair. It totally can be. It can be very overwhelming. I think a lot of people will think about calling the collector as probably the most terrifying call of their entire lives. So they really want to avoid it, and it can be painful. I think when I was just speaking with somebody last week, a friend of mine who had a broken leg slipped, broke their leg, went to the hospital, didn't have health insurance, went to the er, ended up being a week long visit in the hospital, gets out the hospital, they tell her that now she owes her the hospital $50,000 that she never agreed to pay anybody $50,000. She agreed. They never told her how much it would cost. Let's get done with the service. All of a sudden it's 50 K, and then she's been trying to call the hospital multiple times, sent them letters, and never get back to her, cannot get through to them.

It's really a frustrating experience that we hear from consumers frequently that I've been trying to talk to the collector for months, but the collector never responds to them. And then for us at Solo, we really work with collectors and consumers quite a bit. So we maintain great relationships with collectors. And something that we hear from collectors oftentimes is we've been trying to reach to this consumer all the time repeatedly, we just try to contact the consumer, but they never go back to us. So that's one of the reasons why we exist as solo. We're positioned as a trusted mediator between the consumer and the collector, working in tandem with everybody to get things resolved. That's a key point. So if you're using solo settle, we maintain good relationships with the collectors. So you can just figure out what you can pay on the debt, select the resolution plan, and get things wrapped up.

Sheldon (19:14):

Nothing scarier than getting a $50,000 bill or a $20,000 bill that you have no idea in the world for how to handle because no one taught us that portion of the playbook our entire lives. And you do the best they can trying to get ahold of one hospital collector or a small group of people to resolve it, and they have 40,000 other accounts.

George (19:41):

Right? That's for sure. That is for sure. And folks, a lot of people come to solo when they're being sued for a debt, which is really rock bottom. It's kind of like the end of the debt journey or the debt cycle. And we help people bounce all the way back from rock bottom. So we point people to our solo steps or getting back on the right track. So step one is respond to your lawsuit. Step two is settle your lawsuit. Look at that immediate intense pain point fully wrapped up. Step three is settle your other debts that you might have. You can settle all of those. You can enroll with somebody like Turbo Debt. You can use something like Solar Settle to get your debts wrapped up. And then from there, you want to make a one K stash, start saving some money. Make sure you have money in the bank when you need it most. And then five, increase income. Get to a point where you can automate investments into index funds. Equity is really the biggest driver of wealth in the US. Index funds in an easy way to own a part of every company that's publicly traded within the us. And then from there, you want to boost your credit score to 800 or above a 50 is the perfect credit score, only know of one person who's ever achieved it, but you can certainly get up to seven 50 and then 800 and beyond that. And then step seven here is continue to prosper, and we can help you with all of that here at solo. So that is a quick rundown, Sheldon, again, again, on debt settlement, right? Sometimes people, I think wonder is, even if they're not deciding on bankruptcy, even if they're just considering debt settlement, where's the minimum limit for somebody to sign up for debt settlement is somebody who has $3,000 credit card bill and that's all they have, but they're a little bit worried about us getting cut out of hand. Are they a good candidate for debt settlement at that point?

Sheldon (21:52):

So typically the minimum is about $7,500. Once again, wet want to be charging fees for someone on $3,000, or there's a point where it doesn't really make sense to have a company. And if you're under $7,500, it's not really going to make sense. Once you get over that threshold, it is where it starts to make sense.

George (22:21):

Right? So above 7,500, all right, we have Tom in Texas, I co-signed a private student loan for my nephew five years ago. He stopped making payments last year, and now the loan is in default with a balance of $32,000. The lender has started contacting me directly threatening to report the delinquency on my credit card or on my credit report rather, and garnish wages. If I don't begin payments. I've reached out to them asking for options, but they're only offering an aggressive repayment schedule that I cannot manage on my fixed income. I haven't missed any payments on my own obligations, and I'm worried this will ruin my credit. Sounds like a bummer, Tom, with your nephew, what can I do to protect myself and avoid defaulting on this loan.

Sheldon (23:14):

So look, I mean to me, based on what you're saying, Tom, it sounds like default is inevitable at this point, right? You said you're not going to be able to afford the aggressive terms that they're offering, and if you can't afford it, you can't afford it and trying to afford something that you simply can't afford by giving up any sort of financial security or deciding to take a bite out of your food budget, it just has never made sense to put yourself behind. And it is sad that your nephew defaulted, but there's no reason for you to put yourself in a position that you are not going to be able to maintain long-term and that it sounds like you're never going to be able to do it long enough to pay it off. So that's a situation where we're at Turboed, we would help someone. Once again, you have some negotiating power when you're negotiating on billions of dollars versus when you're a single person that they're scaring into telling you this, right? It's the perfect time to have someone on your side to help you out.

George (24:32):

Is this something that Tom could enroll in TurboDebt? Private student loans are enrollable, right?

Sheldon (24:37):

Yeah. And then, look, Tom did the right thing. He was a good uncle, right? He helped his nephew out. Go to school, and that's a situation we see people in all the time, right? You're trying to do a good thing for a good person, and sometimes things just go sideways, but there's really no reason to let that hang over your head without calling a company like Turboed. We can do something that maybe you can't, and if you know the end game right now is the only option they're giving you is you not going to be able to afford it, they're not giving you an option,

George (25:22):

That's for sure. Well, folks, that's what we have time for today. This is the Debt Hotline. I'm George, and we've been talking with Sheldon with Turbo Debts Den Rick, and people will find out more about Turbo debt

Sheldon (25:36):

Turbo debt.com.

George (25:38):

Nice turbo debt.com. If you are being sued for debt or you just have a debt that you want to get settled, you can come on to solicit.com and just click reply to a debt lawsuit and we will help you go along. We'll just ask you a few questions. You'll be able to create your response and get it settled. You'll see Solos Independence giveaway, which is our giveaway for the month of July, celebrating the 4th of July, and freedom from Debt. You will be able to win $4,700 if you just go here and sign up. That's it for the debt hotline. Take care.

Disclaimer: The information presented in this podcast is intended strictly for general informational purposes and should not be construed as legal, financial, or investment advice. Solo and its hosts are not licensed attorneys, financial advisors, or other certified professionals. While select guests may hold active professional licenses, their contributions are purely for educational thematic discussion. They're not delivering professional or personalized advice. Solo is not a law firm, does not offer legal representation and must not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal counsel. It is also not engaged in debt, settlement, credit repair, or financial counseling services. Solo provides self-directed software tools designed to support users in navigating their own legal and financial situations. Participation in this podcast is not establish an attorney-client relationship. Listeners are encouraged to consult with attorneys or licensed professionals for guidance specific to their circumstances. The opinions expressed by podcast participants are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or official positions of SoloSuit Inc. Doing business as Solo or any affiliated organizations.

How to Answer a Summons for debt collection in all 50 states

Here's a list of guides on how to respond to a debt collection lawsuit in each state:

The Ultimate 50 State Guide

Guides on how to resolve debt with every debt collector

Are you being sued by a debt collector? We’re making guides on how to resolve debt with each one.

Resolve your debt with your creditor

Some creditors, banks, and lenders have an internal collections department. If they come after you for a debt, Solosuit can still help you respond and resolve the debt. Here’s a list of guides on how to resolve debt with different creditors.

Settle your medical debt

Having a health challenge is stressful, but dealing medical debt on top of it is overwhelming. Here are some resources on how to manage medical debt.

Guides on arbitration

If the thought of going to court stresses you out, you’re not alone. Many Americans who are sued for credit card debt utilize a Motion to Compel Arbitration to push their case out of court and into arbitration.

Below are some resources on how to use an arbitration clause to your advantage and win a debt lawsuit.

Stop calls from debt collectors

Do you keep getting calls from an unknown number, only to realize that it’s a debt collector on the other line? If you’ve been called by any of the following numbers, chances are you have collectors coming after you, and we’ll tell you how to stop them.

Federal debt collection laws can protect you

Knowing your rights makes it easier to stand up for your rights. Below, we’ve compiled all our articles on federal debt collection laws that protect you from unfair practices.

Get debt relief in your state

We’ve created a specialized guide on how to find debt relief in all 50 states, complete with steps to take to find relief, state-specific resources, and more.

Debt collection laws in all 50 states

Debt collection laws vary by state, so we have compiled a guide to each state’s debt collection laws to make it easier for you to stand up for your rights—no matter where you live.

Statute of limitations on debt state guides

Like all debt collection laws, the statute of limitations on debt varies by state. So, we wrote a guide on each state’s statutes. Check it out below.

Statute of Limitations on Debt Collection by State (Best Guide)

Check the status of your court case

Don’t have time to go to your local courthouse to check the status of your case? We’ve created a guide on how to check the status of your case in every state, complete with online search tools and court directories.

How to stop wage garnishment in your state

Forgot to respond to your debt lawsuit? The judge may have ordered a default judgment against you, and with a default judgment, debt collectors can garnish your wages. Here are our guides on how to stop wage garnishment in all 50 states.

How to settle a debt in your state

Debt settlement is one of the most effective ways to resolve a debt and save money. We’ve created a guide on how to settle your debt in all 50 states. Find out how to settle in your state with a simple click and explore other debt settlement resources below.

How to settle with every debt collector

Not sure how to negotiate a debt settlement with a debt collector? We are creating guides to help you know how to start the settlement conversation and increase your chances of coming to an agreement with every debt collector.

Other debt settlement resources

Personal loan and debt relief reviews

We give a factual review of the following debt consolidation, debt settlement, and loan organizations and companies to help you make an informed decision before you take on a debt.

Civil law legal definitions

You can represent yourself in court. Save yourself the time and cost of finding an attorney, and use the following resources to understand legal definitions better and how they may apply to your case.

Get answers to these FAQs on debt collection

How-to debt guides

Learn more with these additional debt resources

Contents

Contents

Contents