How to Win a Credit One Bank Lawsuit

George Simons | October 19, 2022

If you are the swimmer, and Credit One Bank is the gator, then SoloSuit is the Elbow-Drop Guy.

Summary: Credit One Bank is a credit card company that is known for charges random fees and high interest rates. When you fail to pay off your Credit One card, the account may be sold to a debt collector. If the collector sues you, the first step to beating them in court is to respond. Use SoloSuit to draft and file an Answer to a debt collection lawsuit against Credit One Bank.

So, you are living your life doing the best you can, when suddenly you are served a Summons to appear in court. Now, what do you do? Clearly, time is of the essence. That much you know but what actions do you take? Whatever you decide to do, you must understand how critically important the decisions you make will be in the outcome of the lawsuit.

The first step is to know the company that is filing suit against you. If Credit One is the creditor that has taken action against you, it is imperative that you gather as much knowledge as you can on them. Knowing your rights can prove to be the best defense if you ever find yourself with a debt collection Summons in hand.

In this article, we will discuss some of the debt collection tactics used by companies like Credit One and how to win a lawsuit against them.

Let’s jump right in.

Who is Credit One Bank?

Credit One Bank is one of the leading financial services companies in the credit card industry. Credit One tends to specialize in providing credit cards to consumers that have less than stellar credit scores. They charge higher interest rates because they generally approve consumers with some shaky credit history. Credit One also charges higher than normal annual fees. So, consumers who acquire a Credit One Bank credit card start paying higher fees and interests than other credit cards.

Credit One Financial is located in Las Vegas, Nevada and is incorporated in the state and they have been in good standing since 1998. They are not a third party collection agency or a debt buyer, they are in the business of issuing credit cards for all consumers they approve. Because they will consider approving a credit card to people with credit scores as low as 370, there may be a higher than usual number of uncollected accounts.

Because Credit One Bank caters to consumers with lower credit scores, their customers may have a higher probability to default on the card balance. This is when Credit One’s collection department comes in and the possibility of a Credit One Bank lawsuit becomes real. Once the collection effort is exhausted, Credit One Bank has to determine if the defaulted balance warrants further legal action.

If you need to reach Credit One about a debt you owe, you can use the following contact information:

Credit One Bank
P.O. Box 98873
Las Vegas, NV 89193-8873
1-877-825-3242

Credit One Bank has bad reviews and gets lots of complaints

The collection department of Credit One Bank has a history of harassing phone calls and communications to their past due consumers. As of 2022, the Better Business Bureau has reported over 1,400 complaints against Credit One Bank in the last three years. The majority of these complaints were a result of the actions taken by Credit One Bank collections department. Similarly, Credit One Bank only has a 1.2 rating out of five stars with Consumer Affairs, based on nearly 150 reviews.

Since agencies like the BBB and Consumer Affairs are transparent about the complaints they have received, these websites can be useful in gathering information about Credit One and the Credit One Bank lawsuit filed against you.

For example, let’s take a look at a real complaint from the Credit One’s BBB profile (edited for clarity):

“I received this card about a year ago to help rebuild my credit. In the beginning, everything was fine. I made payments on time, and there was no issue. About 4 to 5 months ago I started to have financial issues. The company reported this after 1 month of a missed payment and my credit score went down over 50 points. They have harassed me repeatedly and called 8 to 9 times a day. As of today, my balance is $490. and some change. I had a 300.00 credit limit. I was told today 8/15/2022 that the account was CLOSED. I was also informed by a representative that I still owe money every month. How is this possible if the account is CLOSED?”

As you can see from these complaints and others, Credit One Bank is infamous for charging extra fees, sometimes repeatedly and unexplained. Fees plus high interest rates can be bad news for consumers like you. Luckily, you have rights that can protect you.

You have rights that can help you fight a Credit One Bank debt

Since Credit One is not a debt collection agency, it is not governed by the obligations listed under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). However, if the debt account is transferred or sold to a third-party debt collection agency, the following rules apply:

Debt collectors cannot call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
Debt collectors cannot threaten to arrest you.
Debt collectors cannot use vulgar or intimidating language to get you to pay off a debt.
Debt collectors cannot threaten to harm you or members of your family physically or financially.
Debt collectors cannot call you at your workplace.
Debt collectors cannot discuss your debt with your family members or friends.
Debt collectors cannot threaten to take legal action that they cannot, or do not plan to, take.

If a debt collector is contacting you about an old debt with Credit One, keep a record of all your communications with the collector. If they use any of the methods listed above, you may be entitled to compensation of up to $1,000 per FDCPA violation. Several consumers have filed a Credit One Bank lawsuit to fight for their rights in court. Let’s explore some class action lawsuits against Credit One.

Credit One Bank class action lawsuit

Credit One is notorious for ignoring consumer complaints and requests to validate debt amounts and information. In fact, Credit One has been involved in several class action lawsuits over the past ten years. Here are some examples of Credit One Bank class action lawsuits:

Credit One uses outdated contact information, mistakenly calling minors in an attempt to collect on a delinquent account.
Credit one ignores identity theft reports and other credit disputes, causing consumers to have major issues with their credit.
Credit One sells charged-off debt accounts to collection agencies, even if the account is fraudulent.
Credit One uses pre-recorded messaging and automatic telephone dialing systems to contact customers via phone, even after formal requests to stop such communications. This is a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
Credit One calls people who do not have a card with them and ignores their requests to stop.

As you can see, some of Credit One Bank’s attempts to collect debt are sketchy and unfair. Let’s consider a real example.

Example: In class action lawsuit, Caccamise v. Credit One Bank, N.A. et al, Jordan Caccamise’s identity was stolen when a Credit One card was opened in her name. Jordan’s credit score dropped as a result, so she filed several disputes of fraudulent accounts and credit inquiries with Credit One Bank. However, Credit ignored the disputes and continued to pursue Jordan for the fraudulent debts incurred and to report the information to the credit bureaus. Eventually, Credit One sold the charged-off debt account to a debt collection agency, further damaging Jordan’s credit.

Clearly, Credit One doesn’t have the best track record in dealing with consumer debt accounts. If you owe a debt to Credit One, there is a chance they will sue you for it or sell it to a debt collection agency. When you get sued for a Credit One Bank debt, you can fight back and win. Here’s how.

Why is Credit One Bank suing me?

There are several reasons that Credit One Bank might be suing you, but the most likely case is that you owe an unpaid credit card debt.

If you ever took out a credit card with Credit One and defaulted on your payments, there is a good chance they will start calling, emailing, and sending letters to you about the unpaid balance. If you let several months go by without paying off your credit card balance, there is an even better chance that Credit One will charge-off the account and sell it to a debt collection agency.

Ignoring a debt collection lawsuit is the worst option you have. Luckily, with SoloSuit, you can answer a Credit One Bank lawsuit in minutes.

Respond to a Credit One Bank Lawsuit

Getting sued is scary. You will receive a court Summons and Complaint in the mail. The Summons notifies you of the lawsuit, while the Complaint lists the specific claims against you.

The first step to winning a Credit One Bank lawsuit is to respond to the Summons and Complaint. You have up to 35 days, depending on where you live, to respond. Follow these three steps make an Answer to your debt collection lawsuit against Credit One Bank:

Respond to every paragraph in the Complaint.
Assert your affirmative defenses.
File the Answer with the court and the plaintiff.

Below, we will break down each step in detail. Don’t like reading? Check out this video instead:

1. Respond to every paragraph in the Complaint

The Complaint includes several numbered paragraphs that lay out the lawsuit against you. For debt collection cases, there are usually between 10 and 30 numbered paragraphs. Read each paragraph and decide how you want to respond. You should respond in one of three ways:

Admit. Admit the paragraph if you agree with everything in the paragraph.
Deny. Deny the paragraph if you want to make the debt collector prove that it is true.
Deny due to lack of knowledge. This is a lawyerly way of saying “I don't know.” Choose this option if you don't understand the paragraph or if you don't have the information needed to respond to it.

Choose one of these responses and write it into your Answer after the corresponding paragraph number.

Many attorneys recommend denying everything to force the other side to prove everything. This is a good strategy in many cases.

2. Assert your affirmative defenses

An “affirmative defense” is a reason why Credit One Bank or a debt collector doesn't have a case; it is your defense against the lawsuit. You must list these defenses in your Answer otherwise, you can't bring them up later. That's right, asserting your affirmative defenses is a once in a lifetime opportunity: if you don't bring them up now, you are legally prohibited from bringing them up later. Many online forms don't help you assert your affirmative defenses, SoloSuit does.

Here are some of the more common defenses we see:

The account with the debt is not your account.
The contract was already canceled. Therefore you don't owe the creditor anything.
The statute of limitations has expired. A statute of limitations is a law that sets a deadline on an action.
The debt has been paid or excused.
The debt has been partially paid.
You were a co-signer but were not informed of your rights as a co-signer.

These are a few of the many affirmative defenses. Being unable to pay the debt is not normally a legal defense to the debt.

3. File the Answer with the court and the plaintiff

Once you have created your Answer, responded to the paragraphs in the Complaint, and asserted your affirmative defenses, you are ready for the final step: file your Answer. The Answer document by itself is worthless unless you file it properly. Otherwise, it's like doing homework and not turning it in. SoloSuit takes care of this for you so you don't have to worry about buying a printer and figuring out whether you need Certified Mail or Priority Mail at the Post Office.

Here's what you need to do to file your answer.

Print two copies of your Answer.
Mail one copy to the court.
Mail the other copy to the plaintiff's attorney.

The address for the attorney will be in the Summons and Complaint you received in the mail. But where is the address for the Court? Good question, most Summons don't list the address of the Court. And the mailing address is often different from the physical address of the court listed on Google. With SoloSuit, we figure all of that out for you and make sure your Answer gets to the right place.

Affirmative defenses will help you fight Credit One Bank

If you respond to the lawsuit from Credit One Bank, it is important to make your affirmative defenses. Affirmative defenses are your defenses: reasons why Credit One should lose the lawsuit.

This is your right to be heard. To explain why this lawsuit has no merit. You can answer the allegations in the Summons to bring to light any errors, inconsistencies or shortcomings alleged by Credit One Bank. They brought on this suit, and they are the side that is making allegations. As such, the burden of proof is on them.

Credit One must prove that you incurred the debt. They must show that you are responsible for the debt and that any amounts shown in the lawsuit are correct. Since they have the burden of proof, you or your attorney must demand that Credit One Bank produce the irrefutable documentation that you are the person responsible for the debt, They must prove that Credit One Bank has legal standing to file the lawsuit against you and that you owe the exact specific amount listed in their Complaint.

Requesting evidence to establish these basic facts is important because it is not uncommon for these credit card issuers to sue the wrong person or file their complaint beyond the statute of limitations.

Make the right affirmative defense the right way with SoloSuit.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to fight debt collectors.

You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, to send letters to collectors, and even to settle a debt.

SoloSuit's Answer service is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your Answer. Upon completion, we'll have an attorney review your document and we'll file it for you.

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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>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate