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How To Win a Mariner Finance Lawsuit

George Simons | December 06, 2023

George Simons
Co-Founder of SoloSuit
George Simons, JD/MBA

George Simons is the co-founder and CEO of SoloSuit. He has helped Americans protect over $1 billion from predatory debt lawsuits. George graduated from BYU Law school in 2020 with a JD-MBA. In his spare time, George likes to cook, because he likes to eat.

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.

Fact-checked by Patrick Austin, J.D.

Patrick Austin
Attorney from George Mason
Patrick Austin, JD

Patrick Austin is a licensed attorney with a background in data privacy and information security law. Patrick received his law degree at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief for the National Security Law Journal.

Summary: Sued for a debt by Mariner Finance? This guide is for you. Use SoloSuit to respond in 15 minutes and win your lawsuit.

If you find yourself holding a legal summons because Mariner Finance is suing you, don 't worry. Sure, easy from the outside looking in to say this but worrying or exhibiting immobilizing fear in this situation is absolutely the wrong thing for you to do.

What is the right thing to do, you ask? Take action. You have to know that you have legal rights in this situation. Every jurisdiction has different time requirements but they all provide only a limited amount of time for you to protect your rights.

Now that you are prepared to take decisive action, where do you begin? You will begin to develop your legal strategy on how to defend yourself in this lawsuit. You can choose to do nothing, but taking action will provide you with the real possibilities of a better outcome.

The best place to start is to find out everything you can about Mariner Finance. Who they are and what they do. Gathering this information on Mariner Finance will be a priority.

What is Mariner Finance?

Providing personal loans, automobile loans, and even mortgages are the bulk of Mariner Finance's business. The headquarters is located in Nottingham, Maryland but Mariner Finance has close to 500 branch offices nationwide. With that large number of offices, virtually anyone in the country that has done business with Mariner is susceptible to be named in a suit if their loan is behind or in default.

In addition to the mortgages and loans described above, Mariner Finance also is involved in the payday loan industry. Any finance company that has been in business for some time will generate complaints. They may even be sued themselves if their actions are severe enough.

Debt collection is a well-regulated industry. Local, state, and federal agencies hold debt collectors, collection agencies, collection law firms, and finance companies accountable for every phone call, letter and text they may send. So, complaints become a fairly regular occurrence for some in the business of collecting debt.

Mariner Finance reviews

Mariner Finance has not only had its share of complaints, but they have also had a class-action suit filed against them. Mariner had to pay a $1.5 million settlement in that suit. Gathering information on Mariner can only help in your defense to fight this lawsuit.

What happens if you don't pay Mariner Finance?

As the loan originator, Mariner Finance has two choices to make if you have an account with them. If the loan is being paid timely, the choice by Mariner will be to keep working the account with their in house collection staff. This also is the protocol if the payments aren't exactly timely but the consumer is communicating with them and making fairly regular payments.

The next option for Mariner occurs when the customer stops payments altogether. You see, if a consumer stops paying, then Mariner has to decide how they are going to get paid. The main factor in the decision they take will be the balance on the account. If the balance is small, they can charge off the account. Sure, they can outsource the account to a collection agency, continue to work it in house or close it and throw it on the pile of their unpaid accounts.

However, if the balance is sufficient enough, Mariner Finance will decide to take legal action. If they take this drastic action against you, it will be a matter of time before you are served with a summons. This is formally known as the Complaint. It would be completely understandable to panic at this time, but don't.

There is work for you to do and there is a limited amount of time in which to do what needs to be done in your best interests.

Why you need to respond to a Mariner Finance lawsuit

Aside from the fact that every one of us has the legal right to fight a lawsuit against us, the worst thing a consumer can do is to ignore the Complaint. Some of you may be thinking that you are not an attorney — that you don't have the first clue as to what you should do. Know that SoloSuit can help you.

The lawsuit, formally known as the Complaint, has language in it that alleges everything Mariner Finance believes about you and this debt. You have the right to answer every single allegation made against you. These answers are known by the legal term, Affirmative Defenses. This is how you can protect your rights.

Failure to respond will most likely lead to Mariner filing a motion with the court to secure a summary judgment. Understand that if you choose not to respond, the court assumes you agree with everything stipulated by Mariner Finance. If the court agrees with their motion for a summary judgment, it's game over. The court will grant this motion and Mariner can begin to collect on that judgment. There are several ways that Mariner can attempt to collect from you with this judgment. They can attempt to garnish your paycheck. They can freeze your bank accounts or even place a lien on any and all personal property. Do not let this happen to you. Take action and respond to the Complaint.

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

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit: A Student Solution To Give Utah Debtors A Fighting Chance

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