On behalf of Kazerouni Law Group, APC posted in Consumer Protection on Wednesday, December 6, 2017.
If you have been ignoring collection calls from your credit card company, you may think they will eventually stop. However, this may result in your creditor bringing a lawsuit against you. If a judge rules in favor of your credit card issuer, your money and property could be at risk. You may even have to cover the court expenses.
You may want to shut down and ignore the lawsuit, but this is not a good idea. Do not automatically let the creditor get a favorable judgment. Read below for some steps you should take when you get the news that your creditor is suing you.
1. If you owe and the amount is legitimate, try to pay it off
If you acknowledge that you have unpaid debt and the amount specified in the documents is correct, you may be able to get enough cash together to immediately repay most-if not all-of it. Talk to a family member or friend to see if you can get a loan. If you can do this, make sure you get your creditor to document the fact that the company will drop the lawsuit in exchange for your payment.
2. Look for mistakes
What happens if the amount your creditor is trying to collect is not correct? Check out the notice for anything that is amiss. Maybe your creditor has not corrected a disputed purchase or you are a victim of fraudulent charges. Whatever the case is, make sure you look closely at the amount the company wants to collect.
3. Get legal representation
If your creditor will not revoke the lawsuit despite payment or you are not responsible for the debt, you should fight back with the help of a consumer law attorney. According to ABC News, a consumer law attorney may discover that you are the victim of creditor harassment. With a viable defense, you may be able to get your creditor to drop the lawsuit.