The first step is do you recognize the debt? Do you recognize the creditor?
The first step of a credit card lawsuit is for the creditor to file a Complaint. The complaint describes the basis of the claim, tells you who owns the debt and how much they allege you owe. Although credit cards have high interest and late fees, the amount still should be an amount that you recognize. The party suing is called the Plaintiff and the party being sued is the defendant.
You may not recognize the Plaintiff. The plaintiff may be a debt buyer or collection agency. If it is a creditor you do not recognize, at trial, it will be an obligation of the creditor to establish they appropriately acquired the debt from the original creditor. Creditors sometimes sue the wrong person, sometimes there is identity theft, invalid charges, disputed amounts.
Our team of debt defense professionals can evaluate the credit card claim against you and provide you options for winning your credit card lawsuit. It is important in any case with a creditor that you force the creditor to establish its right to sue. This means making the creditor prove the amount they allege you owe and prove they are the correct party to sue you.
Many times the creditors lack this vital information when filing a credit card collection lawsuit. Many creditors hope that you simply do nothing when served with a credit card lawsuit. If you do nothing, this allows the debt collector to get a default judgment. If a creditor has a judgment this is when they can make other collection efforts like garnishing a bank account or putting a lien against a house. Defending a lawsuit can prevent a judgment from occurring.
We defend clients against credit card lawsuits and force the debt collectors and debt buyers to prove their case against you. If the creditor fails to prove the case the entire debt can be forgiven. Call our office for a free credit card lawsuit case evaluation.
If you have any questions about the topic discussed in this article, or any bankruptcy law matter, please give us a call at Bononi & Company 724-832-2499.