What To Do if You Are Being Sued by a Debt Collector
Life has a
button®.
Recent Blogs
- Why You Should Never File Bankruptcy Pro Se
- Frequently Asked Questions About Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
- Orlando Garnishment Defense
- Orlando and Kissimmee Residents Turning to Bankruptcy for Relief Amid Debt Crisis: How Benenati Law Firm Can Help
- What is Bankruptcy?
- Don’t Fall for Debt Relief Scams
- How Are SBA, EIDL, and PPP Loans Treated in a Bankruptcy?
- Busting the Biggest Bankruptcy Myths
- The Rise of Online Sports Betting and How Gamblers are Turning to Bankruptcy
- Things to Know Before You File Bankruptcy
I don’t judge my clients or why it wasn’t paid. My focus is on what are we going to do now to resolve it.
So who is suing? Everyone. American Express. Discover Bank. Bank of America. Capital One lawsuits are very common. Then you have lawsuits from Portfolio Recovery, Midland Funding, CACH LLC, LVNV Funding, Cavalry SPV, and the list goes on and on. These are debt purchasers. As a debt lawsuit attorney, I represent clients in all of these lawsuits and have done so for over ten years.
Being served and what to do
So the day comes and you get served with a lawsuit. It is not pleasant because a process server or even a police officer doing some moonlighting will knock on your door. If someone over the age of 15 years old answers the door and says you live there, the process server will hand it to the person and thus; the law firm has properly effectuated service. If you have not been served and instead, you get a lawsuit in the mail, that is not proper service and you can ignore it. If you get a business card from a process server or a certified letter receipt waiting for you at the post office, you can ignore it. You may not want to ignore it if you want to resolve the matter quickly. My suggestion is this is when you should call me to discuss the pros and cons of whether you should get attorney representation for the lawsuit or consider filing bankruptcy. Often times, being sued for a debt is a sign of other things to come. Sometimes it makes more sense to wipe out all your debts while keeping your cars and house.
If you decide to fight the lawsuit, and the lawsuit is over $5,000, you will have a 20-day deadline to file a response to the lawsuit. Writing a letter saying you couldn’t pay because you lost a job or someone became ill is NOT a proper response and actually will serve as admitting the debt and making the job a lot easier for the law firm suing you. I recommend you hire a lawyer to handle this matter. We typically work with these debt collectors daily and can try to obtain the best possible outcome for you.
Don’t wait…Restart Your Life Today!
Going to court and what to expect
If the lawsuit is less than $5,000, you will have a scheduled pretrial conference that you will have to attend. We can appear for you and often charge less than you think for these small claims lawsuits. If you decide to attend, depending on what county you are in, will meet with a mediator and someone from the law firm suing you. Usually, they appear either over the phone or they have a lawyer that is “covering” for them in person. Can you imagine this debt collection law firm has put you through so much stress and they don’t even show up to the hearing and instead hire some other person to show up? Real nice!
At that point, you will enter into negotiations on whether you can pay, how much you can pay, and when you can pay every month for the debt. You do not have to agree. If you do not agree, depending on what county, you may be sent to the judge or most likely, a trial date will be set in front of a judge – not a jury. If you enter into a settlement agreement, I strongly suggest you demand not to pay any interest on the monthly payment. They will have you sign the stipulated settlement agreement and you will be on your way.
GETTING SERVED WITH A LAWSUIT BEFORE YOUR BANKRUPTCY IS FILED
Lawsuits happen regularly in the months before filing bankruptcy. When a creditor serves you with court papers that start a lawsuit, if you are a client with our firm for bankruptcy, once you are paid in full and your bankruptcy is filed, this debt will be wiped out in almost all cases. You may file a response requesting more time (below). We do not file responses in these lawsuits, nor we do not make any court appearances as this is not covered in your bankruptcy contract and would require a separate debt lawsuit fee and signed contract.
What happens if you ignore the lawsuit? That depends on how long you take to get your bankruptcy filed. Once you file your bankruptcy, we will file a pleading in your state court case titled a Suggestion of Bankruptcy, that will in most instances, take care of the lawsuit and the plaintiff will no longer be able to collect from you.
If you feel more comfortable to file your own response to the lawsuit before your bankruptcy is filed, as a courtesy, we have provided this online resource, a generic response that may help give you additional time to complete the bankruptcy process. We make no guarantees and are not engaging in representing you in this or any other separate matter without a signed contract. We are providing this as a resource for the public.
This is only for lawsuits that require a response in 20 days. It is not for a scheduled pre-trial conference (small-claims cases)
See attachments below:
Motion to Enlarge Time to File Response Instructions
Motion for Extension to File Response Form
REMEMBER, IF YOU RECEIVED A LAWSUIT, YOU ARE THE DEFENDANT AND THE COMPANY SUING YOU IS THE PLAINTIFF. ONCE YOU PRINT AND FILE THIS AS PRO SE DEFENDANT (REPRESENTING YOURSELF IN COURT WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE OF A LAWYER), IT SHOULD GIVE YOU ADDITIONAL TIME TO COMPLETE YOUR BANKRUPTCY PROCESS WITH OUR FIRM IF YOU ARE ON A PAYMENT PLAN. MAKE SURE YOU MAIL A COPY TO THE RESPECTIVE CLERK OF COURT ADDRESS PROVIDED OR PREFERABLY, HAND DELIVER TO THE RESPECTIVE COURTHOUSE.
Call our office today to discuss your options through bankruptcy
In any outcome of this unpleasant ordeal, my recommendation is to call our law firm at 407-777-7777 and set up a free consultation with me to talk about what your next step should be. If you decide to file bankruptcy, we can wipe out the debt you agreed to pay and tear up the settlement agreement you signed. I have personally filed bankruptcy and can relate to my clients and really understand what they are going through. Because Life Has a Restart Button.
In addition to being the largest filer of bankruptcies, we have recovered millions for our injury clients with over 15 years of experience handlingpersonal injury claims – CALL US FIRST. You already know us. If we cannot help you, we know excellent attorneys who will and can refer you to them. If you prefer to hire one of the larger firms in town, let us make the call for you so you are not lost in the shuffle, and we will monitor your case from beginning to end at no extra cost to you. Just Dial 407-777-7777 or text or call me at my direct 407-780-5667. Save to your mobile as Walt Attorney Lawyer. Thank you so very much.
Free Initial Consultation
In order to help you more quickly, please fill out the quick contact form. A representative of the firm will contact you to set up a FREE consultation.
We try to make our hours convenient for our hard-working clients by conducting FREE consultations on Saturdays (9-3) and during the week all the way to 5:00 p.m.