Texarkana Credit Card Lawsuit Defense
Have you been sued for a debt?"
There are hundreds of consumers sued in Texas cities every month.
Introduction
Mike Weston has successfully defended hundreds of credit card lawsuits over the past few years. Below is a guide which will hopefully answer some of the burning questions that you have.
First, I understand that nobody likes to be sued. This may be the first time you have ever been sued. If you have been sued by a debt purchaser for an old debt, the first thing you need to realize is that you are not alone. There are hundreds of consumers in Texarkana who are sued every month on debt that is usually three to four years old. Unfortunately most consumers make the mistake of not hiring an attorney to defend the lawsuit. The debt purchasing business has exploded in recent years. Debt purchasers buy portfolios of debt for as little as three cents on the dollar. The purchasers then farm the debt out to local collection attorneys who file individual lawsuits. Under Texas law, they only have four years to sue you from the time you made your last payment.
Why do they file the lawsuits?
They file the lawsuits because they want to get a judgment against you. With a judgment, the debt purchaser has a lot more power to collect from you than it did without a judgment. With a judgment, the purchaser can forcibly take money out of your bank account. This is called a garnishment. They cannot garnish your wages in Texas, but after you deposit your paycheck, the funds are no longer “wages” and they can be seized. Another popular reason they try to get a judgment is to hold onto the judgment until you try to buy, sell, or re-finance a home. A lot of times your lender will force you to pay off or settle a judgment prior to lending any money to you. A judgment lasts for 10 years and can be renewed. Needless to say, you don’t want to have a judgment against you.
Top Consumer Myths about debt purchaser lawsuits
I don’t have any assets so there is no reason for me to fight it.
As stated above, any money in the bank can be garnished. I have had people call me two to three years after a judgment to say that their bank account is frozen, even people on social security. (Technically creditors cannot garnish social security funds but I have seen it happen). You do not have notice of the garnishment either, usually the first sign is having a check bounce or a debit card declined. Also, just because you don’t have assets now doesn’t mean you won’t have assets 10 years from now. If you try to buy a house the judgment will most likely cause a problem. I would like to tell you that they won’t try to collect the judgment but that is generally not the case these days.
I know I owe the debt.
First things first, you may have owed a debt to the original creditor, but most likely they are out of the picture. They sold the debt to an investor and the amount alleged has probably doubled or tripled. Let me explain it like this: You borrow $1,000 from a friend (A) you pay on the debt for a few years but because you lose your job you have to stop paying (A). Three years after you stoppedpaying (A), he sells the debt to his friend (B) for $30.00. Then B, a person who you have never met sues you for $4,000.00 on a debt he purchased for $30.00 without much documentation. Do you agree that you owe $4,000.00 to B? I didn’t think so. This is how the debt purchasing business works.
I don’t have any money to pay them.
I have settled $15,000.00 cases for $1,000.00. This is not the norm but they are much more likely to settle if you have an attorney. The vast majority of the time I get these cases dismissed but settlement may be appropriate in certain circumstances. (see below).
I don’t have money to hire an attorney.
I generally charge flat fees to defend credit card lawsuits and this fee can often be received in installments as low as $250.00 per month.
They never provided me with proof that I owe them so I’ll just ignore them.
Don’t ignore the lawsuit! If you don’t fight the case and they get a judgment against you, the argument is over – you owe the debt. Your arguments down the road don’t matter. Now is the time to fight it!
I’ll just defend myself.
Famous last words. I personally would not try to re-wire the electricity in my house because I would probably electrocute myself. It’s no different in this situation. Every few weeks I get a call from a potential client who went this route and ended up with a judgment against them, not because they didn’t tell their side of the story right, but simply because they fell into a technical legal trap. The legal process is complicated and it is laced with traps. If you do not respond to certain questions in the petition in a certain way, within a certain time, you will probably end up with a judgment against you without even having your “day in court”. Unfortunately if you get a judgment against you, the process is very costly and time-consuming to try and undo that judgment.
(We FIGHT Texarkana junk debt lawsuits) (for more information see our "collection lawsuits"page and our "judgments in Texas" page)
Texarkana Debt consolidation without Bankruptcy
How it works
Essentially, the debt settlement company negotiates upon the borrowers’ behalf with creditors to reduce the overall debts in exchange for an agreement upon regular payments to be made. For the debtor, this makes obvious sense – they avoid the stigma and intrusive court-mandated controls of bankruptcy while still lowering, sometimes by more than 50%, their debt balances. Whereas, for the creditor, they regain trust that the borrower intends to pay back what he can of the loans and not file bankruptcy (in which case, the creditor risks losing all monies owed).
Texarkana Debt Collection Abuse
How To Stop Collection Calls Even If You Owe The Debt:
Step 1: Know Your Rights.
Step 2: Document All Calls.
Step 3: Call Us. - (Texas Residents Only)
Step 4: Sue the collection agency and Pay Nothing Unless We Recover.
Common Violations:
• Constantly calling you at work when you have asked/told them not to.
• Revealing your debt to third parties.
• Leaving messages and not revealing they are a debt collector.
• Threatening a lawsuit when they do not intend on bringing one.
• Claiming that you can or will be arrested if you do not pay the debt.
• Claiming that a judgment will occur immediately if you do not pay.
• Claiming that they can garnish your wages if you do not pay.
• Claiming that they will put a lien on your house if you do not pay.
Texarkana Debt Settlements without Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is not for everyone. At Weston & Associates we offer Bankruptcy alternatives, including debt settlement. We can work with your creditors and attempt to settle your debt for pennies on the dollar. It is dangerous to try and settle a debt without having a written settlement agreement. All too often consumers “settle” debts only to have the debts re-appear years later. If you are interested in trying to settle your debt and you have not been sued, please fill out our debt settlement questionnaire.
Texarkana Credit Repair
Having good credit is very important. At Weston and Associates we can assist you in attempting to rebuild your credit or dispute inaccurate information that is reporting on your credit report.
Texarkana Consumer Law
All too often creditors and collection agencies cross the line with their predatory collection tactics. If you have been receiving abusive collection calls and threats, then your rights may have been violated.
Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) (for more information see our "we sue debt collectors" page)
Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA)
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