The Internet is full of advice on what debt collectors can and cannot do when dealing with consumers, but what is your obligation when you have been sued by a debt collector?
Some of the Most Important Things a Consumer Borrower Can Do to Protect His or Her Rights During the Collection Process Includes:
- Educate yourself regarding your rights during the collection process. If a collector is harassing or abusing you, seek legal help.
- If you have been served with a summons and complaint filed with the court, you should not ignore it and hope it goes away. While you are not legally obligated to file a response in a collection lawsuit, failure to do so could result in a default judgment being entered against you. This means that the collector wins the lawsuit against you and can take legal actions to enforce the judgment.
- Even if you do not believe you owe the debt, you must answer the complaint against you and set forth your defenses to the allegations against you. In addition to the debt not belonging to you, there are numerous defenses that may be available to you such as the statute of limitations has expired, the collector illegally harassed you in attempting to collect the debt, and others. To learn more about the defenses that you may have, contact us.
- If a collector obtains a judgment against you, it can garnish your wages or levy your bank accounts. In a garnishment action, your employer or financial institution will be required to turn money that belongs to you over to the collector instead.
Even if you are pretty sure you owe the debt, there are still valid defenses that may be available to you. Don’t ignore a collection lawsuit – let us help. Our fee structure is based on the type of debt you have, starting as low as $10/month. For a very small monthly amount you will have experienced attorneys working for you.