Creditors who buy consumers’ old debt for pennies on the dollar have increasingly won bogus lawsuits, but consumers can begin to fight back by taking a few easy steps. About 90 percent of these credit card lawsuits, often called debt junk suits are “flawed.”
The following tips can help you defend against Junk Debt Collection:
| 1. Don’t ignore a lawsuit. |
Keep in mind is that more than 90 percent of these cases are won by default judgment because the sued party doesn’t appear in court. One common tactic of creditors’ lawyers is to tell you that you don’t need to show up in court. People are often too scared to show up and defend themselves. Rule No. 1: Show up in court and make them prove their case. File an answer. Don’t ignore it.
| 2. Contact an Attorney |
Many people who have a large amount of debt may not be able to afford to hire an attorney when faced with a junk-debt lawsuit. Most Attorneys specializing in collection defense will offer a flat fee or reduce costs by assigning tasks to Paralegals in order to keep your bill at a minimum. The repercussions of fighting this on your own and making mistakes could be greater than a flat fee. Most offices also offer a free consultation and could give you an estimate of the cost of defense before you decide to hire an attorney.
| 3. Check for robo-signing. |
Borrowers should look for an indication of robo-signing in the junk-debt documentation. Like the foreclosure robo-signing debacle that led to a $25 billion settlement this year, many creditors also use illegal, robo-signing procedures when buying junk debt.Defendants should even use the Internet to search the names of the people who signed the documents to make sure they are authentic signatures of real people.
| 4. Read the creditor’s documentation. |
The creditor may also claim that borrowers owe more money than their actual debts because a bank has tacked on extra fees that were never agreed upon. A percentage of the time junk debt is repurchased from creditor to creditor, with lost paperwork along the way. Creditors must show a chain proving they own the debt.
| 5. Avoid settlements negotiated in the hallway. |
Opposing attorneys will sometimes try to cut a deal with defendants in the hallway outside the courtroom if they seem vulnerable or intimidated. But often these settlements are set up to make you fail. Negotiations usually end with an unrealistic payment plan that could leave you liable for the full judgment amount if you miss a payment.
Most of all contact an attorney, find out your options. A lot of the times you can walk away having only paid a flat fee for attorneys fees and the collection can be stopped. Contact our office for more details: Murphy, Bantz & Bury, PLLC – 509-838-4458
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