Its only a couple of thousand that I owe. Has anyone had to go to court for this amount of money owed to a credit card? What's going to happen at the hearing? What are they gojng say to me? What type of questions will I have to answer? I know its not a murder trial but I want to be somewhat prepared.
2007-01-22 17:51:56 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
they will put a judgement against you and garnish your wages
2007-01-22 18:20:16 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have not already done so you might want to consult an attorney. You are not required to go to court since it would be a Civil case, but if you do not go then know that the judgement will be put in by default and you will owe the money. Also, because you did not show up you will have not recourse in contesting the ruling.
If you do go the creditor is going to go over the debt, usually bringing up any agrements you signed, payment history and how much you currently owe. You will then need to say why you have not paid. You could also then let the court know that you are willing to pay a set amount each week. Make it the most you can really afford. If you make it so low, such as $5 dollars, the judge will just think you are not being serious.
I would bring everything you have, from initial aggrements to every check you can find for their payments. Also, bring copies of your paystub and any other bills you have. This will help in determining your other obligations if the ruling is to garnish your wages. They are allowed to garnish a good portion(I beleive it is up to 25% of your income), if you can show you have other debts that might reduce the amount they would take from you each paycheck.
If at all possible try to work it out before your court date with the creditor. Having a court date set does not mean you can not still try to negociate.
2007-01-22 18:08:54 · answer #2 · answered by OC1999 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe, that if you show at least some attempt to pay off the debt, even if its paying them $20.00 a month, that they really can't come after you. I see the other people are telling you not to go to court. That is certainly up to you, but if you do go to court, I would suggest that you tell the judge your financial circumstances and then tell the Judge that you are willing to begin making payments and then an amount that you can afford to pay. Once the Judge passes judgment and the amount you are willing to pay is written in the order, they credit card company cannot cause you any further problems, unless you violate the order and stop paying. I wish you luck.
2007-01-22 18:03:20 · answer #3 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My husband just went thru this last year with cap. one. To the best of my knowledge you don't even have to show up at the hearing, my husband didn't. After the hearing they will send you paper work and try to get you to pay in monthly payments. Some want the whole amount all at once. My husband still continued to ignore them, then about 6 months after the court date, they took the whole 2000 right out of our account without even notifying us first. So whatever you do, if you chose not to go to court, make sure you start to make an attempt to pay the money back, because they will get it one way or the other, and they stop being nice.
2007-01-22 17:57:58 · answer #4 · answered by tamlovinlife2 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need someone on your side.
Go to this web search: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLR,GGLR:2006-49,GGLR:en&q=consumer+credit+counseling+service
And contact a Consumer Credit Counselor before you go to court, if not then you could be in a very bad position.
Your best line of action is to contact a Consumer Credit Counselor and have them negotiate with the Credit Card company BEFORE you go to court. The Credit Card Company only wants its money, they don't want to pay the lawyers to sue you or the court costs involved and they don't want to pay loan collectors to hound you for the money. If you use a Debt Counselor and deal directly with the company then you might only have to pay them 50-75 cents on the dollar and you have a better chance of coming up with a payment plan that you can live with.
It is a well-known axiom that when you go to court the only winners are the lawyers.
2007-01-22 18:00:18 · answer #5 · answered by Dan S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ahh u should not have accepted that letter stating for you to appear in court...how about calling the company and offering to pay them before they take u? because after this they will garnish your wages and keep your money....check the statute of limitations and if its quite a bit, i suggest getting a lawyer...
2007-01-22 17:56:30 · answer #6 · answered by anonymous 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you're in debt, i suggest you take a look at this site. just fill out the form and take it from there.
2007-01-22 18:29:22 · answer #7 · answered by Sub b 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋