He lives in the state of Florida, what should he do? He cannot afford to pay it off right now.
2007-08-08 10:05:39 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
Good news is the state of Florida does not allow wage garnishment. Since he has been given a court date I would have him keep that date and have the collector show proof of payments made. DO NOT ADMIT THE DEBT. If they do end up having a judgement in his name, he will be subject to any levy (bank account, savings etc). If he is trying to dodge all of this, he could of course make payment arrangements with the company which is in his best interest
2007-08-08 11:00:27 · answer #1 · answered by lovelyrj7 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He needs to file his answer in the time allowed. If he doesn't they will get an automatic default judgment against him.
Fl. collecting SOL statutes are 4 years from the last charge or payment he made on the account before the account was charged off. (Fl. is a cause of action state, so the SOL does not start from the first time he became 30 days late...)
If he is past the collecting SOL, he definitely needs to include "an affirmative defense of SOL" in his answer, and maybe file a counterclaim against them for filing on a time barred debt.
He can do as the first poster mentioned and try to work out a deal with them before it goes to court, but he still needs to file an answer !!!!!!!
If he does make a deal with them to take payments, he should be very careful in not locking himself into a payment plan that he knows he cannot keep. The first time he misses a payment or sends less then the agreed amount, the suit will probably be revived.
He should try to get them to agree to a payment plan that he knows he can deal with.
If he does get them to agree to a payment plan, he should have their agreement "in writing" and should take a copy of it to the court clerk and request that it be placed in his case file << that is extremely important. If he does not do it, the judge will not know there is an agreement and the collector could sneak a default judgment through (yes they do that)
No matter if he makes a deal with them or not - he needs to answer the suit (I cannot stress that enough)
If he is still within the collecting SOL and they win a judgment, depending on his exemption status, there may not be much they can do to him other than it being on the courts records and on his credit reports.
If he is still within the collecting SOL and he owns property, he "needs":to file for homestead exemption. In Fl. there is two seperate homestead exemptions that the residents need to file on their own, it is not automatic. One is for taxes, the other is for protection from law suits.
He should read the following link to the Fl. statutes & constitution concerning the filing of that homestead exemption:
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0222/titl0222.htm&StatuteYear=2004&Title=%2D%3E2004%2D%3EChapter%20222
If he is head of household, his wages are 100% exempt. But he needs to make sure the court is aware of that fact.
He might click on my profile on here and click on the last link listed. He should do some reading and learn how to write up his answer
2007-08-08 11:07:09 · answer #2 · answered by echo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He can TRY calling them and arranging a payment plan based on what he can afford. Yhey may accept (or not) depending on the amount owed, how he got so far in debt, and how he intends to pay it off.
No Guarantee, but worth a shot!
2007-08-08 10:10:21 · answer #3 · answered by jimdotedu 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So it sounds like he's over 4 months past due and now they wil send his file to a collection agency they deal with several depending on your state. and he will be hounded from one agency to another they will keep his file for 6 mths if they do not get any money his account will be sold to the next agency and so on and so forth. so yes he will be hounded. You didn't mention how much he owes if its a small amount it will eventually be off the books if its a large amount they will keep coming after him.
2007-08-08 17:36:15 · answer #4 · answered by For ever in my Heart 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Credit card companies don't usually sue for credit card debt. They usually just sell the debt to a collection agency and the collection agency will eventually make it to court with a lawsuit.
2007-08-08 10:21:29 · answer #5 · answered by ignernt 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Once you are into the credit card game, if you miss a payment or are late they hold all the cards. Trying to arrange a pyment plan with them is a nice try, but your interest will sky rocket, and they own your sole.
2007-08-08 10:18:10 · answer #6 · answered by cfb193 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
He probably shouldn't have moved and not left forwarding information about a bill he stopped paying or ignored what I am sure was TONS of calls and letters.
If it's enough money, they will sue you.
2007-08-08 10:21:44 · answer #7 · answered by Expert8675309 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Since he has already received a notice to appear in court they are suing him.
He needs to show up with any documentation that may help and plead his case.
If he does not show, they will get a default judgment against him and then they can attach his bank accounts, garnish his wages (if your State allows it) and file liens on any other property he may own like cars, boats, land and homes.
2007-08-08 10:42:33 · answer #8 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 20⤋