Help! I am being sued for 3300. Will they send me to Jail if I can't pay?

Question

I am being sued for 3300 dollars for a Gateway computer I brought seven years ago. I was young at the time. I can't remember but I think I was 17 at the time. I have a job but I don't make that much money. I am the sole provider of my household which includes my mother and two younger sisters. I don't have the money to pay, what should I do? Will they send me to jail if I can't pay? Will they garnish my wages or audit my tax return? I am so scared, I can't afford a lawyer. What is the worse they can do? I know I owe the money and I want to pay but I just don't have it and I told the people thats sueing me this. Please help.

Answer 1

No you will not go to jail. However, I would start compiling a hardship letter to present to the court to minimize your wage garnishment. Contact legal aide and see if they will be willing to have a lawyer assist you or represent you in court.

First of all, cite apologetically to the court and to Gateway.

Honorable Judge and Gateway Company,

Please accept my apologies for failure to pay my debt as I realize you trusted me with receiving payment for products and services from your esteemed company on good faith by extending me credit.

Unfortunately, even with my best intentions to pay the debt, my living circumstances changed. I am the sole provider of my household which includes my mother and two younger sisters.

I have included proof of my financial circumstances (utility bills, mortgage or rent pay, all other bills where you expend money, average food bill, electricity, health and car insruance, car payments, etc.)

Make sure you create a line item of each average per month or per week or bi-weekly on a separate pice of paper labeled expenditures (how ever you get paid through your payroll), and copy of your last 3 months of payroll stubs or a letter statement on company letterhead that cites your earnings per average paycheck and any other form of income (child support, state aide, savings and checking accounts if you have them). If you do not have savings or checking, write it down you do not have them

The purpose of pulling this all together is to show proof of financial strain, which will help judgement to minimize how much will be garnished from you payroll.. Going in prepared and apologetic will help the judge look a little more favorable as opposed to nothing at all.

Good luck and much prayers.

edit : You may attempt a negotiation, but most companies will want a lump sum up front pay-off. Based on the comment "I don't have the money to pay", I am guessing you will not have the ability to pay a range of $1,320 to $2,200 lump sum they will most likely ask, to have them write off the balance. Why I am suggesting you get documents justifying your income vs. expenses to show how little you can afford. The judge may then garnish a reasonable amount so as to not over burden the cost of living and create a larger hardship on you. Whatever the judge rules, then the company must abide by or choose to spend more money to appeal the ruling, which at that amount, many companies then decide it is not worth appealing as they do not want to out weigh the cost of attorney fees above the cost of recovering what they can get in the existing judgement.

The sooner you can pay off the judgement, the sooner you can get it discharged and recorded on your credit file as paid off.

p.s. There is no statute limit on credit collection. As long as your loan account is sold from one company to another, they can pursue you for years in hopes you will eventually come into money to pay them. I knew one from 15 years ago that was still active on the credit books as it was sold 4 separate times to anotehr collection agency.

I just realized you said you may have been 17. You need to find your original agreement papers and bring your birth certificate. If you were truly age 17, your state may have laws about Credit being extended to a minor child if age 18 is the age of recognized legal adult status. Some are age 21. If indeed you were a minor at the time, they may have illegally given you a credit limit which could be discharged by the judge as legally uncollectable.

If you cannot locate your original agreement, still bring your birth cert to court and Gateway will have to still furnish proof of the original contract agreement in which you can ask the court to determine your legal age status to obtain a credit account with Gateway

edti add: The loophole on the credit statute is the fact it is not in theory the same account number originally bought. It was most likley sold from credit agency to credit agency if it extended beyond the 7 years. Meaning, the loan is "re-created" to another company and they change your account number, etc. However, if it was the same company with the same account number beyond the 7 years, then the statute would have expired. That is why I referred to the one case that was still active for over 15 years because it has been sold 4 times in the course of the time.

Also, the court would not have allowed a filing without substantiating (confirming) the legitimacy of the filing to minimize "frivoluous" claims. The fact they filed it, Gateway most likely feel they are within their legal means per the State's statutes as companies of their size themselves do not want to frivously spend their money on collection. We knew the estimated age of when you obtained the loan, but we do not know your current age and how long ago you made the purchase. We assumed the loan may have extended more than 7 years ago.

In addition, the $3,300 may be accrued interests of the unpaid account. The judge may determine to reduce the amount either to the original purchase price or a number in between and the court costs after you prove your hardship. When you create your hardship letter, go have it notarized. This will be legally recognized as a statement of true fact from you, known as an affidavit statement. If you come to an agreement direct with Gateway, make that your priority bill to be paid timely no matter what. If you come to an agreement with the courts, then you MUST pay it on time for the duration of the judgement. Failure to do so would be comtempt of a court ruling which could create further hardship.

I failed to mention, you must include a copy of your last 4 years tax returns in your finance report so an average return amount can be determined

Answer 2

Hmmm,. it sounds like you might have a couple of "outs", your age at the time you bought it and the fact it has been seven years (statute of limitations on lawsuits). If you cannot afford an attorney, there are legal aid offices (e.g. in florida there is "North Florida Legal Services" ) that specialize in civil actions such as this.

Bankruptcy might also be an option which could wipe out the debt. I hesitate to ever recommend this but I am guessing your credit is shot already because of this unpaid debt. You could talk about this as well to a Legal Aid attorney as I am not a bankruptcy attorney. This option should always be a last resort.

If you are not open to that, maybe call Gateway and ask if they will settle for a lesser amount and/or agree to small monthly payments. I am sure they have a lawyer and his number will be on the bottom of the civil complaint they filed against you. Tell him your situation and offer to send him a copy of your pay stubs and your bills as proof you do not have the present ability to pay much toward the debt.

If they do agree, MAKE THE PAYMENTS DO NOT agree to an amount you cannot pay now in your current situation. (not yelling just emphasis). If they agree, they will only do it once and if you break your word, they will go after you harder.

Don't worry, you cannot go to jail for this kind of unsecured debt. Also they cannot audit your tax return but could possibly garnish against a refund. Good luck.

Answer 3

You will not go to jail. However, If a judgment is obtained from a court against you then you will be responsible for the $3,300 judgment, accrued interest, and attorney fees. You will be required to appear in court to disclose your financial and employment information to the plaintiff and the court

The best thing you can do is to try to negotiate with the plaintiff and make an offer on how you will settle the matter before the case reaches the court room. Don't make the plaintiff use the public enforcement mechanism to collect on the judgment. Try to resolve the matter diplomatically because judgments do appear on credit records and it will be hard for you to get loans to buy a house or a car. Should you choose to do something like that in the future.

I live in Michigan and I know that a garnishment order can be ordered on paychecks or state income tax returns, Writ of executions can be ordered by the court to seize property, and drivers licenses can be suspended until a judgment is paid in it's entirety.

You may consider looking for second job. Good luck to you

Answer 4

Will they send me to jail if I can't pay? - No. There is no debtors prison in the US

Will they garnish my wages - They may do this if state law allows. They may also attach your bank accounts.

or audit my tax return? - Only the IRS can audit your tax returns.

I can't afford a lawyer. - Try legal aide and contact the local bar association for pro bono lawyers in your area.

What is the worse they can do? - See above.

There are two things that may help you:
1. The debt is old. There is a statute of limitations that comes in to play. Look at http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/
2. You were underage when you signed the contract.

Again, a lawyer can help you sort this out.

Answer 5

Nope. There's no such thing as a debtor's prison in the US. Once they get a judgment, they MIGHT be able to garnish your wages, depending on the state--some states don't allow garnishment of wages except for child support. They can't audit your tax return.

You should check the statute of limitations where you live. They might have filed the suit late.

** Note: This is a general discussion of the subject matter of your question and not legal advice. Local laws or your particular situation may change the general rules. For a specific answer to your question you should consult legal counsel with whom you can discuss all the facts of your case. **

Answer 6

First and foremost, they cannot send you to jail.

Second, get a lawyer. RIght off the bat I see two potential defenses against this suit, but they need to be raised in a timely manner. You may get this cleared without paying anything except the lawyer, which will be a lot less than 3 grand.

Answer 7

Thoughcrime. My opinions and beliefs are not in line with the government and our elected scumbags. Actually there the opposite. Since I'm a "right wing extremist" it's just a matter of time. They already count me as a terrorist. That's napalitano's official policy. Remember kiddies. According to the DHS if you disagree with the gov. your an enemy of the state.

Answer 8

understand question. no you cannot be sent to jail. it sounds like you have no mind collection agency upsetting you . the statue of limitations is gone . on this debt , you should contact credit reporting agency to see this has been removed from your record . you do not have to pay anything more on this . send a letter to collecton agency ., explain no more phone calls correspondence only . contact gateway explain situation regarding statute limitations , they will clear your record . no wage garinshe . rekax now the stress you put yourself under is gone you did your best situations change . you dont owe anything you are doing a wonderful thing these people contacting you are not . hope this removes some stress . stress is not health ,know you have less . one great effort you are putting forth my sincere congrats very few could do what you are doing . creat work all the best to you

Answer 9

they can't put you in jail. they will take you to court and they will win the judgement because you owe the $$. they will be able to garnish your wages. have they sent it to an attorney yet? if so, talk to the attorney and explain everything to them. they might be willing to work out a payment plan with you but be very open and honest about your situation.

Answer 10

THERE ARE NO DEBITOR'S PRISONS IN THE US.

Depending on the state you live in, they can PROBABLY garnish your paycheck and possibly attach your tax return and in a worst case atttach a bank account. Check with your state's legal aid to make sure of what they can and can't do legally

Answer 11

You're not going to jail unless you did something fraudulent to get the computer. The result of the lawsuit may mean garnishment of wages but you are not going to jail unless you did something illegal. Not having money is not a crime.