What should I do if I am being sued by a creditor?

Answer by  patti (29325)

Go to court. Prepare a detailed letter with supporting evidence to show the judge why you cannot pay the bill. Otherwise, the creditor will attach your wages, bank accounts, etc.

Answer by  tamarawilhite (17883)

Affirm the debt, meaning that you accept that you owe it. Or deny the debt. If you do not owe it because they have the wrong person or you have already paid it, then provide that evidence when you deny the debt. Attend all court dates or else risk losing the case by default.

Answer by  patti (29325)

The best thing to do is to make arrangements to pay the creditor. Depending on the type of debt, small payments rarely help because of penalties, interest, fees. The creditor may sue to get a judgment so it can attach your bank accounts. Go to court to address the request. Take detailed evidence of why you are unable to pay.

Answer by  John (9008)

You need to talk to an attorney licensed in your state as soon as possible. There are probably deadlines for you to respond to the lawsuit and, if you miss them, you could lose any rights that you might have. Free legal services may be available in your area, if you check.

Answer by  demannlv (179)

The most important thing to do is to get at attorney. The attorney will represent you and has a better chance of negotioting with the creditor than you do.

Answer by  tamarawilhite (17883)

First, affirm or deny the debt. After all, there are creditors who sue people who are only related to the debtor or have the same name. Get the pay off amount in writing. Then, if you owe it, offer a settlement starting at 60% of the debt amount.

Answer by  Roland27 (16334)

If you can pay it or work out payments do that. If you can't you should contact a lawyer and see what you can do about it. If it gets bad enough you can always file bankruptcy. Just remember you won't have credit for a long time.

Answer by  jeremy46 (325)

Well, if a court judgment is handed down against you, your bank account might end up frozen, you may want to plan accordingly. Meanwhile, you can demand proof in writing that this is your debt, signature on a contract etc. Often they cannot provide this, and thus they will have problems winning a court case.

Answer by  Liz59 (10966)

Well if you are being sued and there is no fault of yours, then hire a lawyer. Otherwise if you believe that you do have some to lose and you are partially at fault, then you want to do an out of court settlement. Talk to the creditor and see what they want.

Answer by  John (9008)

If at all possible, you need to talk to an attorney who is licensed in your state as soon as possible. Free legal help may be available in your area--you should check into it. Apart from this, you need to carefully read the lawsuit and make sure that you don't miss any deadlines. If you do, you could lose automatically.