Being sued for a credit card debt happens at different stages of collection. Are you being sued by a collection law firm on behalf of your original creditor? Lawsuits in the first stage of credit card collections (your account has never been sent to a debt collector) is not that common, but it does occur.

How can I win a credit card lawsuit?

If the plaintiff bought the debt from another debt buyer, you need every bill of sale all the way back to the credit card company. Request each bill of sale. If there is a break in the chain of title, then you can win your lawsuit. A copy of the debt buyer’s license.

Can a judge dismiss a credit card lawsuit?

However, if the plaintiff waited too long, you can have the judge dismiss the lawsuit. The plaintiff hasn’t stated a valid claim. Typically, the plaintiff must attach to the complaint enough documents that show a valid contract. For example, a debt collection agency must show that it bought the right to sue on a valid debt.

Can a credit card company collect your debt?

As original creditors, a bank or credit card company’s primary purpose is not to collect debt, and so are not regulated under the same federal law. See also: Household Debt Near Great Recession Level: What Does it Mean? 2. Your debt collector files a lawsuit against you.

Why are there so many credit card lawsuits?

Many people think debt buyers prefer to avoid lawsuits to collect old credit card debts because it requires them to pay lawyers and incur costs of litigation. If this were true, however, credit card lawsuits would be far less common than is the case. In fact, there were nearly 200,000 credit card collection lawsuits filed in New York in 2011 alone.

How do you settle a credit card debt?

Debt buyers settle credit card debts they own for less than the total you owe on the account. They will either collect debts using in house debt collectors, assign accounts to a subsidiary collection agency, hire another debt collection firm, or place accounts with attorney debt collection law firms they have relationships with.

What happens if you ignore a credit card debt summons?

If you ignore your summons, the court is likely to rule in the debt collector’s favor and your wages could be garnished until you pay back the amount of money that the court rules you owe. If you are sued for credit card debt, your first step is to verify that the debt is actually yours.