Can Anything Bad Happen If You Ignore A Credit Card Lawsuit?
According to the 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances from the United States Federal Reserve, the average household credit card debt is $2,300 and the average national credit card debt is $5,700. Also, this survey showed that the total amount of consumer debt is $3.4 trillion, while the total amount of revolving debt is $929 billion. It is no doubt that credit card companies are filing lawsuits against consumers in order for them to collect payment.
Why Do Credit Card Companies File Lawsuits?
Credit card companies want to be able to collect the money that you owe them. If their claim is valid and you do owe the money, it is usually not hard for them to file a lawsuit against you. In the lawsuit, you will have a judgment against you requiring the full amount that is past due.
How Do Credit Card Companies File Lawsuits?
In order to file a lawsuit against you, the credit card company first needs to file a complaint with the court. A representative from the company goes to the courthouse with the lawsuit, pays the requested filing fee and then the court stamps the paperwork and provides a copy to the representative. Part of the paperwork contains the complaint, which shows how much money you owe and why you owe it and the summons, which indicates that you have been sued by the credit card company and the amount of time you have to respond.
How Are You Served the Complaint and Summons?
You will be served the complaint and the summons by a process server. Once the process server hands you a copy of the paperwork, you are then considered to be served. At that point, you have a time period in which to file a response. When you respond, the court will have specific paperwork for you to complete and you will have to pay a filing fee. If you are not home when the process server arrives, they will try to come back and serve you again. The process server can give the paperwork to anyone who answers the door and you will still be considered served.
What Happens If You Ignore the Lawsuit?
If you don't respond to the lawsuit within the required time period, the credit card company then informs the court of this and files a default judgment. A default judgment basically asks the court to side in the favor of the credit card company because you did not respond to the lawsuit. If this happens, the credit card company then has the right to freeze the money in all your bank accounts, garnish your wages, and put a lien on your property.
If your credit card company takes you to court for money you may owe, ignoring the summons isn't going to make it magically go away. In fact, ignoring it will likely make things worse for you. You have options available to you, so it is important that you consult a qualified attorney, such as Daniel M Hernandez Esquire, to help you face the summons.
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