It happens to the best of us, we fall behind on payments and the collection calls start coming. In the best of situations, you bounceback and get back on track in no time. However, this time it is different, you weren’t able to get back onto your feet as quickly as you would have hoped and now you’ve been served with paperwork for credit card debt.
What if I haven’t been served?
Being “served” is due process from civics class. You must be notified that you’re being sued, and this through a process server. Once you have been officially given paperwork about the lawsuit, you have been served. If you haven’t been served, you should check with your local and state records of a lawsuit.
It is not my credit card company suing me, some weird credit collection company, what does this mean?
What likely occurred was your original debt has been sold to the credit collection company. This is common practice among debt owners and debt collectors. Furthermore, just like with the mortgage industry the debt may have been sold to more than one company. Meaning, the debt has been purchased and sold by several companies in an attempt to collect a debt. When this situation arises, the current debt owner may have difficulty obtaining the necessary paperwork to prove they can legally sue you for the debt.
While in the process of debt collection the debt collector may have violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or (FDCPA). It would be prudent if you are currently being sued by your credit card company to set up a consolation with us to find out what your options may be.
One last defense you have against your credit card debtor suing you is our statue of limitations. In Florida, a debt cannot be collected past five years from the last payment. Meaning, if your last payment was made four years ago the debt collector can still sue for the remaining balance for the next year.
Did you have any other legal questions for us? Let us know we’d love to hear from you. Remember to live life and leave the legal stuff to us!