The first vital step is to really respond to the court summons. Out of guilt, too many people mistakenly defeat themselves by ignoring a summons for credit card debt. They then lose by default and the collection attorney has his way with them.
The answer to a court summons is only the beginning of the case. Two to three pages is quite sufficient. The consumer needs to use this answer to place the collection attorney on notice that he is going to have to work hard to prove his case. The key to this is making the collection attorney document the debt, according to the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide.
The court will usually support the consumer‘s demand for documentation. Collection attorney’s frequently have distress producing original credit card agreements and statements totaling the amount claimed as owed. They are used to consumers defaulting. In addition attorneys for debt buyers have distress documenting ownership of credit card debt from the bank that sold it to them in a large batch of accounts.
The rules of civil procedure for the consumer‘s local court dictate the proper service of the summons to the consumer and of the answer to the plaintiff. They also tell the consumer how much time he has to respond to the summons before going into default. Most importantly the local rules of civil procedure dictate the affirmative defenses that need to be in the answer to the summons.
Most importantly, the rules dictate the wording of the affirmative defenses the consumer uses in the answer. As a start, the consumer can find a generically worded answer in a resource like the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide. Then, the consumer needs to get the advice of a local attorney on the answer’s exact wording per the local rules of civil procedure.
Most consumers do not answer credit card debt summonses. Knowing this, collection attorneys will send out large batches of summonses waiting for the defaults. If they get a few responses, they drop those claims to focus on the simple money.
For the few that answer them, civil summonses for credit card debt can be defeated.
This content is not intended as a substitute for legal advice. If you need an attorney in your local area, please contact a licensed attorney in your state.