Do you know what a credit card debt lawsuit is? When a consumer defaults in making payments on his credit cards, the creditor will use all possible ways to recover the debt from the debtor. They will go to the extent of taking him to the court and get a debt judgment against him. Many people do not realize the importance of a lawsuit and hence they miss the chance to defend themselves.
Judgement
Why will a consumer default in making payments on his credit card debts? There can be a variety of reasons for it. It may be due to unemployment, health problems, sudden death in the family or may be due to other reasons. If the judge understands that the consumer is going through real financial hardship, they might rule in his favor and hence forbid the creditor from collecting the full amount from the consumer.
If you are on the risk of being sued, it is important that you consult a lawyer who deal with judgment cases. Basically, when you receive the court summons, you have 20 days to file your answer to the court clerk. The summons will have the court date and time and its important that you show up on the hearing date. If you do not show up, there are more chances that the creditor will try to get a default judgment against you. It is a good idea to explain your situation to the judge with all necessary proof, and have the case turned in your favor.
A debt judgment is the creditors legal rights to garnish your wages, or put a levy on your bank account or personal property, until the debt is paid off. There are four states in which a creditor cannot garnish your wages. They are Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Pennsylvania. All states have their own set of laws regarding garnishment. In California, whatever your income is, up to 25% of your disposable income can only be garnished.
Credit-cards
There are other states like New Hampshire in which wage garnishment is not the preferred method of judgment. They will either try to put a levy on your bank account or on your personal property. In most of the states, the creditor has the right to garnish between 10% to 25% of your disposable income as per the laws of the individual state.
If a consumer is receiving threats of judgment from several creditors, only one garnishment is allowed at a time on a first come, first served basis, who is able to contact the employer first.
There are certain exemptions to garnishment, like social security, pension payments, wages of the elderly and disabled cannot be garnished as per the laws.
- Helpful Resources:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerinfo/wyntk_creditcardrules.htm
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 16th, 2013 at 4:36 pm and is filed under Credit Card, credit card debt, Debt. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.