It seems I will be heading to court for the first time ever to answer a complaint where a creditor is seeking a judgment for an unpaid loan of about $3200 (which I owe but have had difficulty paying)  The creditor holds the title to a car I own.  My state allows 8% interest.  What can I expect?
125674
Failure to pay a private debt is considered a civil matter and therefore most states prohibit the imprisonment of a person for failure to do so. However, if a civil court has rulled against you in a private monetory matter, then you are not classified as the judgement debtor, and the suer as the judgement creditor. This legal declaration creates additional options for persons attempting to recover a civil debt.\n\nDepending on the specific statutes of your state, the judgement creditor may now be entitled to undertake certain actions for the purpose of recovering the ordered amount, including the initiation of garnishments, liens, foreclosures, and other civil remedies. Interest will continue to accrue from the date of judgement at your state's then-current interest rate (subject to change) until the balance is paid in full.\n\nYou have the legal right to appeal such judgements, but it should be noted that there are time limits to do so, and there must be specific articulable grounds for doing so (not simply as a second opinion).
458572
Contact the business which loaned you money for the car.  What probably happened is:  you turned the car in to them....they sold it....the amount of the sale did not cover your loan amount... you now owe the difference (called a deficiency balance).\n\nMake arrangements to pay it... and any other debts that you've decided not to pay.  Grow up....fix your own credit.... you and you alone are responsible for it.  You can pay a company to "fix" it for you, but it won't be fixed and you will then owe THEM money.\n\nIf you've been turned down for a loan, go back to that loan officer and ask her how you can become more eligible for a loan.  Follow her advice exactly.
554275
Actually the statute on judgments are 15 years and can be renewed for an additional 15 years. \n\nYou should definately pay them off. \n\nIf they are privately owed, and are 4 years old, make an offer in writing to settle, but only if they are willing to remove from your credit. They have the right to remove them when ever they want by filing a simple form at the courthouse.. \n\nThis company did it for me: http://www.expert-credit-advice.com/debt_settlement_service.htm \n\nI dont know how much your judgments are, if they are substancial I would definately recommend hiring a professional.
552672
Her refusal or denial of payment needs to be brought to the courts attention. The court then can put a lien on her property and charge interest or change the amount awarded to you to a much higher one.And the bonus she will most likely be placed under arrest for contempt.
493520
Hi, \n\nIs your wife being sued? Or are there just threats of a law suite. If you were being sued, you would have already received a summons to appear in court, which sounds like you have none.\n\nIf you indeed wind up going to court, you can petition the court for a settlement for Penny's on the dollar. Capitol One will try and get the whole amount and make you believe you have to pay the entire amount, but what they want and what they get are two different matters. \n\nI had an overdue account with Capitol One years ago, and they tried the same scare tactics and wanted the whole amount, I told them point blank, either accept my settlement terms, or you can go to H e - - and kiss my A - -. They wound up writing it off.  Stand up to them, there is no such thing as debtor prison, and it is nothing more than scare tactics. \n\nAfter 7 years, the smear on your credit record must by law, be removed completely. \n\nFrom the way it sounds, I would proceed immediately with filing bankruptcy. There is always a way to work out the filing fee. \n\nGood Luck, and don't take any crap from Cap 1. \n\nDarryl S.
211189
Since it has been 8months I doubt you will get anywhere with it. Not only that you have to prove that they knew about the damage....the court doest side on just assumptions. If I would you next time you buy a used car take it some place and get it looked over if the dealer ship wont allow it have the look it over and sign off that there is no damage. If you dont like this answer I would seek legal help!
228427
Depends on how late it is. Chances are, the stop sign is already in place. It depends on the account and the lender. If you're dealing with a finance company or predatory lender, then your ship has already sunk.  Creditors report payments and delinquencies on a monthly basis to the big three (credit reporting agencies). They go by 30, 60, and 90 day delinquency.  They also report current payments but 60 and 90 days delinquent is REALLY, REALLY bad. Above that, forgetabout it.  Again, it depends on how late it is. If its 30 days or less, then you just need to bring it current and start paying on time. If you're beyond that, well..\n\n1)you can call the creditor to bring the account current by paying the past due amt and then make pymt arrangement\n2) if you don't have enough money, then arrange w/ them to  pay the most that you can and try to have them re-age the account (they'll bring the account current with an agreed upon min pymt amt.\n3) you can contact the creditor to arrange a settlement (in which case the account will be closed if not already)\nwhich is not good for your credit either by the way but better than a charge-off or lawsuit.\n4) get into a witness protection program and/or look up fair debt collections practices act info cause they will find you.\n\nhope this helps (I'm a former debt collector)
119524
Would have been helpful if you would have provided the check amount.  Another way to deal with this, is to take the person to small claims court.  Along with the criminal side, you will get a judgement, which affects a bad credit rating as well. \nAgain, the amount the check was written for would be the determining factor.
532078
Well first of all you absolutely need to attend the hearing!! Do not think that you can just get out of it. I would also suggest calling the creditor and attempting to negotiate a deal with them where you pay all or part of the money owed. If they will not negotiate then attend the hearing. It is likely the credit card company wants to get a lien or wants to enforce  a judgment they may already have against you. You can retain an attorney if you'd like, but probably it won't do you any good.
75317
You may contact the court and ask for the court to set a debtor hearing to find out what his assets are.  If he failed to appear the judge could issue civil contempt charges against the defendant.\n\nNormally, judgments will affect his credit and hopefully that will make him eventually pay you.
431393
Jennifer \n#1 You need to get a lawyer. A corporation cannot represent itself in a judicial proceeding.  \n#2 -- If this was a JUDGMENT, that means that they went through some process and it's enforceable as a matter of law.  Most likely, they filed a lawsuit against you, you didn't respond, so the court entered a "default judgment" for the relief requested by the Court.  This could have happened in Ill. OR in Florida. If the latter, then they have merely filed or registered the judgment in Illinois so that they may collect it. \nDid you ever receive a summons and complaint from these people? Did you ignore it, believing that it would go away?  If so, it will be hard to get the judgment vacated.  You usually need some excuse or good reason to have a judgment vacated (although in Cook County, you may get a sympathetic judge, who wants to adjudicate the merits, who will vacate and set the litigation going). See #1.\n#3 They have already "taken it to court" if, indeed there was a "judgment" filed against you. See #2.  If they merely have filed a complaint seeking judgment, that's a different story, and you have a short amount of time to respond to their allegations.  Get to a lawyer ASAP, otherwise you will be faced with a default judgment.\n#4 -- you won't get good legal advice for this issue here because of the fact-specific nature of your problem (exactly what was filed, the underlying dispute between the parties, etc.) Then you need to think about cost.  How much is the judgment for (or is the Complaint alleging?)? A good lawyer in Chicago will set you back $250.00 an hour at a minimum plus expenses.  If this is something you want to fight, expect $20,000 in fees for litigation at a minimum.  If this is a small matter, expect at least $2,000 in fees to reach an amicable settlement.\n\nThe Illinois State Bar Association should have a referral service on their website if you do not have a lawyer.  If you're willing to pay the going rate ($250.00 for associates, $400-500 for partners) in Chicago, I have some referrals for you.\n\nGood luck.
527852
I went to the county clerk and recorder office and recorded my judgment.  It automatically puts a mechanics lien on his real estate property. IE:house,land that he has in his name he cannot sell or get a loan until this is paid.  Also I got an Interrogatory form(long form) and had the sheriffs office give it to him, I did this three times but I can do it as many time as I want the judge said so.  The interrogatory makes him disclose all of his assets including his money in the bank.  Then I got another form for Garnish and Levy which will clean out his bank account and or subtract money from his paycheck or Income tax return.  All of the money I spent to collect from him is also added to the total amount and the total accrues at 8% a year.  I had to  to revive the judgment every six years to keep it active.  It's like money in the bank drawing 8% a year so if you don't get paid this year it don't matter.  This is Colorado Law it may be a little different where you live.  This is not advice but my experience.  You may use it however you wish. I did it all myself without a laywer.
515902
The court order will specify when the payments are due.\n\nGood luck!!
385206
If you get a piece of paper in the mail issuing you a court date...you better go to court, otherwise they can arrest you for failure to appear.  If you owe the money, it's best to try and just pay it...we all hate doing it, but it's the right thing to do.
145027
Just my educated opinion.....\n\nCredit card company will generally come after you for debts over $1000 if they have contacts in your state.  That makes it easier for them to appear and court and sue you. Otherwise, the cost is too high.  So your $5000 debt makes you a prime target.\n\nI'm fairly certain that if they don't come after you, you can expect a collection agency to do it.  Either way, I'd say a lawsuit is a very real possiblilty.\n\nI don't think the SOL will help you.  The CA will certainly know when it expires and will step up collection efforts before that happens.\n\nSo my suggestion is to first look at your budget.  I'm sure that if you take a serious look at it, and cut out unnecessary expenses, you can find $100 a month.  You need to negotiate a payment plan with them, so don't insult them by offering $50 a month.  They are not going to wait several years to get paid, and if you don't offer something reasonable they will sue you.  Even $100 a month is will not go over well with them, but it's a start.\n\nIn the link below are a few sample letters you can use to form a negotiation letter.  Try that out and see what happens.  \n\nOne last piece of advice....it's a certainty that they have placed a negative item on your credit report.  Get them to remove this item IN WRITING before you pay them a dime.  It's my opinion that a judgement is just as bad as a default, and both will hurt your credit score.  But If they want their money, make them fix your credit.  Otherwise, you will have bad credit, plus you will be broke!  This is very important if you plan to get credit within the next few years for a car or home.  If that's not going to be an issue, the bad credit won't matter, as it will gradually improve after a few years.
83721
As long as you can provide evidence that you informed him of your requirement that estimates be prepared and provided first (and your emails should do that), you should be just fine.  He isn't going to sue you over $200, but if he threatens to affect your credit (or an affiliated collection agency does), you counter-threaten to report the matter to the state attorney general and to the Secretary of State in your state.  Put your threat in writing and be prepared to do so if he will not yield.  Also mention the Better Business Bureau and the news team of a local television station that investigates consumer fraud (like "7 On Your Side," etc.)  Good luck to you.
411973
First read ugottafriend4life's answer again and follow it.  You may be able to add it to your BK.\n\nNext...VERY IMPORTANT!  Is this the first collection letter you got?  It should have a statement telling you that you have 30 days to dispute the debt.  \n\nSend them a dispute letter and demand validation.  That will buy you some time to look into the BK filing.  It also places a "stay" on the collector preventing him from placing anything on your credit report.  By law, he can not proceed with collection activities until he validates this debt.\n\nDuring this time you can negotiate with either the doctor's office (preferred) or the collector.  But demand IN WRITING that in exchange for payment they must not place anything on your credit report.  Does it make any sense to you to pay the bill and still have your credit messed up by these jerks?  If they sue you, the judgement stays on your credit report for 10 years, same as the BK report.  So they really can't do much harm to you.  But if they want your money then make them give you something in return!