Information regarding debt judgements reported by credit card companies - The Bills.com Blog
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Information regarding debt judgements reported by credit card companies
Question: I have 3 civil judgements against me from credit card companies. What is the best way to settle as I am unable to pay the full amounts?
Answer: You have some options, including: i) settling on the amount owed behind the judgements (necessitating a lump sum), ii) setting up a payment plan directly with the law firms (called a stipulated judgment), or iii) letting the creditors apply the judgmentswith a lien, levy or garnishment... or lastly iv) filing bankruptcy.
My recommendation is that the first thing that you need to do is find an attorney to represent you in this matter. If you do not already have a regular attorney, you can contact your state or country Bar Association?s attorney referral service to help you find an attorney in your area who should be able to assist you. I cannot say specifically what action you should take in regard to the judgment entered against you, as I do not know all of the details of the case. Generally speaking, when a party to a lawsuit fails to appear at a hearing, the court will enter a default judgment against the party which failed to appear.
When entering a default judgment, the court generally does not consider the facts of the case; rather, it simply assumes that you owe what is demanded in the complaint based on the fact that you did not appear to defend yourself. Thankfully, courts will sometimes set aside default judgments if a defendant can show that he or she had a good reason for not appearing at the previous court hearing. In addition, if you can show that you have a strong defense to the original claim, the likelihood of having the judgment set aside should increase. The only way to determine your chances of prevailing in this case is to consult with an attorney to discuss the details of your case. I suspect that your attorney will
file a motion to set aside the default judgment entered against you; however, your attorney may find another strategy better suited to the specifics of your case, so it is imperative that you consult with an attorney as soon as possible to discuss ways to resolve this judgment.
If after consulting with an attorney, you find that you cannot resolve this debt through the courts, you may want to consider alternatives to resolving the judgment, such as negotiating a lump-sum settlement or a repayment plan with the creditor. You or your attorney will need to contact the creditor, or the creditor?s attorney, to discuss repayment options available to you. You should also discuss your state?s exemption laws regarding the enforcement of judgments. Depending on your state, the source of your funds, and several other factors, your bank account, wages, or other property may be exempt from creditor execution. Your attorney may need to file requests for exemption with the court, so make sure that you consult with your attorney as soon as possible to help you resolve this situation. To learn more about your state?s laws regarding the execution of judgment, you can visit www.bcsalliance.com
ou can also speak with a qualified bankruptcy attorney to discuss the relief available to you in bankruptcy. You can search for a American Bankrupcy Institute
certified attorney in your area by visiting the ABI?s website at http://www.abcworld.org/condir.html
Consulting with an attorney does not mean you are going to file bankruptcy, but it will help you better understand the options available to you in case other solutions I mentioned above do not work out. For more information about bankruptcy, I invite you to visit the Bills.com Bankruptcy Information page at http://www.bills.com/bankruptcy/
An qualified bankruptcy attorney should also be able to carefully analyze each aspect of your financial situation to advise what non-bankruptcy solutions may help you.
Depending on your income and amount of debt, one of the several options I have described above may be able to help you. I encourage you to explore the Bills.com website, http://www.bills.com/debthelp/ to read more about these and other options available to you.
If you want to watch some cool online videos about consumer finance topics, follow this link:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=BillsDotCom
I hope this information helps you Find. Learn. Save.
Good Luck,
Bill
www.bills.com
Also, make sure to get a free financial health check-up with Bills IQ!
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1. Posted by stephani on Friday 12th October 2007 08:19
We have judgement against us for unpaid rent. I did go to court and their was a stipulated judgement, as we can to an agreement. I thought they were going to take the money out of our deposit. Now, they are garnishing my hubands wages. I still have two kids at home and one in college at BU. How can I fix this. The women at the collection agency is evil and mean. Do I have any right?
2. Posted by Brads on Friday 12th October 2007 11:51
You do have rights, but I would highly suggest meeting with an attorney. IF you were meeting the terms of your stipulated judgment... then they should not have garnished your husbands wages (that is exactly what a stip is for). BUT, i do not know enough about the situation, so i might make sense for you to contact a local attorney (maybe a bankruptcy attorney can review all of your options, including bk). Good luck.
3. Posted by Chuck Smith on Sunday 14th October 2007 17:16
Iam in Texas..I have no earned wages as i am on Social Security disability and parial pension..I have heared that they are exempt income and cannot be touched in your bank account...No other income...is this judgement proof....Also i have 50 percent interest in my house...The owner gave it to me and was documented at the couthouse...Can the collection ageny get a judgement...there is hearing...I responded earlier at the couthouse to this matter and informed the court and the attorney for the collection ageny about the exempt income...Thank you Chuck Smith...There is a hearing set.
4. Posted by Nathan on Wednesday 17th October 2007 06:25
Honestly, I do not know enough about the details of your financial situation to tell you whether or not you are "judgment proof." In order to determine your vulnerability to creditor action to enforce a judgment against you, I encourage you to consult with an attorney licensed to practice law in Texas. You can obtain a referral to an attorney in your area by visiting the Texas Bar Association website at http://www.texasbar.com. Generally speaking, judgments are more difficult to enforce in Texas than in most other states, due to the fact that Texans' wages are exempt from garnishment for most judgments (with the exception of taxes, child support, and certain other debts). Social Security and pension payments are also generally exempt from creditor attachment. In addition, Texas law provides a 100% homestead exemption for property used as a primary residence; there are exceptions to this rule, as well as requirements to claim it, so again, you should consider consulting with an attorney to discuss your situation. To learn more about the exemptions offered in Texas, you can visit http://www.bcsalliance.com/debt1_texas.html. Based on the information provided in your question, you very well may be "judgment proof," but you should speak with a qualified professional to make sure you are not making incorrect assumptions about your financial status.
5. Posted by Heather on Monday 14th January 2008 09:25
We have a stipulated judgement through one company. Well a collection agency put a judgement garnishment through and now my husbands checks are being garnished. I was told by the company with the stipulated judgement, that the collection agency shouldn't have garnished the wages due to this stipulated judgement. Is that correct and if so, what can I do to stop the garnishment?
6. Posted by timothyv on Monday 14th January 2008 09:29
Typically, a stipulated judgment means that you 'stipulate' that you will make payments on your debt in lieu of the creditor enforcing the judgment. Most times, if you are making your agreed upon payments on time then the creditor will not enforce the judgement or pursue garnishment. In your case, either you have not been making the payments or the collection agency mistakenly is garnishing you in addition to the stip. Just call the agency and ask them to remove the garnishment and then go back to making the payments... or you could have your husband quit his job!
7. Posted by Heather on Monday 14th January 2008 09:34
I think you misunderstood me. We have a stipulated judgement through one company. However another company/collection agency put out a garnishment for payments. We were told by the company with the stipulated judgement that the other company should not have been able to garnish the wages due to the stipulated judgement. Is this correct?
8. Posted by timothyv on Monday 14th January 2008 12:16
That is incorrect. If you are making payments to one creditor on a stipulated payment for a judgment, then another creditor is certainly allowed to come in and obtain a new judgment and then apply that in a garnishment. If you are tight on cash, you could simply stop paying the stipulated payments and let the creditors fight for the garnishment limitations in your state (in California, for example, they can not garnish more than 25% of your paycheck). or, seek bankruptcy counsel.
9. Posted by Jeff Yarbrough on Sunday 2nd March 2008 16:17
I have a debt that was borrowed 3 years ago. The person told me over and over to not worry about the repayment. Now since I divorced his daughter he want payment in full or he told me we are going to court. He accepted payments before but will not now. I don't have the ability to pay in full but I can make payments. Can he sue? I live in Texas.
10. Posted by Bill on Monday 3rd March 2008 16:29
If you signed a promissory note when the money was loaned to you, then the person that lent you the money has the right to sue you. I am not an attorney, so I would suggest that you take the opinion of a qualified attorney to look at your recourses. Even if he does sue, you can state the facts in court and then the judge will decide on the payment terms.