January 17, 2014

You Can Beat Credit Card Debt Collectors

You just received a certified letter in the mail from a law firm, you have a sinking feeling as you sign for this unwanted piece of mail, and when you open the envelope, your fears are confirmed. You are being sued by a credit card company that has come to collect what you left off owing them. All is lost, your world goes into a tailspin, and images of lost wages, raids on your little bank account, and possibly losing everything flash through your mind. Hopeless! You just want to find a hole and drop in it. But, guess what, you are very wrong. You don’t have to lose a thing, and my article will explain why.

In the past several years, most people who live on this planet have come to experience and feel the deleterious effects of the greatest recession in history. In January of 1990, credit card debt was at $214 billion, but by January of 2009, it had grown to $964 billion. As the recession began, people were rapidly losing their jobs, and thus, their ability to keep up with the payments on that debt. Good people were being forced into default on their accounts. So, what did the credit card companies do? They kept on lending, they kept on raking in profits, and they kept engaging in a relatively unknown practice of selling those defaulted debts to companies that had no connection to your original debt. This line alone should raise your eyebrows and cause you to say, “What?” Yes, the credit card company whose card you had been using sold your debt to someone else...and they, the credit card company, promptly washed their hands of your old debt. Stunning, isn’t it?

In 2008 alone, over $123 billion in charged-off debts were sold to companies that then pursued those debts as if they owned them. They don’t...at least not until you make a fatal mistake and give them the right. You see, when you signed the original agreement with your credit card company, you signed a contract with your original credit card company. Think about what I just said, because this is where winning your battle begins. Yes, you signed an agreement with your credit card company, but you did not sign one with the companies that bought your debt from the credit card company. Sound crazy? If they don’t have a right to your debt, then why are they coming after you? Because you don’t know your rights, they know this, and they collect billions of dollars every year at massive profits.

Say your original credit card had a final balance of $1,000. The credit card company sells that off to a collection company for $100. Say the collection company only manages to collect $500 from that debt. Not a bad profit. Understand why, then, they pursue these collections? And if I told you that these collection companies have no right to that debt, would that shock you? I mean, they all seem to be following legal procedures when they come after you, don’t they? Yes and no. Yes, they are following legal procedures to trap you in a debt you no longer owe, and no, they do not have any right to that debt...that is, they have no right to that debt until you give them that right. And, yes, millions of Americans make serious mistakes every year and end up owing a debt all over again, a debt that was written off long ago.

So, let’s first look at what NOT to do. Do NOT ignore the certified letter. Do NOT miss the court date. You will win if you follow what I am going to outline here, however, the clock begins ticking the minute you sign for that certified letter. Sign it, then begin acting on your rights immediately. Read the letter that comes from the court. It will state how many days you have to file an answer, the first answer meaning that, yes, you plan to defend yourself in court. You must do this immediately. If it is a magisterial court, you can defend yourself. If it is a higher court, then you need to retain a lawyer. If you opt to retain a lawyer, you do not need a high-priced one. After you have read my article, you can tell any lawyer exactly how to proceed, although he or she should already know this. Once you have answered the court summons, and you have told them that you definitely intend to defend yourself, the court will set a date for the hearing. Mark that date on your calendar as the day you will walk out of court a winner. Above all, do not miss that court date! If you do not show up in court, you will lose by default, which means that the collection company that is coming after you now owns the debt that was otherwise written off and had become worthless. Miss the court date, lose by default, and you owe money to blood-suckers who will garnish your wages and attach your bank accounts. Attend that court date!

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The above statements do not represent those of Weston Legal or Michael Weston and they have not been reviewed for accuracy. The statements have been published by a third party and are being linked to by our website only because they contain information relating to debt. Nothing in this article should be construed as legal advice given by Weston Legal or Michael Weston. To view the source of the article, please following the link to the website that published the article. Articles written by Michael W. Weston can be viewed here: To report any problem with this article please email creditcardlawsuit@westonlegal.com