If you have recently been served with a summons regarding past credit card debt. Don’t panic. It can be a very scary and unsettling experience, that’s for sure!

First of all, try to relax and make rational decisions. One of people’s first impulses when “served” is often to call the creditor or attorney and try to come up with some kind of deal. Unfortunately, when an overdue debt has reached this point, it is too late to work out a payment plan with the creditor.

THAT SAID … there will probably be an opportunity to trade later using a strategy that often reduces debt by at least 60% or more. Here’s the scoop. You are being sued and are involved in a civil legal matter. You cannot trust the attorney or the creditor, they CAN and WILL USE anything you say against you. This is why a panicked phone call could sink your case before it even begins!

The good news is that many of these semi-false debt lawsuits (you may owe the debt, but it’s often outside the statute and / or thousands more than the debt you actually incurred) are frivolous. Somehow, down the line, he was electronically pinged as a good prospect for what is called a “default judgment.”

Default judgment occurs when a debtor does not respond to a subpoena. Your citation will tell you how many days you have, but it is generally 20-30 days maximum. More than 70% of the debtors DO NOT RESPOND.

This is an absolute gold mine for creditors. They receive the “judgment” at their inflated rate plus interest, attorney’s fees, and so on. … It is outrageous. And … they can garnish your wages or freeze your bank account until your sentence is fully served.

To breathe. You can avoid this. You NEED to avoid this.

Most credit card debt lawsuits will be handled by mail. This gives you TIME and is a good thing. As long as you RESPOND to the CALLS within the appropriate time frame with a “Reply”, you can be sure that your assets are momentarily safe.

Some cases progress faster than others, but on average, I have witnessed most cases take about seven months from summons to conclusion. You will send them your “Answer” along with the court filing and this will give the creditor NOTICE that you are not a fool and will not line your pockets like another default judgment.

If your case is weak to begin with, you have a good chance of having the lawsuit dropped entirely. Especially if you claim “Affirmative Defenses”, such as an out-of-statute debt. If your debt is more recent, there are other tactics you can employ, and if they don’t drop the case, you will probably go into the “Discovery” period, where they’ll send you a document full of questions about the debt you’ll need. answer to.

As part of this “discovery” process, you can also send them questions. This is usually the smoking gun in these cases, as MANY third-party junk debt buyers have little to no documentation to back up their claims.

Do your homework on this topic and you can save not only money, but your credit rating too! It is critical that you respond ON TIME and pay close attention to each step of the process.

Yeah, it totally sucks to be sued by a creditor. Many of us have tried to put bad debts behind and just when you feel like you might be getting a little ahead of ourselves … BOOM !! … they give you a subpoena. I hear this over and over again and experienced it myself.

Taking responsibility for your finances is critical to achieving your life goals. Don’t become another default statistic. Stand up and fight for your rights.

For more information on how I fought a $ 5K credit card debt lawsuit and won, please visit my website at http://www.howtoansweracreditcarddebtlawsuit.com

I have compiled an e-book with detailed sample documents, explanations, and strategies to guide the average citizen through this process if they cannot afford an attorney. Check it out!