You work hard for your money, but inflation often makes it difficult to make ends meet. More and more, people in Lake County are turning to credit cards and personal loans to buy groceries, put fuel in their car, or even pay the rent. The last thing anyone needs is for a debt collector to sue them and garnish their wages.
We can help. We are a consumer law firm who represents hard working men and women facing debt collection. We take on the state’s largest collection firms and ensure that your rights are protected throughout the entire process. Our results are impressive. We’ve managed to settle most debts for a fraction of the face value and have even gotten debts discharged entirely. Contact one of our Lake debt collection defense attorneys today.
Don’t Ignore a Debt Collection Lawsuit
Most collection lawsuits happen after you’ve stopped paying on a credit card or personal loan for over 6 months. This is called being in “default,” and lenders often sell off your debt to a collection agency because they don’t want the hassle of trying to collect from you. Instead, the collection agency has decades of experience aggressively pursuing debt—including filing lawsuits.
If you’re sued for an unpaid debt, you should receive notice of the suit. Don’t ignore it. If you do, the court will enter something called a “default judgment.” Put simply, this means you lose the lawsuit simply because you didn’t show up to court. The collection agency usually doesn’t even need to show a valid debt exists to win.
With a default judgment in hand, the debt collector can garnish your wages or put a lien on your property to satisfy the court judgment against you. Just as bad, the unpaid amount begins to accrue interest, so the amount you owe ultimately snowballs.
We Can Help
Once someone sued for a debt hires our firm, we can immediately spring into action to protect their rights. In our experience, most debts can be settled. This means reaching an agreement with the collection agency and coming up with a payment plan that won’t break the bank. In many cases, we can get a debt collector to agree to an amount that’s only a fraction of the face value of the debt.
We can also pursue having the case against you dismissed. Some debts are very old. And Illinois only gives debt collectors a certain amount of time to sue on that debt. (For credit cards the deadline is 5 years) When the limitation period expires, the debt is too old and is “uncollectible.”
Turning the Tables on Debt Collectors
Debt collectors have a history of using unfair, illegal and abusive debt collection tactics. Fortunately, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act regulates how debt collectors and collection law firms act. Every big collection outfit in Lake County knows this law—but some choose to ignore it because they figure you, the consumer, have never heard of it or how it protects you.
If a collection agency uses illegal or abusive debt practices, we can sue for damages and attorney’s fees. Don’t let collection agencies walk all over you. Our firm is proud to have achieved victory against many debt collection firms for violating these important federal rights.
Debt Collection Defense Checklist
If a debt collector contacts you, immediately do the following:
- Refuse to immediately pay the debt. You might pull out a credit card thinking, “Great, let me just make this debt go away.” Resist this urge. Maybe the debt is too old. A payment could restart the statute of limitations period, so simply tell the collector, “I don’t want to talk.”
- Avoid making an agreement to pay. Even a verbal agreement could turn an old debt into a valid one.
- Keep track of when the collection agency contacts you. Once you tell a collector to stop calling, they should leave you alone. If they ignore your request, they are being abusive.
Our Lake County Debt Collection Defense Attorney Is Here to Help
Anyone facing a lawsuit for a debt should have an experienced law firm by their side. Contact the Zero Debt Law Firm today to schedule a confidential strategy session. You can reach us at (312) 858-3240 or by completing our contact form.
(312) 858-3240 