This is the form of a lawsuit that many of the larger lawsuits take. These suits are conducted in Circuit Court. Circuit Court is a more formal court proceeding. The rules of evidence, and the rules of procedure are usually enforced more strictly. The process of discovery is more detailed and can be long and confusing. It is used for collecting amounts over $5,000.00, not including interest, attorney fees and costs. You must respond by the deadline, or the plaintiff will obtain judgment against you by default. Depending on the facts in your case, the case can be defended or settled for a fraction of the cost of paying the debt. Contact us for a quote today.
Note that collection cases between $5,000.00 and $15,000.00 may be done with either a Warrant in Debt or a Summons and Complaint.
There are 5 points you should be aware of when being sued.
- Debt collectors must follow all the rules of court, or they are not entitled to a judgment. This includes the statute of limitations, and the rules of evidence. They must prove that you owe the money, not just to the original creditor, but to the people who are suing. Just because they say that you owed a bank, even if true, does not mean that you owe the junk debt buyer.
- The plaintiff, the company that has sued you, bears the burden of proof. Just because you have been sued does not mean you will lose – instead the debt buyer must prove that you owe money to the debt buyer, not just to the original creditor (Capital One, Bank of America, Chase, etc).
- Third, you have a deadline from when you were served to answer the lawsuit in General District Court (or Small Claims). You must show up or send a lawyer, or they automatically win. You have 21 days in Circuit Court to answer from when you were served. Keeping in mind those deadlines, you normally have time to think and research before you need to make a decision. Please note if your time is running out to answer then you need to make a decision and take action before your time expires.
- Bankruptcy is a valid option to consider but it normally is not your only option. So many Virginia consumers file Bankruptcy when they could have likely defeated a debt buyer lawsuit. You probably have received a number of letters from Bankruptcy attorneys – certainly look at the information they sent you so you can decide if that is a good option but always consider the option of fighting the debt buyer lawsuit. If you do chose to file a Bankruptcy, please consider us. We are a debt relief agency, and can help people file for Bankruptcy, but we prefer to find an alternative to Bankruptcy.
- If you are successful in the collection lawsuit, lots of good things happen. You should not receive any more letters or calls from this debt buyer or any other collector related to this debt. Your credit report should be cleared of the debt buyer’s account that is related to the lawsuit. If you do get calls or if your credit report is not corrected when you request an investigation, you may be entitled to money damages, under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and/or the Fair Credit Reporting Act against the responsible parties. All because you won your debt buyer collection lawsuit
Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.
You can call us: 804.592.0792
You can fax us: 804.823.2565
You can contact us by US MAIL:
Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.
1650 Willow Lawn Drive
Suite 201
Richmond, VA 23230