Incomes Growing Faster than Debt in US
No, a person can’t go to jail for not paying credit card debts. The U.S. ended the use of debtor prisons centuries ago. However, that doesn’t mean a credit card company doesn’t have legal alternatives for owed debt. The most efficient way of doing so is by filing a lawsuit in court for the credit card debt.
Creditor Lawsuits Against Debtors
A credit card debt lawsuit is handled in civil court. Civil court allows both the credit card company (plaintiff) and the person who allegedly owes the debt (defendant) a chance to plead their case to a judge. The defendant must file an answer to the lawsuit to ever get the chance of having their day in court. An answer may outline why the defendant isn’t responsible for paying the credit card debt among other things.
Cases are often resolved outside of court as a result of the defendant agreeing to pay the credit card debt. However, if there is no out-of-court settlement, the case is decided by a judge or jury. If the court rules in the creditor’s favor, the defendant owes the money. With a favorable judgment in hand, the credit card company can take further legal action to recover the owed debt.
For instance, the credit card company can garnish a person’s wages and freeze their bank account. Wage garnishment involves the company obtaining a court order to deduct money from the person’s paycheck or account to settle the debt. The document is given to the person’s employer or bank then the bank must approve the garnishment. Once approved, the creditor can continue to garnish one’s wages until the debt is completely satisfied.
Creditor Debt Collection Tactics
A credit card company will often try tactics to avoid going to court. For instance, they may report payment delinquency to the three major credit bureaus which results in noticeable drop in one’s credit score. This is done in an attempt to get the person to pay if they don’t want their credit score further impacted. Another tactic is to hire a third party collection agency to pursue debt collection on their behalf.
You may not end up in jail for not paying your credit card bill but, creditors have numerous avenues of recovering the funds owed. If you’re ever made aware of legal action from a creditor or debt collector, be sure to waste little time in acquiring legal representation.
The Illinois credit card debt lawyers at Benveniste Law Offices can help combat creditor lawsuits and stop wage garnishment. Heather Benveniste spent seven years as a debt collection lawyer before becoming a credit card debt attorney. Through this experience, she’s gained insight on the operations of debt collection companies and can help use that knowledge in your favor. Contact us today at 1-800-497-5358 for a free case evaluation.
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