Credit Card Debt
Credit card debt – it is a vicious cycle that affects many hardworking Americans. Missing a payment can lead to an increase in interest rates, turning a reasonable credit card bill into a ludicrous financial struggle.
When your credit card debt grows beyond your ability to pay off, credit card companies may file a lawsuit against you to collect on this debt. If this happens, the last thing you want to do is ignore any petitions filed against. Failing to respond to any citations will only make the problem worse, possibly resulting in a default judgment against you.
Your best bet at combating any credit card debt issues is through enlisting the support of a Texas credit card debt defense attorney from The Kherkher Law Firm PLLC. We have the skill necessary to help you begin correcting your financial situation.
Are you drowning in a sea of credit card debt and are looking for a helping hand? Contact the
debt defense attorneys from The Kherkher Law Firm PLLC today at 713-244-6363 to set up a consultation.
How Credit Card Debt Lawsuits Work
All it takes is one accident or emergency to send you spiraling into debt. If you can’t afford to pay your credit card bills or have missed too many payments, your credit card company may take action against you.
If you’ve received notification that a credit card company is filing a lawsuit against you, the first emotion you may feel is panic. Lawsuits filed against you are never a good thing. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that you do have options.
Being a defendant doesn’t mean you have to automatically pay thousands. You do have rights and the ability to protect yourself from unlawful practices often used by credit card companies to place consumers in bad financial situations.
In the credit card company’s eyes, you broke an agreement with them. Because of this, they may feel the need to retaliate in order to recover what they believe is theirs. In a legal sense, that means that the credit card company is the plaintiff, and as the plaintiff, they are the ones that have the burden of proof.
While credit card lawsuits can vary slightly from state to state, the process generally works in the following manner:
- The credit card company files a complaint against you to begin the lawsuit process. The complaint includes your total debt and how much the credit card company wants to be paid back. The creditor may sue you in a state or federal court; most creditors sue in small claims court.
- You must then answer this complaint against you. You typically have 20 to 30 days to file a written response. In your rebuttal, you admit or deny the complaint, as well as provide a defense against the claims against you. Make sure to keep any copies of documents you submit for your own purposes as well.
- It is in your own best interest to seek out legal guidance when preparing and filing a response.
- This part of the process is important as failing to respond to the complaint can result in an automatic judgment against you, essentially leaving you without any options to defend yourself.
- The discovery period follows the complaint and response portions. Both the defendant and plaintiff are able to review the case using discovery tools such as depositions, interrogatories, and requests for admissions or production.
- A “Motion for Summary Judgement” may be filed to request for the court to make a decision on the claim.
The courts will order a “mediation” in an attempt to settle the lawsuit before it goes to trial. If no agreement was made, it will normally be sent to a “bench trial,” meaning that a judge will rule on the outcome and not a jury. Both sides will present their evidence, and the judge will make their decision.
The Texas credit card debt attorneys at The Kherkher Law Firm PLLC are ready to represent you against creditors filing lawsuits against you. Contact us today at 713-244-6363 for the support you deserve.
What The Kherkher Law Firm PLLC Can Do For You & Your Credit Card Debt
Our firm’s mission is to help you break away from the weight of debt so that you can move on with your life.
Our skilled Texas debt defense attorneys are able to tailor a defense strategy for the most complex of cases. If you are overwhelmed in debt, our credit card debt defense lawyers can help you:
- Negotiate – We are more than capable of negotiating with your creditors and debt collection agencies. When this happens, we do our best — inside and out of the courtroom — to keep fees and penalties down while working to lower the original amount of debt that is owed.
- Demand Evidence – The burden of proof lies on the plaintiff — in this case, the credit card company — to prove that you broke an agreement with them. To do so, they must submit business records showing what is owed. Our debt defense attorneys use their eagled-eye precision to search for any errors or mistakes that may exist on any of the documentation provided. If found, motions will be called to have those records removed from evidence and to dismiss your case.
- Countersue – This is reserved for people that have been harassed or are victims of creditor abuse. The Texas Debt Collections Act (TDCA) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prevent creditors from acting out in such a fashion.
When combined with all of our available tools, you have a strong team of representatives that can help bring some relief to an overwhelming financial situation.
We Fight Credit Card Companies
The Kherkher Law Firm PLLC takes pride in representing individuals and families in Texas that are being sued for a debt owed to credit card companies, banks, or other debt collectors. Our lawyers have helped hundreds of clients in Texas fight against the unreasonable and unfair lawsuits that are filed by creditors like:
- Capital One
- Cascade Capital
- Crown Asset Management
- Cavalry
- Con’s appliances Inc.
- Citibank
- American Express
- Discover
- Bank of America
- Wells Fargo
- HSBC
- GE Money Bank
- GEMB
- FIA Card Services
- Target National Bank
- Synchrony
- JH Portfolio
- Velocity Investments
- Absolute Resolution Investments
- Jefferson Capital
- Synchrony
Not only that, but we also defend people that are under lawsuit from scavenger debt buyers like:
- LVNV Funding L.L.C.
- Vion Holding
- Equable Ascent Financial L.L.C.
- Asset Acceptances L.L.C.
- Pharia
- Dodeka
- Portfolio Recovery Associates, L.L.C.
- Troy Capital
- CACH, L.L.C.
- Global Acceptance, L.L.C.
- Advantage Assets
- Midland Funding, L.L.C.
- Palisade Collections, L.L.C.
What Debt Collectors Cannot Do
As was mentioned earlier, the Texas Debt Collection Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act govern how a debt collector can treat you. These laws prevent them from using abusive collection practices and tactics such as:
- Threatening, profane, or obscene language.
- False accusations of fraud or other crimes.
- Threatening to arrest you without a court proceeding.
- Threats to repossess or seize your property without being taken to court.
- Harassing debtors through repeated calling.
These acts also prohibit the use of fraudulent collection tactics such as:
- Using false names or other forms of identification.
- Misrepresenting the current amount that is owed or its judicial status.
- Sending fake court documents to a debtor.
- Misrepresenting the nature of services rendered by the collector.
- Attempting to gain more than the amount that was originally agreed upon.
Collection agencies found in violation of these acts are subject to criminal and civil penalties.
If you suspect that you have been deceived or harassed by a collection agency, contact a debt defense lawyer like the ones at The Kherkher Law Firm PLLC today.
Are You Facing a Judgment for Debt?
Judgments are court orders made on the outcome of a lawsuit. If a judgment was declared against you, that gives a debt collector the right to use stronger debt-collecting tactics against you.
Creditors have been ramping up their efforts in filing collection lawsuits against consumers in Texas lately, and they are using several different tactics to do it, including:
- By Garnishing Your Bank Account – In the state of Texas, creditors have the ability to garnish your bank account. They cannot touch your paycheck, but once it is in the bank, it is fair game.
- By Writ of Execution – Surprisingly, a creditor can send law enforcement officers to your residence to seek and sell non-exempt property.
- By Post Judgment Deposition or Discovery – A creditor can force you to appear at a deposition to testify about your assets. Failure to appear can result in you being held in contempt of court.
The above are a few of the most common judgment tactics used but it is by no means an all-inclusive list. That is why it is important to reiterate once more: if you ignore a credit card debt lawsuit, they will only get worse, giving creditors the ability to put you in a poorer financial situation.
Contact The Kherkher Law Firm PLLC at 713-244-6363 to schedule your consultation with a determined Texas debt defense lawyer.
It’s time to break the vicious cycle of credit card debt. Hire our debt defense attorneys at The Kherkher Law Firm PLLC when big credit card companies are strong-arming you.
Make your voice heard loud and clear.