Disputing a Court Summons for Credit Card Debt

The first thing to do is to respond the summons. Collection attorneys are used to consumers not responding to court summonses for credit card debt. Feeling helpless and guilty the consumer then loses by default, and the attorney gets the court’s backing to collect the debt.

A two or three page answer is enough to begin defending against a court summons for credit card debt. The answer to the summons is only the beginning of the case from the court’s perspective. The answer needs to make the collection attorney properly document the alleged debt, according to the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide.

Courts usually recognize the consumer’s demand for proper documentation. Collection attorneys cannot produce a signed contract because most credit card agreements do not have one. They also have trouble accounting for the exact amount of money they say is owed. If the collection attorney represents a debt buyer, he will also have trouble documenting the transfer of the account from the bank to the debt buyer.

The rules of civil procedure for the consumer’s local court dictate the proper service of the summons to the consumer and of the answer to the plaintiff. They also tell the consumer how much time he has to respond to the summons before going into default. Most importantly the local rules of civil procedure dictate the affirmative defenses that need to be in the answer to the summons.

Most importantly, the rules dictate the wording of the affirmative defenses the consumer uses in the answer. As a start, the consumer can find a generically worded answer in a resource like the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide. Then, the consumer needs to get the advice of a local attorney on the answer’s exact wording per the local rules of civil procedure.

It is a common practice for collection attorneys to “fish” for defaulting consumers with a batch of court summons. Most credit card debtors do not answer these summonses. For the few that do, the attorney simply withdraws the claim focusing on the easy money from the defaulters he has netted.

To beat them, civil summonses for credit card debt need to be answered!

This content is not intended as a substitute for legal advice. If you need an attorney in your local area, please contact a licensed attorney in your state.

Be Sociable, Share!

•