My boyfriend just got served papers for a credit card?

Question

My boyfriend just got served paper for the credit card company. They are asken for 1300. He knows that he owns the money, but there is no way that we can come up with that money in 20 days. What is the next step that we can do to solve this? Do we call and make arrangements? Do we just show up in court and deal with it there? If we don't have the money could he go to jail. We have no credit to take out a loan, and no one to borrow from. I am worried about what is going to happen. Any help would be great!!!!

Answer 1

tell the bf to call the credit card company and set up a payment plan and stick to it, which should have been done a long time ago (instead of ignoring the situation).   if the bf has a court date, the credit card company can just get a judgment.  pay off the cards and close those accounts.  you don't need the credit card companies, they need you.  he owes the money and has to pay up.  

Answer 2

First of all: do not ignore any court hearing and make sure he shows up, if not, they will win a default judgment against him and can either seize property he owns, garnish his wages or confiscate any funds he may have in  any bank accounts.

Check your states laws as to wage garnishment.  North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas — do not allow wage garnishment at all except for debts related to taxes, child support, federally guaranteed student loans, and court-ordered fines or restitution for a crime the debtor committed. Several other states observe maximum thresholds that are lower than the 25 percent maximum provided by federal law. States may also prohibit garnishment altogether in certain circumstances. For example, in Florida the wages of a person who provides more than half the support for a child or other dependent are exempt from garnishment altogether (though this exemption is subject to waiver).

Use this web site to find out your states laws http://www.bcsalliance.com/y_debt_statel...

You should also check to see if this debt is "Time Barred" which means it is beyond your states statute of limitations to seek collections in a  court of law.  States vary in this fact, some are only 3 yrs and other can be 10 yrs.  If his debt is beyond your states SOL, then that would be his defense.  You can find your state laws at this link http://www.bcsalliance.com/statute_of_li...

Hope this answers your question

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The advice contained herein is for informational purposes only. It is not to be construed as Legal Counsel nor Legal Advice.

Answer 3

To get to this point he must have ignored an awful lot of letters....

Do you have any assets? They may be seized.

Try making arrangments with the company, even at this late stage.

A court appearance will add to the costs.

Answer 4

Dont let it come to court, you will definately loose and will have to pay the legal fees on top of what is outstanding, and thats serious money!

Get your Bf to give the credit card company a ring and think of a proposal you can afford to pay this off. For instance 100,- per month (or whatever you can afford)

DONT TAKE OUT A NEW LOAN TO COVER THIS LOAN!!!

If you approach them in a positive manner and ask what solution you can agree on they should be willingly to sort something out.

Get rid of all your creditcards and dont take any loans out anymore. Your Bf is obviously spending money he doesnt have!

Answer 5

He won't go to jail for credit card debt, the only debt that can lead to a prison sentence is government debts. Not paying council tax, not paying your taxes or fraudulent claiming benefits. At worst he will go to court and the court will issue a warrant for bailiffs to collect the debt. Either by payment plan or by seizing your goods, but even that's quite unlikely. Best thing to do at the moment is to write to the credit card company (always write at this stage and keep a copy of any letters you send and receive, it will look favourably on him if he has tried to sort something out even at this late stage) ask them if they are willing to accept instalments, but still never say you'll pay an amount you can't afford. You'll only end up in default again and back at the same situation. And don't let them bully you into making payments you know you can't afford, if they won't accept your offer even at the smallest amount, the judge will wonder why and it will look bad on them. If you don't make a payment plan, it will go to court, the judge will look at your income and work out a payment plan. But be aware that if it goes to court you will add on court fees

Answer 6

The difficulty with credit card debt is that it can take so long to pay it off that you just get almost bored and spend again.  Most people find it hard to live within their means and not get further into debt or back into debt.

I can recommend starting to buy everything with cash - I'm telling you, when you see those bills going through your fingers you will really cut back on your spending!  It's far too easy to spend money you don't have with a credit card.

You have to get rid of your credit card debt.  Either get a consolidation loan or consolidate your cards to ones with zero or low rates of interest.  Once you have done this you MUST get rid of your old cards - cut them up and destroy them otherwise you will be tempted to spend on them again and get into even more serious problems.

You really can get out of credit card debt but it is going to require some discipline and self control and maybe even a five year plan, but once you are out of debt you will feel a new found sense of freedom!