Originally Posted by
Help401
I need advice. Yesterday I was served papers about a debt with a credit card company. It is MY debt. I was young and very dumb about my credit cards. Now they are catching up to me. I am broke. I honestly don't own anything. No savings, I rent, and my car is financed. I as of right now have 19 days to respond. I have NO clue how or what to do. I know eventually I will have to file for bankruptcy but I DON'T have the money to hire a lawyer right now. I am sooo scared and can't sleep. I know I did this to myself but I need help. I'm afraid they will take my car. Please help.
They can't take your car if you don't own it. Remember... they can't squeeze blood from a turnip. :) I've always loved that saying.
I just posted my experience of being sued twice by two different collection agencies (one for almost $30,000). I strongly suggest you check it out here:
https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/bankru...y-56749-2.html
OH! Also, remember one VERY IMPORTANT fact. When I was sued, my wife and I owed over $30,000 in credit card debt (
NOT including what I was being sued for). Currently, we still owe almost $25,000 in credit card debt. We have NEVER filed for bankruptcy. Dude, don't do it. It would be different if you owned a house and/or they were coming to take your car, etc.
It sounds like you're working. Life is a LOT better than you're giving yourself credit for. I got in a bit of trouble when I lost my job unexpectedly... I called my credit card folks and explained what happened. I told them that I still wanted to make my payments and keep my credit in good shape, but I'd do my best and if I had make a late payment, well, that's life (just like me losing my job). Most were Surprisingly cool and made arrangements to reduce my minimum payment temporarily. There was one that wasn't. He he... guess who DID NOT get paid when the money ran out? LMAO... yee haw! As it turns out, I was out of work for over six months, but the unemployment enabled me to pretty much pay all the bills (though it's freakin' breadcrumbs) except for one... I withheld payment from my friends at Citibank that were idiots who were unwilling to show me a little mercy in desperate times.
By the way, that's the debt the first company sued me for.
Don't fret the lawsuit man... seriously. It is serious, you'll not be happy if you don't take it seriously, but don't lose sleep over it. Read my story on this other thread and do what I did. You'll likely not even have to file a "motion to dismiss" because they're just hoping you won't file ANYTHING...
Once you file an "answer" to their "complaint" I bet 10 to 1 that they'll drop the lawsuit.
If it makes you feel any better, I was being sued for $9,000 when they dropped the suit after I filed an answer. When I was sued for almost $30,000, they actually hung in there for one more step... so I wrote a letter to the court, called it "motion to dismiss" at the top and asked the judge to throw out this lawsuit because I don't know this crazy collection company, nor have I ever had a credit card with THEIR name on it (not mentioning the original creditor).
This whole thing is a game that the collection companies play, so we all have to play along once we reach this step. Thank God for the Internet... Collection companies probably had a LOT more success when people couldn't post and email each other about their experiences.
Good luck! And... seriously, don't sweat it. Things will turn out MUCH better than you had anticipated. :) trust me! (been there, done that)