[xsiphaktoi]

My girlfriend just received a summons to court in Tucson, Arizona for a debt from a Target Credit Card. She owes about 4k, but doesn't have the money to pay it. She owes on a pair of other credit cards as well, and began a "legal debt management" service through http://www.theconsumerprotectionlawcenter1.com/. Collectors have still been calling her, though, which leads me to doubt what legal power they have.

The other two cards have been negotiating with the debt service, and she's been making payments to them, but Target refused to negotiate, and is taking her to court. What options does she have?

[dcanez]

Hi - several things. First you need to find out what type of program your girlfriend is in... is it debt settlement or debt management? THese programs both fall under the consumer credit counseling service but work DIFFERENTLY. The name legal debt management doesn't mean they will provide legal representation unless it's a debt settlement program with an attorney model implemented. We are located in Scottsdale, Arizona and have both programs as a service & also have a settlement program w/attorney option. If she received a summons she has about 20 or 30 days to respond to the summons and/or try to negotiate something with the creditor now. She does NOT want to ignore the summons because then she will automatically default and basically the creditor can proceed in garnishing her wages and/or placing a lien on her properties (car, house etc) AND they can even attempt to wipe her bank accounts clean if they receive the courts OK. Now I am not an attorney, but I have been in this industry for 7 years. My best recommendation is to attempt to work it out now with the collector in negotiating the balance, but if she can't pay a sum up front chances are collectors won't want to negotiate the balance on a payment plan. So, she should look for a debtsettlement company that can provide an attorney locally here in Arizona. Check out www.primodebt.com & good luck! I hope this helps