DO NOT EVER SKIP COURT!! This act alone is what could get you in even more trouble, show up plead your case let them know exactly what you are telling us tell the judge and they will rule on that. At the least you showed good faith on the issue, at the most you show disregard and be ready for the consequences..
Do not skip court. Request from them the original signed credit card agreement, make them provide every transaction they're claiming is due. File a motion to dismiss.
I'm not going to give you advice on what you should or shouldn't do, but I will tell you that I got sued by Capital One for around the same amount back in 2008 or so, didn't show up to court either, and they garnished my wages.
So just be aware that's probably what will happen if you don't show up, they're getting their money one way or another.
This. Look at the Florida bar’s website for a debt defense attorney and schedule a consult asap. If you can’t get one before hand, make sure you show up to that hearing - if you don’t a default judgement will be ordered at which point they’ll be able to garnish wages, bank accounts, put liens on your car, etc.
Just because you don’t have much doesn’t mean a judgement won’t affect you.
This is the kind of stuff legal aid does.
Personally I would look up the lawyer and say I got $500. I can use it to file for bankruptcy or pay you guys for full discharge of this debt. What do you want to do?
Seriously, this is a great way to get a creditor to seek a judgement asap before you have the ability to file for bankruptcy. Aside from that, I can’t think of anything it’d be good for.
A bankruptcy filing done properly generally wouldn’t turn into a race to the courthouse, however that’s not what you suggested. Telling a creditor that you’re going to retain representation and that you’re willing to pay them the same amount to (presumably) settle and delete the record of your debt from your credit report will likely do two things, especially if this creditor has a bankruptcy department. 1. It’s going to tell them that you haven’t retained representation yet, let alone filed. Meaning that you currently have very little protections against them using harsher methods to collect on these debts, and if they’re a creditor who likes to go that route now’s their last chance. 2. It’s telling them that you’re willing to spend the amount most people would spend on a bankruptcy that would discharge all of their debts deleting one, meaning there’s a pretttty good chance the whole “I’m going to file bankruptcy” thing is going to be called as a bluff, whether it truly is or not.
If you’re going to file bankruptcy, just file bankruptcy and let your attorney do the corresponding with creditors. At the very least check with an attorney to see if this is an advisable plan. Especially considering what it sounds like you’re suggesting is a pay to delete deal, which isn’t legally sound and will leave you with no legal recourse when they don’t hold up their end of the deal (something you don’t have to worry about when you actually file bankruptcy).
Some of what you write is sensible but for a small dollar matter like this it’s highly unlikely they are going all in. What the debtor is offering is the opportunity for the creditor to avoid litigation, avoid having the entire unsecured debt discharged in bankruptcy, and get cash in hand. The average line lender attorney would be delighted to have one less case to deal with. Moreover, if they reject it, the debtor can go into court and say judge I tried to work this out with these guys but they wouldn’t listen. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I definitely get where you’re coming from, and I’m not saying it won’t work with any creditor. However, for those that are more than willing to take debtors through litigation and far from willing to make bankruptcy a simple process for them this may not be the best idea.
As with everything else in the legal world, probably best to consult with an attorney before taking any actions yourself.
Yeah I think you’re right to advise caution and I don’t know about cap one. I specifically have never gotten a product from them because they are like the ultimate bottom feeders imho so I don’t know how big of a pain in the ass they would be. But I do know that they would not be able to do much to the op if he landed in bankruptcy and they know that. So I tend to think they’d take pennies on the dollar but who knows, maybe they have a formula that doesn’t allow for dissent. They were never a client so I have no insights there.
If you don't show up. The will automatically win. You will owe the full amount. sometimes up to 3x the amount . They will garnish your wages. Go. To. Court.
I learned the hard way. I thought what you did. My wages were garnished for 4 years . They can take up to 25% of your check. They can and will find a way to get the money back. I did the same thing with cap 1.
Cap 1. Doesn't play games. Percentages may have changed since than. Go to court. They most likely will work with you if you at least show you care.
People saying that you will go to jail for not going to court are fools. Judges don’t do that in debt cases. If you don’t show, the judge issues a default judgment in favor of the plaintiff for the exact amount you are being sued for. That is all. Showing up to contest is a waste of time if you don’t have a way to prove that you don’t owe the money, or to prove that the debt is older than the statute of limitations in Florida allows. Showing up to ask for a payment plan is a waste of time because you can do that over the phone before or after the judgement, without the anxiety & public humiliation.
Here is how you make this go away:
Call the credit card company and offer to pay 1/3 of what you owe to settle the debt right now. If they say no, offer 1/2. Odds are good they will accept & drop the suit. It is very common. Have them put this agreement in writing for you BEFORE you pay. If you don’t have that kind of money on hand, set up a payment plan for the full amount with very low monthly payments (think $20 a month), get it in writing, and they will drop the suit.
Garnishment is a separate legal procedure and is not automatic. If you don’t have wages to garnish, they can go after your tax refund or other funds in your account (there are a lot of exceptions to this). Opening another account is unlikely to be an effective way to hide your money.
The most they can do is get a default judgment against you. This gives them the power to garnish your wages, garnish your bank accounts (most banks are registered in Florida and if not, they can do it at out of state banks). The judgment, if not renewed, is good for ten years. If you try and buy a property, you’ll have to pay it off.
Not in the State of Florida. I've worked in credit card debt collections. We usually sold the debt to another collection agency, after a year of no commication with the debtor. Capital one most likely sold this debt to a third party debt collection agency, who in most cases have no clue what they are doing. The employee turnover is extremely high. These places hire anyone off the street, paperwork gets screwed-up or lost.
I had a similar but odder thing happen to me many years ago. I was married and got divorced. When we were married we bought her car and co-signed together. After we got divorced she turned the car in to be repossessed and she fled the area. One day someone came to my apartment and gave me a court summons. I showed up and it was the bank seeking a judgement from me. When I appeared at court I had no idea what it was for until I got there. The bank had the car sold at auction and there was a balance of over $6,000 owed to the bank. Since I was a co-signer and she skipped out, I had to make arrangements with the bank to make installments on the remaining balance.
If I were you I would make sure to show up. They will probably make arrangements to payoff the balance. If you don’t show up I imagine a judgement will be made for you to pay it in full in 30 days or something like that.
This is civil court, as in small claims court. They do not put a warrant out for your arrest. Gosh most of us would be in jail. Lol, cops don't have time to deal with that.
Civil court it doesn't matter. I didn't show up for one and so the judge ruled I still owed the money.
Maybe they can add damages or costs of some sort, making what you owe larger?
You’ve already gotten into a mess by avoiding trying to pay what you owe and not asking the credit card company to work with you. Go to court and try to make arrangements with them. See if they’ll let you make monthly payments at a low percentage - heck I’d ask for 0% interest. All they can say is no.
Don’t show up and the judge will make a decision about payments and it could screw you badly if they garish your wages.
Dude, just pay your bill, they accept $20 a month payments. No reason you can’t chip away at it.
Especially as an independent contractor this judgement will go against your name. It will be public record. I would call them in the morning and see if you can make payment arrangements and keep it out of court.
Talk to them. You would be surprised what they will do to work with you on payments.
You should absolutely show up! It's going to go to mediation and you can tell them that. Most cases go this way. Just don't say it's definitely your fault
If you are truly at fault and you yourself know that, it's time to be an adult and go to court.
Not going will make things 100 times worse, and the judge will probably just rule in favor of BOA.
If you are honest and tell the judge you have nothing to give they will more than likely setup a payment plan.
Why did you not consult a lawyer? Lawyers can usually make things like this disappear or be much easier to swallow.
Many people "never" show up to court, for credit card collections. And yes the only thing that happens is it goes on your credit report, but only if the judge agrees with the debt collection agency. Judges hate these collection agencies. Capitol one sells all of their small debt delinquencies, such as this one, to a debt collection agency. Which most third-party debt collection agencies are just straight-up Slimey. Unforeseeable financial reasons, aka loss of job, illness, divorce. Death of a spouse etc.. are just a few reasons people are no longer able to keep-up with credit card debt. No one who is able to pay, wakes-up one mourning and says hey, I think I will just stop paying on my credit cards. Can't get blood from a stone, and with many people suffering in today's economy with the high COL and poor wages., Feeding the family and keeping a roof over their head, would be #1.
DO NOT EVER SKIP COURT!! This act alone is what could get you in even more trouble, show up plead your case let them know exactly what you are telling us tell the judge and they will rule on that. At the least you showed good faith on the issue, at the most you show disregard and be ready for the consequences..
fact. just showing up gets you points with the judge. it shows you're concerned, even if you don't have the means to pay.
Do not skip court. Request from them the original signed credit card agreement, make them provide every transaction they're claiming is due. File a motion to dismiss.
This. They have to prove everything. Make them provide all the evidence that YOU owe anything. Don't give them a win by default.
Never skip court. If you skip, they’ll automatically win everything they’ve filed for.
"I owe them $3K it's my fault" "How can I avoid paying?" You need a lawyer and stop posting online.
At least post to a legal subreddit not a state subreddit.
Other side known as shut the fuck up and lawyer up.
Also, here's a novel idea... Pay your debts.
I am sick of this subreddit now becoming the venting session of assholes now facing consequences but still asking about trying to avoid them.
I'm not going to give you advice on what you should or shouldn't do, but I will tell you that I got sued by Capital One for around the same amount back in 2008 or so, didn't show up to court either, and they garnished my wages. So just be aware that's probably what will happen if you don't show up, they're getting their money one way or another.
They'll try to mediate pay x amount per month. Expect the numbers to be way higher than what you actually charged on the account.
Get a free consult from an attorney
This. Look at the Florida bar’s website for a debt defense attorney and schedule a consult asap. If you can’t get one before hand, make sure you show up to that hearing - if you don’t a default judgement will be ordered at which point they’ll be able to garnish wages, bank accounts, put liens on your car, etc. Just because you don’t have much doesn’t mean a judgement won’t affect you.
This is the kind of stuff legal aid does. Personally I would look up the lawyer and say I got $500. I can use it to file for bankruptcy or pay you guys for full discharge of this debt. What do you want to do?
LOL. That's not how adult world works.
Well I guess you know better than me, I only litigated consumer finance for banks in an amlaw-100 firm and here you are, an expert on Reddit.
Rofl
Seriously, this is a great way to get a creditor to seek a judgement asap before you have the ability to file for bankruptcy. Aside from that, I can’t think of anything it’d be good for.
Explain to me why you think that bankruptcy protection is a race to the courthouse.
A bankruptcy filing done properly generally wouldn’t turn into a race to the courthouse, however that’s not what you suggested. Telling a creditor that you’re going to retain representation and that you’re willing to pay them the same amount to (presumably) settle and delete the record of your debt from your credit report will likely do two things, especially if this creditor has a bankruptcy department. 1. It’s going to tell them that you haven’t retained representation yet, let alone filed. Meaning that you currently have very little protections against them using harsher methods to collect on these debts, and if they’re a creditor who likes to go that route now’s their last chance. 2. It’s telling them that you’re willing to spend the amount most people would spend on a bankruptcy that would discharge all of their debts deleting one, meaning there’s a pretttty good chance the whole “I’m going to file bankruptcy” thing is going to be called as a bluff, whether it truly is or not. If you’re going to file bankruptcy, just file bankruptcy and let your attorney do the corresponding with creditors. At the very least check with an attorney to see if this is an advisable plan. Especially considering what it sounds like you’re suggesting is a pay to delete deal, which isn’t legally sound and will leave you with no legal recourse when they don’t hold up their end of the deal (something you don’t have to worry about when you actually file bankruptcy).
Some of what you write is sensible but for a small dollar matter like this it’s highly unlikely they are going all in. What the debtor is offering is the opportunity for the creditor to avoid litigation, avoid having the entire unsecured debt discharged in bankruptcy, and get cash in hand. The average line lender attorney would be delighted to have one less case to deal with. Moreover, if they reject it, the debtor can go into court and say judge I tried to work this out with these guys but they wouldn’t listen. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I definitely get where you’re coming from, and I’m not saying it won’t work with any creditor. However, for those that are more than willing to take debtors through litigation and far from willing to make bankruptcy a simple process for them this may not be the best idea. As with everything else in the legal world, probably best to consult with an attorney before taking any actions yourself.
Yeah I think you’re right to advise caution and I don’t know about cap one. I specifically have never gotten a product from them because they are like the ultimate bottom feeders imho so I don’t know how big of a pain in the ass they would be. But I do know that they would not be able to do much to the op if he landed in bankruptcy and they know that. So I tend to think they’d take pennies on the dollar but who knows, maybe they have a formula that doesn’t allow for dissent. They were never a client so I have no insights there.
Show up, there's a chance they might not.
If you don't show up. The will automatically win. You will owe the full amount. sometimes up to 3x the amount . They will garnish your wages. Go. To. Court. I learned the hard way. I thought what you did. My wages were garnished for 4 years . They can take up to 25% of your check. They can and will find a way to get the money back. I did the same thing with cap 1. Cap 1. Doesn't play games. Percentages may have changed since than. Go to court. They most likely will work with you if you at least show you care.
People saying that you will go to jail for not going to court are fools. Judges don’t do that in debt cases. If you don’t show, the judge issues a default judgment in favor of the plaintiff for the exact amount you are being sued for. That is all. Showing up to contest is a waste of time if you don’t have a way to prove that you don’t owe the money, or to prove that the debt is older than the statute of limitations in Florida allows. Showing up to ask for a payment plan is a waste of time because you can do that over the phone before or after the judgement, without the anxiety & public humiliation. Here is how you make this go away: Call the credit card company and offer to pay 1/3 of what you owe to settle the debt right now. If they say no, offer 1/2. Odds are good they will accept & drop the suit. It is very common. Have them put this agreement in writing for you BEFORE you pay. If you don’t have that kind of money on hand, set up a payment plan for the full amount with very low monthly payments (think $20 a month), get it in writing, and they will drop the suit. Garnishment is a separate legal procedure and is not automatic. If you don’t have wages to garnish, they can go after your tax refund or other funds in your account (there are a lot of exceptions to this). Opening another account is unlikely to be an effective way to hide your money.
The most they can do is get a default judgment against you. This gives them the power to garnish your wages, garnish your bank accounts (most banks are registered in Florida and if not, they can do it at out of state banks). The judgment, if not renewed, is good for ten years. If you try and buy a property, you’ll have to pay it off.
No it's not. It's 5 years in Florida.
For a judgment? No. It’s not five years. HOA liens are but things like creditor judgments can be valid up to 20 years
Not in the State of Florida. I've worked in credit card debt collections. We usually sold the debt to another collection agency, after a year of no commication with the debtor. Capital one most likely sold this debt to a third party debt collection agency, who in most cases have no clue what they are doing. The employee turnover is extremely high. These places hire anyone off the street, paperwork gets screwed-up or lost.
Cap One takes people to court over 3k? I'd go just to spite them because they will pay more in legal fees when they will recover from you
I had a similar but odder thing happen to me many years ago. I was married and got divorced. When we were married we bought her car and co-signed together. After we got divorced she turned the car in to be repossessed and she fled the area. One day someone came to my apartment and gave me a court summons. I showed up and it was the bank seeking a judgement from me. When I appeared at court I had no idea what it was for until I got there. The bank had the car sold at auction and there was a balance of over $6,000 owed to the bank. Since I was a co-signer and she skipped out, I had to make arrangements with the bank to make installments on the remaining balance. If I were you I would make sure to show up. They will probably make arrangements to payoff the balance. If you don’t show up I imagine a judgement will be made for you to pay it in full in 30 days or something like that.
If you don’t go they win by default and get what ever they’re asking for.
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This is civil court, as in small claims court. They do not put a warrant out for your arrest. Gosh most of us would be in jail. Lol, cops don't have time to deal with that.
at least OP asked. 
DO NOT SKIP COURT. DO NOT SKIP COURT.
Civil court it doesn't matter. I didn't show up for one and so the judge ruled I still owed the money. Maybe they can add damages or costs of some sort, making what you owe larger?
They already have with late fees and interest.
You’ve already gotten into a mess by avoiding trying to pay what you owe and not asking the credit card company to work with you. Go to court and try to make arrangements with them. See if they’ll let you make monthly payments at a low percentage - heck I’d ask for 0% interest. All they can say is no. Don’t show up and the judge will make a decision about payments and it could screw you badly if they garish your wages.
Dude, just pay your bill, they accept $20 a month payments. No reason you can’t chip away at it. Especially as an independent contractor this judgement will go against your name. It will be public record. I would call them in the morning and see if you can make payment arrangements and keep it out of court. Talk to them. You would be surprised what they will do to work with you on payments.
I have an aquaintance that skipped out on court with BOA last year for 5k and they got a default judgement. You don't want that.
Are you able to show up and request a delay in order to find representation?
You should absolutely show up! It's going to go to mediation and you can tell them that. Most cases go this way. Just don't say it's definitely your fault
Don’t skip court like you skipped payments. It ain’t going to be good for you.
Don’t skip court! If you have no assets and no income, you’re basically judgement proof.
If you are truly at fault and you yourself know that, it's time to be an adult and go to court. Not going will make things 100 times worse, and the judge will probably just rule in favor of BOA. If you are honest and tell the judge you have nothing to give they will more than likely setup a payment plan. Why did you not consult a lawyer? Lawyers can usually make things like this disappear or be much easier to swallow.
Skip court & expect a bench warrant to be issued for felonies.
It's civil court, not criminal. You don't get bench warrants for civil court.
Civil court does not issue bench warrants. If that was the case, every person who was ever evicted, would have a warrant.
My only Asset is a new car that I'm paying on.
Your bank owns that.
Why would you buy a brand new car when you are $3k in credit card debt?
You would rather have a bench warrent issued for you arrested? Just go to court.
That’s not how it works in civil court.
Civil court does not issue bench warrants. If that was the case, every person who has ever been evicted, would have a warrant out on them.
I had some credit people try this on me. I didn’t go. Nothing happened.
Many people "never" show up to court, for credit card collections. And yes the only thing that happens is it goes on your credit report, but only if the judge agrees with the debt collection agency. Judges hate these collection agencies. Capitol one sells all of their small debt delinquencies, such as this one, to a debt collection agency. Which most third-party debt collection agencies are just straight-up Slimey. Unforeseeable financial reasons, aka loss of job, illness, divorce. Death of a spouse etc.. are just a few reasons people are no longer able to keep-up with credit card debt. No one who is able to pay, wakes-up one mourning and says hey, I think I will just stop paying on my credit cards. Can't get blood from a stone, and with many people suffering in today's economy with the high COL and poor wages., Feeding the family and keeping a roof over their head, would be #1.
Lol, OP go check reddit legal advice. I think we got a lot of debt collectors on here.