What is going to happen-getting sued by credit card agency?

[charlot22]

i got served summons papers from two different credit card companies (law firm collection agencies for my credit cards) that are taking me to court because i am unable to pay the debt owed.

* i have no job and haven't for a long time
* i have no apartment or house (i am living with my sister for now)
* i have no car
* i have no assets
* i have no current bank account

how can i prove to these places that i am judgement proof and get them to NOT take me to court?

i can't borrow any money from anyone to help me with this debt. i cannot pay for anything myself, i am beyond broke.

i sent them letters explaining my situation... but i dont know.

i can't file for bankruptcy because i have no money and can't afford the 1,000 retainer fee or lawyer fees.

i live in michigan if that helps..

do i have to go to court? how will i know when the court date is? ugh.

thanks

[barraq]

If you are actually getting sued (as opposed to receiving a letter from an attorney saying that if you do not pay they will pursue legal channels) you woudl be served a summons to appear in court or to reply to the court by a certain date.

Contrary to your belief otherwise, you are NOT judgment proof. Just because you have no job/income/assets right now, doesn't mean you won't for the next 20 years! Judgments can be renewed every 10 years and will follow you around like the plague until you pay them.

If you show up in court, you can show the judge that you are destitute and cannot pay at this time. He will still enter a judgment against you and you will be paying at some point in the future. If you do not show up in court, or ignore the summons, the creditor will get a default judgment and whatever $$$ they are asking for.

[ryscford]

Actually, you really aren't judgment proof unless you plan never to work again. The company is establishing the legality of the debts and when you don't pay (since you have admitted you can't) will return to court to get a garnishment order that will follow you through any future employment.

[smid]

Have you read about bankruptcy?
You don't necessarily need a lawyer to do this.
There are books in the library or bookstores that tell you how to do this yourself.
I would never suggest it, but it's worth a thought.
/

[larenzo]

living in Mi. call 211 it's a free referral help line that will give you names and numbers of agengies that can help you with bankrupcy

[curney13]

If those were legitimate summons, it should have the court date on them somewhere.

Whatever you do, show up in court. You will have to testify under oath that you are unemployed and have no assets. It will be up to the judge how to proceed. They can't get blood from a turnip and there's no such thing as debtor's prisons anymore, so there's not much they can do to get their money. Just please show up in court. Otherwise, you could be arrested for contempt in some states and in all states, the plaintiff will get a judgment against you for garnishment against any future wages.

[abelard29]

File for bankruptcy through your bank. Declare your assets. Notify credit card companies about you filing for bankruptcy. But remember problems don't end there, you just get a small break but you will have to pay back your debt some how. No spending on anything what so ever. Learn to cut back on your credit card debt here http://basscash.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-to-cut-credit-card-debt.html and may be if your willing to put your best foot down you earn some cash over the internet may be not a lot but enough to float on. Read the methods at http://basscash.blogspot.com/

[jen]

Under the circumstances you outlined, you are "judgement proof." Even if they win a judgement against you, the judgement would be a meaningless piece of paper in your case....non-existent wages cannot be garnished.

In spite of this, on the court date, don’t be a no-show under any circumstances whatsoever. People often make the huge mistake of not showing up because they think they’d loose anyway or because they can’t afford an attorney. Not showing up is the worst thing you can possibly do. Even if you are frightened....or you're sick with a 102 degree fever...or if you think that you'd loose, show up anyway! If you don't, the other side will get a default judgement and they will get this on THEIR terms. They will tack on all sorts of add-on fees and the amount of the judgment could end up being two or three times the actual amount of the debt.

IMPORTANT: bring complete documentation of your living expenses and that you are unemployed. The judge may be sympathetic and may even refuse to grant a judgement to your creditors. If you don't show up in court, the judgement will grant a default judgement to your creditors on their terms....meaning that the amount will be 2 to 3 times the amount of your debt.