Being sued by Chase/Zwicker...

[uzforce]

Hello All, I'm a newbie here but have been reading through a lot of the posts and wish I would have found this site a long time ago. To make a long story short I live in Georgia and am being sued by Chase/Zwicker Assoc. I haven't received a summons yet but I did do a search on my name at the courthouse website and there is a case number listed there with my name. I think it was added early last week, how long does it normally take to receive the official summons?

I'm seriously considering filing Chapter 7 as I have about $23k in credit card debt on 3 credit cards and little to no income coming in and I have no real assets that are worth anything. I am struggling to pay these credit card bills and had to stop paying on the Chase card earlier this year. Is it worth my time to try negotiating with Zwicker for this Chase card? I may be able to borrow enough money from a family member to pay about a 20% settlement. Has anyone had any experience with Zwicker and do you have any negotiation pointers?

Thanks for your help...

[jacko]

You do not file BK on 23k in unsecured debt. You are collection proof. You should withdraw your cash from checking and open up a Wal Mart money card. Remember if you settle, you will owe the IRS on the difference.

Hello All, I'm a newbie here but have been reading through a lot of the posts and wish I would have found this site a long time ago. To make a long story short I live in Georgia and am being sued by Chase/Zwicker Assoc. I haven't received a summons yet but I did do a search on my name at the courthouse website and there is a case number listed there with my name. I think it was added early last week, how long does it normally take to receive the official summons?

I'm seriously considering filing Chapter 7 as I have about $23k in credit card debt on 3 credit cards and little to no income coming in and I have no real assets that are worth anything. I am struggling to pay these credit card bills and had to stop paying on the Chase card earlier this year. Is it worth my time to try negotiating with Zwicker for this Chase card? I may be able to borrow enough money from a family member to pay about a 20% settlement. Has anyone had any experience with Zwicker and do you have any negotiation pointers?

Thanks for your help...

[uzforce]

Thanks for insight jacko... I have read about being Judgment Proof but still don't quite understand how it works. If Chase gets a judgment against me will they eventually drop it when they find out that I currently have little income and no assets? How bad do these judgments hurt your credit score? Is it just as bad as a BK? I will potentially have three judgments against me if all three credit cards sue me. I would really have no defense against these lawsuits so is it even worth it for me to go to court if I do get served?

Is it worth it for me to call Zwicker and let them know that I am judgment proof and a lawsuit would be a waste of their time and money or would that just be wasted time on my part? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just new to all of this and am trying to learn as much as I can. Thanks...

[Dougie011]

Your not judgement proof, but you said you make almost nothing. Making almost nothing would probably make you collection proof. The two are very different.

[uzforce]

Your not judgement proof, but you said you make almost nothing. Making almost nothing would probably make you collection proof. The two are very different.

Hi Dougie011... I am currently unemployed and have not been able to find a job in quite a while. Every once in a while I do find a freelance job that gives me a little bit of cash but not much. So any income I have right now is coming from the little bit of freelance work I can find.

[Dougie011]

Then that would make you collection proof. You aren't employed and there would be nothing for them to take.

[ryan]

Thanks for insight jacko... .... If Chase gets a judgment against me will they eventually drop it when they find out that I currently have little income and no assets? How bad do these judgments hurt your credit score? Is it just as bad as a BK? I will potentially have three judgments against me if all three credit cards sue me. I would really have no defense against these lawsuits so is it even worth it for me to go to court if I do get served? Is it worth it for me to call Zwicker and let them know that I am judgment proof and a lawsuit would be a waste of their time and money or would that just be wasted time on my part? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just new to all of this and am trying to learn as much as I can. Thanks...

My opinions (in order of your questions)

1. Chase will not 'drop' the judgment just because you have little income or assets. They will hold onto to that judgment for YEARS.
2. I don;t think judgments are as bad as a BK, but others may know more.

3. Going to court can buy you time, but probably won't change outcome if the plaintiff is 'Original Creditor', which Chase is.
4. Calling Zwicker will not mean squat - debtors no doubt call them all the time with the same story. (whether true or not)

Judgments kill your credit score, but at this point I would not worry about credit scores.

[uzforce]

Thanks everyone for your replies!

One question that comes to mind about a judgment is will Chase be able to confiscate household property such as a TV, furniture etc? Those are the only real assets that I currently have and those items aren't anything that great. Do they take property like that or are they only after cash?

[treehugger1]

Ryan's comments bring another question to mind. Cap 1 and Citi also sue and they do not always appear to go for immediate satisfaction of judgment (garnishment, bank levy, etc.) They might take years to attempt to recover funds based on the judgment. I wonder if there is some legal accounting rule that allows them to keep the judgment under accounts receivable? This would certinaly help their balance sheets.

[ryan]

I wonder if there is some legal accounting rule that allows them to keep the judgment under accounts receivable? This would certinaly help their balance sheets.

Don't know about this, but I understand debt with a judgment attached is worth more on the market than just the debt acct alone. I also think many creditors may be waiting for better times to sell the debt/judgment...the current market, from I've read, is terrible for creditors attempting to sell debt.

[treehugger1]

Don't know about this, but I understand debt with a judgment attached is worth more on the market than just the debt acct alone. I also think many creditors may be waiting for better times to sell the debt/judgment...the current market, from I've read, is terrible for creditors attempting to sell debt.

This makes sense. Hence, perhaps someday in the future I can have "someone" obtain and mail me a copy of the judgment, as stated in the CA letters.

[Freddy03]

I can tell you from my experience - CC are suing!

I received 1st summons for unpaid CC that was 6 months behind on payments (after I received in writing that they put me on a hardship plan). I lost in court and now have a judgment. In FL judgments are good for 20 years. They can't collect it from me now but who's to say they can in a few years or so.

After my 1st summons received I have received 2 more! The lastest is Cap One for under 3k - after it was sent to 2 other collection agencies. Now the new collection agency has filed suit after I sent them a debt verification letter.

[catleg]

The only good thing I can say about judgments is that they stop the interest from running at the credit card default rate (usually 30%) and instead accrue interest at the court's post judgment rate (normally single digits).

[treehugger1]

catleg, My judgments show accruing interest at the last CC credit card rate. So, the interest in my state was not a statuatory percentage fixed after judgment. The interest on the attorney and court fees is fixed at 9% under statute.

[catleg]

Wow, that's really interesting.