Help! How soon can I get sued?

[epiphany]

I am going to chime in here and too say that there is no rhyme and reason to any of the stuff that creditors do. I have heard people saying that they are hounded by creditors that I am not hounded by. I have heard people say that they are not hounded by creditors that I have been hounded by. Could it be chalked up to the demeanour of whoever is assigned your case?

I have not been sued....yet. Some creditors have not been paid in 8 months, others just two.

I also gotta wonder if the creditors do some homework before deciding to sue and that that may be the reason that some get sued and some don't. Me, I have no paper assets for them to come after. I am dirt poor on paper. Am I less likely to get sued?
I dunno..but like I said, I gotta wonder.

EP

[Penny Less]

Has anyone here been sued for a balance over 10k? Most of the posts I've seen seem to show them going after people with the lower balances not the higher ones.

Anyone anyone? :-)

// member of the 1500 club
// hopes she doesn't get sued

[debtmonster]

I didn't pay for 3+ years and didn't get sued on $80,000+....on the other hand my brother got sued by discover after 9 months for $1500 (I owed discover $6000 and barely got calls from them)...there is no rhyme or reason!!!!

So what happened to him when he got sued? Can you give the details from start to finish? I've never been sued (that I know of) and I am trying to get the details about what happens.

What is the worst that can happen if you get sued and they win?

[lrprn]

So what happened to him when he got sued? Can you give the details from start to finish? I've never been sued (that I know of) and I am trying to get the details about what happens.

This Illinois Legal Aid webpage does a good job of explaining how this process works when you don't have a lawyer - http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/inde...t&contentID=25 . Of course, if you have a lawyer, he/she will take care of this for you (although depending on what is included in the fee you paid up front it may cost extra to do so).

What is the worst that can happen if you get sued and they win?

In most states a creditor can garnish your wages for up to 25% and also creditors can attach liens to assets which can make it very difficult to sell those assets when the time comes to do so. One way or the other unless you wipe out the debt by paying it in full or by filing bankruptcy, you're at their mercy.

Only you can decide for your situation which is better - run the creditor gauntlet working to minimize the financial damage for years while you pay off what you owe or file bankruptcy now and get a truly fresh start.

[debtmonster]

In most states a creditor can garnish your wages for up to 25% and also creditors can attach liens to assets which can make it very difficult to sell those assets when the time comes to do so. One way or the other unless you wipe out the debt by paying it in full or by filing bankruptcy, you're at their mercy.

Only you can decide for your situation which is better - run the creditor gauntlet working to minimize the financial damage for years while you pay off what you owe or file bankruptcy now and get a truly fresh start.

I have no wages to garnish. The major assets we have are a house and 2 cars left. The house can't be touched in Florida as long as it's the primary house with a homestead exemption.

From what I can tell, having a lien or judgment doesn't seem to be that big of a deal. Our house will never be worth anything as it was only $120k. We'd be lucky to sell it for $80-100k right now in this market. I have more of a chance of abandoning it before selling it anyway. It's a cheap, poorly built wooden house with cracking foundation. All the people here want houses built of concrete. This is why the other houses built by the same builder have been for sale for long over a year and can't sell.

So let them put the liens and judgments all they want. Let them feel free to put liens on the two cars that I have which are upside down. At this point I really don't care.

I guess a little mark on a credit report bothers people here more than it does me. If by some magic we started to make $150k, then I would worry. But as long as we're sitting here broke, I don't mind. I'll commit suicide before I pay these people anything on a judgment.

[sisterfunkhaus]

We have not made payments to anyone in almost two years and just got our first suit two weeks ago. Luckily, I am all paid up, have all my BK paperwork filled out, have taken my course and am turning in papers on Monday.

I know some do it very quickly and some take a long time. I have HUGE balances with Chase, Citi, AMEX, Capital One, you name it. The one I got sued for was $1900 from Chase. I don't really get that since we had another card with $15,000 + with them.

[sisterfunkhaus]

I have no wages to garnish. The major assets we have are a house and 2 cars left. The house can't be touched in Florida as long as it's the primary house with a homestead exemption.

From what I can tell, having a lien or judgment doesn't seem to be that big of a deal. Our house will never be worth anything as it was only $120k. We'd be lucky to sell it for $80-100k right now in this market. I have more of a chance of abandoning it before selling it anyway. It's a cheap, poorly built wooden house with cracking foundation. All the people here want houses built of concrete. This is why the other houses built by the same builder have been for sale for long over a year and can't sell.

So let them put the liens and judgments all they want. Let them feel free to put liens on the two cars that I have which are upside down. At this point I really don't care.

I guess a little mark on a credit report bothers people here more than it does me. If by some magic we started to make $150k, then I would worry. But as long as we're sitting here broke, I don't mind. I'll commit suicide before I pay these people anything on a judgment.

My attorney told me they can take the $$$ from your bank account. I don't know if this is true though.

[systemslt]

almost 3 years went by after my last cc payment before a collection/law firm actually filed a compliant with the court.

[systemslt]

My attorney told me they can take the $$$ from your bank account. I don't know if this is true though.

you bet your a$$ they can.

they levied $1500 from my account that only had $900 leaving me with a balance of -$600

[debtmonster]

you bet your a$$ they can.

they levied $1500 from my account that only had $900 leaving me with a balance of -$600

How did they get the routing number and account number to do this in the first place? Did you ever have auto-pay with these people so they had it on file?

What if you had account closed? What would happen then?

[WhatMoney]

Originally Posted by systemslt
you bet your a$$ they can.

they levied $1500 from my account that only had $900 leaving me with a balance of -$600

If it was a court ordered levy, why did the bank let them take more than the $900 you had in the account? Did your account have "overdraft protection" and the bank drew from the overdraft to leave you at -$600?

I've often wondered if you had a $0.00 balance in your account but had say, $1000 overdraft protection, if a levy order would try to draw on the $1000 overdraft protection, which is really just a short-term loan from the bank.

[debtmonster]

I don't understand why the bank would give away $600 of their own money if they know they may not get it back?

If I were the bank of the customer, I would simply reply to the institution, "INSUFFICIENT FUNDS TO LEVY". Tell them to go pound sand.

[systemslt]

How did they get the routing number and account number to do this in the first place? Did you ever have auto-pay with these people so they had it on file?

What if you had account closed? What would happen then?

they had a 2 year old NSF for $30 that they were collecting on. i am sure that is how they got the info.

i asked the bank to close the account but they would not do to the negative balance.

after they got the default judgment it only took two weeks before they started levying, garnishing, demanding info. on all assets or be in contempt of court. checks bouncing allover the place. what was left of my garnished pay check was taken by the bank to cover the negative balance caused by the $1500 levy. i could not stop the cycle for 1 month do to the direct deposit policy of my employer.

if lawsuits are pending its time to relocate your money. get a "money card" from wall mart. its jest like a checking account.

[systemslt]

I don't understand why the bank would give away $600 of their own money if they know they may not get it back?

If I were the bank of the customer, I would simply reply to the institution, "INSUFFICIENT FUNDS TO LEVY". Tell them to go pound sand.

when they sent the levy demand notice to the bank i had $1500 they had to wait a few days before the bank would surrender the money. by that time i had withdrawn $600. and the bank said they had to give up the $1500 by law. i found out about this a week later when the bank sent me a letter that my account is being leaved.

the $600 is now in my chapter 13plan.

[JRScott]

Hard to say, took them 2 years to sue me.

Depending on where you are they have to have a paper determining your indebtedness served, which you have 30 days to respond to. I responded by filing bankruptcy .