Q: I am being sued by a collection company that bought my account from a credit card. What do I need to do to prepare?
The amount is $2400 which is mostly interest and fees.
A:
That depends on whether you have any defense. If you're not sure if you have any defense, consult an attorney. If you know for certain that you have no defense, contact plaintiff's counsel to make an offer (for example, 50% of the total, payable in installments of $50 a month), and see if you can amicably resolve it.
If not amicably resolved by the time of your pretrial conference, the judge will likely order you to mediate (possibly the same day), where you'd have to get into a discussion with a mediator to see if you the matter can be amicably resolved at that time. If you have no viable defense, and you don't amicably resolve it, you are likely looking at liability for a substantial amount of attorney's fees and costs, in addition to the amount being claimed right now.
A: Wharever you do, talk to a lawyer BEFORE you agree to start making any payments. The chances are good that the underlying debt is too old to be collected in a court--statute of limitations. But making ONE payment will re-start the statute which will keep the debt good foe another five or ten years.
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