When you receive a notice of debt or a lawsuit regarding an overdue account, it may appear fraudulent, incorrect, or complicated to address. No matter what the situation may be, I can assure you that your difficulty will only get worse if you choose not to take care of the situation!
I’m James Foley, PLLC and supporter of Weatherford consumers like you. I want to make sure that if the debt suit is fraudulent, you respond in a correct manner. And if the suit is legitimate, that you have the law on your side to support you and provide you a beneficial outcome. Call me anytime at 817-738-1633 and read below for more info.
Moreover, the statute of limitations and the amount of time allowed for suits like yours can be as low as 14 days, so you must act now to preserve your innocence.
If this is the first time you’ve had to deal with something like this, I hope it will also be your last, and that I can help you ensure that it’s not any harder than it already has been!
Aledo, Weatherford, Granbury and more, I’m here to help debtors in the metroplex.
Granbury/Weatherford Debt Suit Guidance | WHAT TO DO FIRST
As I said before, make sure you issue a valid response to the suit or notice. If you’ve been contacted by a debt collector, be careful not to give them any more information than they already have about you, or they might use that to harass you needlessly.
Groups like Portfolio Recovery, Midland Funding, and Cavalry are all real, and the consequences if you disregard them can be much worse than just dealing directly with them.
But, dealing directly with them, especially with an experienced attorney at your side, can bring you the best possible outcome. Only 2% of consumers hire a debt suit attorney in situations like these, so if you call me and we move forward, you’ll be in the top percentile as far as outcomes are concerned.
IF YOU DON’T RECOGNIZE THE DEBT, then take the following steps. Very rarely do we sign up for credit cards or loans that we forget about!
Find out from the debt buyer what you have been sued for, and where they got their information. Confirm with that entity as well if you need to. Debt buyers may not always have the correct information and the original entity will be able to confirm that if so.
If you get through all of this sleuthing and realize you didn’t initiate this debt, your identity may have been stolen. This doesn’t mean that you should ignore the notice, though.
If the original debt is the result of theft, then take the following steps as soon as possible:
-File a police report with the your local police department. You’ll need this report when you move on to the following steps.
-Obtain what’s called an FTC affidavit. WWW. FTC.Gov.
-Freeze your credit with TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian as soon as you have the above documentation.
The court may still put you on notice after having done all of this. If you still have trouble, call me and we’ll make sure you get off scot free: 817-738-1633.
Keep an eye on your credit report for free up to three times a year at www.annualcreditreport.com.
WHAT TO DO IF SUED FOR DEBT | Weatherford, Granbury, Aledo
Consumers who are sued for a valid debt or overdue account have a number of options that they don’t realize. Because the ability to pay back debts is rare, financial institutions will gladly accept a partial payback or negotiated calendar instead.
As your attorney, I’ve seen many instances of debts that need to be settled. I have dealt with just about every judge and bank there is, and I know what they’re willing to accept to get you the best possible deal in the process.
So let’s take a look at your finances, and see what the best number we can come up with would be to free you from this circumstance, and potentially without ever having to go to court.
1. Negotiate a lump sum payment or payoff calendar.
If you’re in a financial jam right now, or you have recently lost a job, there’s still opportunity for relief, and your creditors have seen this with their borrowers many times. They prefer a payoff calendar that returns their funds to a situation that leaves them penniless.
Depending on what you can afford in the short term, the account may be worth paying off as a lump sum amount. If you’re dealing with a Weatherford or Fort Worth debt buyer especially, they may accept this scenario. Debt buyers do just that: they buy debt, and usually for much lower amounts than they claim you still owe. So, if you can beat that number rather than the number on the account, that’s your best bet.
But what’s more common is that you may not be able to pay your own bills right now, or you’ve encountered an unexpected financial hardship. With that scenario, we’ll figure out what your coming months look like, and if there’s a payoff calendar that could work for you and your lender.
So call me at 817-738-1633 to discuss your debt suit, even if you’re as far away as Parker County, Hood County, or Cleburne, and we’ll evaluate your situation.
2. Do you need to evaluate Bankruptcy?
Bankruptcy isn’t the scary word that you may have thought. It’s a bailout for the average consumer in the same way that the government bails out large businesses.
If we take a look at your financial situation and it seems like paying off this debt will put you underwater, or create more problems than it solves, we’ll discuss your bankruptcy options. You may not know what constitutes a healthy debt situation versus a souring one, which is another area where I can help.
While bankruptcy shouldn’t be the first line of defense in a debt suit, it isn’t a worst case scenario either. If you earn below a certain threshold, you can declare bankruptcy and still retain assets like your home, vehicle, and more, should those things apply.
As long as you’re considering bankruptcy in Texas, I’ll be on your side, across all of Weatherford, Aledo, Fort Worth, and Arlington/Dallas too.
Fight, Settle, or Declare Bankruptcy, with James Foley at your side, you can’t go wrong
Arlington, Aledo, Weatherford, and fellow Texans across DFW, call me today at 817-738-1633, and let’s get you back on the path to success and stability.
I look forward to discussing the legitimacy of your suit, and advising you on whether it’s best to fight the suit, settle in or out of court, or to declare bankruptcy and give yourself a fresh start.