What to expect at a collections judgement hearing?
ymmflaw03 asked:
I was served a summons yesterday in Jackson County, IL for a court date of Dec. 20. It is concerning a Capital One account from five years ago and they are seeking $2300 + costs. My wife and I have a daughter and we are both students living on financial aid and my work-study money. We receive WIC and food stamps. I’m just wondering what to expect in court that day and what to expect afterwards. We simply can not afford to have our money frozen as I only make $200/month and we pay our bills for 6 months at a time when financial aid comes through. What options do I have? Also, if you have a smarmy-ass answer like “pay your bills,” stuff it. I’ve heard it before and it’s not at all helpful now. I’m ready to get this behind us so we can move on so what can I do and what should I expect?
Just a postscript: I’m not disputing the money owed. I just want it to be over.
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I was served a summons yesterday in Jackson County, IL for a court date of Dec. 20. It is concerning a Capital One account from five years ago and they are seeking $2300 + costs. My wife and I have a daughter and we are both students living on financial aid and my work-study money. We receive WIC and food stamps. I’m just wondering what to expect in court that day and what to expect afterwards. We simply can not afford to have our money frozen as I only make $200/month and we pay our bills for 6 months at a time when financial aid comes through. What options do I have? Also, if you have a smarmy-ass answer like “pay your bills,” stuff it. I’ve heard it before and it’s not at all helpful now. I’m ready to get this behind us so we can move on so what can I do and what should I expect?
Just a postscript: I’m not disputing the money owed. I just want it to be over.
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June 25th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Kansieo.com
That’s a rather small amount. And your both young and in college. The Judge will notice this. He’ll ask that that you pay a set amount per week and month regardless of your income cash flow….and review it in 30/60/or 90 days to to what your intentions are. About he hearing, The worst thing to fear! is the fear itself….. it’s pretty cut and dry…..Capital One doesn’t want to loss there money….the worst thing you did was to ignore your obligation to pay a creditor…….. no biggie……..your credit report will reflect this……..Capital One may get penalty interest on the principle owed….. but in the end…..I’d say you can pay 10 or 20 dollars a week or maybe 40 or 50 dollars a month.
Good Luck Sir…..
June 26th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Kansieo.com
Chances are the credit card co will get their judgement. However, to collect the judgement, the court will have to issue an Order to Pay. This will come from the judge and will be based on what your income vs. expenses are. Be prepared when you go to court. Show what comes in and what goes out. Just don’t list things like cell phone bills, aol membership, etc.. Those are frivolous expenses and will be held against you. Tell the court about 50% less than you think you could pay each month and they will probably issue an order to pay for twice that. Bring the kids with you to court and don’t wear nice clothes or jewelry, it’ll sink you
June 29th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
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Never heard of a “Collections Judgment Hearing” where the debtor participates. In NY State: 1st; attempts by Creditor to obtain “their” money, 2nd; Collection Bureau attempts to collect, 3rd; and final step is Creditor or Collector goes to a Civil Court to obtain a Judgment against you.
Then should you have money in a checking/savings account—it’s frozen until the judgment is paid. It’s rare though should you have no assets other than a house you owned—a judgment is placed against it and when sold– the Collector receives the full amount owed, which he paid already 50% to the Debtor.
Bankruptcy is not a way out as Congress has removed its full protection for credit card debts. Go before the judge and make the best repayment schedule you can afford without denying your family a reasonable way to continue.—-Whatever—-keep you head up high.
June 30th, 2009 at 5:40 am
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One more warning, ignore the poor advice that you agree to a payment plan with the judge. That is a very BAD thing to do.
In essence it bypasses the requirement that the creditor WIN his case against you and THEN find a means to collect the money you owe. A judgement against you is NOT an order to pay anything. The creditor simply would then have the legal means to garnish bank accounts, attach your wages, seize your car, etc.
By agreeing to a payment plan you bypass that and make an agreement with the court to pay your debt. If you fail to make your payments the judge can haul you back in court and even throw you in JAIL!
That is a much worse situation to be in than just having your creditor looking for a way to collect on his judgement against you.
Creditors LOVE it when they get some sucker to show up in court and agree to a payment plan.
June 30th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
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Let me begin by saying that Phil O’ Brien is absolutely right. You need to be carefull about following the poor advice given on Yahoo.
Start with Phil’s.
The funniest part was when he said “If you fail to make your payments the judge can haul you back in court and even throw you in JAIL!” Totally untrue. The ONLY thing that will happen is he will remove the judgement “stay” and the creditor will be allowed to begin garnishments or seizure of property. So ignore everything he posted, OK?
Lets start over….
First, read the summons and court paperwork carefully. Illinois has some goofy rules, and it allows each of the court to apply differant court rules. One example is that in some courts, you may have to send in a written “answer” within a certain time period. Failure to do so could result in a default. So be sure there is nothing on your paperwork requiring an answer to be filed.
If you know you are going to lose, it’s to your advantage to avoid the judgement being issued. First contact the creditor and make a last effort to settle.
When you go to court, many judges will request that you go out of the court and try again to mediate. If that fails, you will have to go to trial.
The judge will listen to the arguments, and (if you are right) he will award the plaintiff. This is where the court rules comes in. In some places you can ask the court to make an “order for installment payments”. Be honest! If you try to con the judge he’s going to come down hard on you. Show him your income and expenses. Tell him what you think you can afford. DO NOT insult him by saying $20 a month! You owe $2300, they are not going to wait for 10 years to get their money! An honest effort is 18-24 months. You you better expect to be offering $100-150 a month.
In other courts, you have to file a motion for installment payments after the trial. Check with the court clerk to see if they can tell you about the local rules.
Remember that on top of winning court costs, they will be allowed to charge 9% judgement interest on top of this. So that’s more money on top of the $2300 judgement.
If the judge orders the payments, then KEEP THEM! Failure to make prompt payments will result in the order to be removed, and the creditor can do whatever is necessary to recover on his judgement.
Another reason to try and avoid a judgement is it will be on your credit record for the next 10 years. When you have no money now, it’s a very trivial point. But down the road when you get yourself established, it’s going to come back and haunt you. Just another incentive to try and negotiate something before going to court.
Read the link below. It goes into it a little bit more, and has links to the Illinios laws about small claims courts.
July 2nd, 2009 at 9:35 am
Kansieo.com
If this isn’t voted the winning answer, I don’t know what will be.
If I were you, I would simply tell the judge exactly what you wrote here and be ready to prove every word with WIC (whatever that is in your state) and food stamps that you bring to court. Also bring your student I.D.s and a recent paycheck stub which will show your year-to-date income. And I’d suggest coming up with a plan to pay back that creditor SOMEhow over time.
The judge may just order that the creditor accept what you have offered. That’s better than no plan at all. The judge will almost certainly respect your sincere desire to pay. And will likely respect your desire to improve your family’s life with education.
Expect to lose if you don’t show up to court!!
Expect a JUDGMENT on your credit reports if you don’t show up to court.
That’s BAD.