The first important step is to actually respond to the court summons. Out of guilt, too many people mistakenly defeat themselves by ignoring a summons for credit card debt. They then lose by default and the collection attorney has his way with them.

Answering a court summons for credit card debt is actually not that intimidating. It only takes a two or three page document. To defeat the collection attorney, the consumer’s answer needs to demand he properly document the debt, according to the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide.

The court will usually support the consumer’s demand for documentation. Collection attorney’s frequently have trouble producing original credit card agreements and statements totaling the amount claimed as owed. They are used to consumers defaulting. In addition attorneys for debt buyers have trouble documenting ownership of credit card debt from the bank that sold it to them in a large batch of accounts.

The answer to the summons must comply with the rules of civil procedure for the consumer’s local court where the summons was filed. These rules dictate the proper service of the summons to the consumer and of the answer to the plaintiff. They govern how much time the consumer has to respond to the summons once it is received (frequently 20 days).

Most importantly, the rules dictate the wording of the affirmative defenses the consumer uses in the answer. As a start, the consumer can find a generically worded answer in a resource like the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide. Then, the consumer needs to get the advice of a local attorney on the answer’s exact wording per the local rules of civil procedure.

It is a common practice for collection attorneys to “fish” for defaulting consumers with a batch of court summons. Most credit card debtors do not answer these summonses. For the few that do, the attorney simply withdraws the claim focusing on the easy money from the defaulters he has netted.

Answering a civil summons for credit card debt is not as daunting as it seems, and it alone can put a stop to the civil action.

This content is not intended as a substitute for legal advice. If you need an attorney in your local area, please contact a licensed attorney in your state.

Related posts:

• What to Do with a Court Summons for Credit Card Debt
• A Phone Call from a Credit Card Debt Collector? . . . You Do Not Need to Take It.
• You Can Stop a Junk Debt Buyer’s Collection of Your Older Credit Card Debt
• Don’t Take Phone Calls from Credit Card Debt Collectors
• Be the Consumer Credit Card Debt Collectors Do Not Want to Collect From