Credit Card Lawsuits and How To Beat Them

Credit card lawsuits are on the rise in Pennsylvania and if you have debt problems, you may find yourself on the wrong end of one.

While a credit card lawsuit is a symptom of a larger financial problem, this type of a lawsuit can cause sleepless nights and difficult days as you fight to get your mind off of it.

So what can you do about it?  You could hire a lawyer to defend you from these companies, but if you had the money for an attorney, you could have paid your debt.  At the same time you don’t want the credit card company getting a judgment against you in court.

So what can you do?  I suppose you could go to a loan shark and borrow the money to pay off the credit card company, but the mob is even less forgiving than the credit card company is.

Maybe.

Creditors can be relentless at collecting debts and I’ve heard of instances where their people have threatened to do bodily harm against debtors.

Are credit card companies really anything more than government licensed loan sharks?

It doesn’t matter, because you can fight back against this type of lawsuit, especially in Pennsylvania where creditors seem to go about getting a judgment.

The first step is to answer the complaint.  Most complaints are filed in the district court and will be heard in front of a magistrate, so make sure you file your intent to defend.

The second step is to check your records for any possible proof of payment or correspondence from the party that is now suing you.  If you have proof of payment, bring it with you, if you do not, that doesn’t mean you are sunk.

The third step is to actually show up.  Most of the time, the creditor doesn’t come to court, and if they don’t, you get a judgment in your favor.  If they do arrive, make them prove their case.

Don’t be their best witness.  Most likely, the creditor will send an attorney rather than go himself.  Make sure the attorney follows the rules of evidence.  The attorney is not allowed to testify in the case, but the attorney may enter statements into evidence under rule 902(9) of the Pennsylvania rules of evidence.

It’s not your job to bring this to the attorney’s attention.  If the attorney tries to testify, make sure to speak up and ask the magistrate whether or not the attorney is testifying.  If the magistrate knows what she is doing, she will ask the attorney to explain what he is doing.

The attorney may not know this rule of evidence, and if they don’t, it may be over.  If somehow the statements get into evidence, the magistrate or the attorney can ask you if these bills are yours.

You are under oath, you are not allowed to lie.  You are not required to improve your memory or the truth.  Chances are you don’t remember everything you charged on your credit card and you can say “I did have the account but I can’t tell you if the charges on those statements are mine.”

Then the magistrate is required to render her verdict.  Most of the time you get the decision on the spot, but sometimes they will send the result in the mail in five days.  That happens more often in urban courtrooms where violence has been known to happen.

The bottom line on defending credit card lawsuits in Pennsylvania is that it is a crap-shoot, but you significantly improve your odds if you don’t become the plaintiff’s best witness!