Being sued won’t be a pleasant experience, especially if we are being sued by a credit card provider. There are different reasons why people can be sued, including for various financial matters. When reading the lawsuit document for the first time, we could have a mixed feeling. There are different stages people go through before accepting that they have been sued. In this situation, it is important for us to try to move forward. When we have been sued by the credit card company, we could experience the following stages:
- Denial: At this stage, we tend to ignore the problem and we may act that the debt doesn’t really exist. We may deliberately avoid discussing about debts.
- Anger: When the document for the credit card lawsuit arrives at our home, we feel angry at the situation.
- Bargaining: After our anger subsides, we will start to think about early steps to deal with the problem. We may want to call the lawyers of the credit card company and try to settle the problem, so legal actions can be discontinued. However, no lawyer will ever agree to informal agreement like this.
- Depression: Watching Comedy Central for hours on the couch or doing other unproductive activities as mental diversions are signs that we are being depressed. It won’t be helpful to finish off a whole pint of ice cream and an entire bag of chips in one sitting.
- Acceptance: When we are finally able to escape depression, the next phase is acceptance. At this point, people understand about things that have happened to them. They will start to look for ways to handle the situations.
There are different things people do when they have been brought to the court due to credit card debts. Many would simply do nothing! When a judgment is entered against them, they will do nothing when the court has their bank account seized or wage garnished. If we do nothing, we should simply waste money and time. We would only face consequences caused by our inaction. Other option that we should do is to fight back. It is important for us to fight back and put on our fighting gloves. People who are willing to fight will be in better position to completely eliminate their debts. In this case, we should know how to fight back. Many consumers would argue that they are not a lawyer and they don’t have any idea how to beat credit card companies.
We need to file an answer to the court and go to the court office where credit card companies filed their lawsuit. Our answer should be a response to what we think about the lawsuit. When answering a legal document, we should use affirmative defences and counter claims backed with enough proofs. We should also file discovery demands, which can be obtained from the credit card company. In essence, discovery is a rule that says each side should give documents and provide relevant answers. Eventually, we will need to go to trial and we should be able to prove everything.