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In Florida, most debt collection cases are brought in small claims court. When the case is filed, the court immediately sets a date for a pretrial conference for each party to appear and try to resolve the case with an agreement. Other cases that involve debts are $8,000 or more are filed in either county or circuit court. In these cases, the court does not have an automatic court date set up. The defendant has 20 days from the date of service of the lawsuit to file a legally sufficient response to the lawsuit and raise any defenses are counterclaims that they may wish to assert.
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If a defendant fails to show up for the pretrial conference in a small claims case or if a defendant fails to respond to the lawsuit within 20 days in a county or circuit case, the court can enter a default and award the debt collector a judgment for the full amount of the debt, plus interest, court costs, and in some cases, attorney’s fees. I am amazed at the number of people I see being sued who just ignore these lawsuits and allow the debt collectors to get a final judgment. This is a HUGE mistake.
In Florida, a judgment is collectible for 20 years and the court can extend that for another 20 years. Many of these judgment sits for years, sometimes 19 years with no collection activity. By that time, the defendant barely remembers being sued, but they still owe the money in the judgment, but now so much interest has added up, the amount due can be 3 or 4 times the amount when the judgment was entered. Out of nowhere, we see people’s bank accounts and wages being garnished for judgments that are many years old.
The absolute worst thing you could do is to ignore that debt collector’s lawsuit. If you find yourself being sued by a debt collector, call us for your free consultation. If a debt collector is suing you, we can almost always get those cases dismissed without you having to pay a penny. If we uncover a debt collection violation, we may be able to turn the tables on the debt collector and sue them on your behalf.
Whatever you do, do not allow the debt collector to get a judgment against you. There are many ways to fight these cases. If you have been sued by a debt collector, call Loan Lawyers at 1-888-FIGHT-13 for your free consultation, and let’s talk about what you can expect if you hire us. Even if you think you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, please call us. First of all, we may end up taking your case on contingency (meaning no fees or costs up front) if we uncover a debt collection violation. Even if you must pay us something, our fees are reasonable and we will give you a payment plan. We will bend over backward to help you and to help create a payment structure that works for you. You have nothing to lose, so do not just bury your head in the sand. Call Loan Lawyers right now at 1-888-FIGHT-13 for your free consultation. You will not be sorry you did.
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Loan Lawyers is made up of experienced consumer rights attorneys who use every available resource to develop comprehensive debt solution strategies. Our goal is to take on those burdens, resolve those problems, and allow our clients to sleep soundly knowing they are on the path to a better future.
