Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Massachusetts

Debt Collection

I owe on a past cc debt - it was charged off and purchased by another company - I was unable to pay the debt back 5yrs ago - offered to pay what I could - cc company refused - have recently been left summons notice by sherrifs dept to District Court - I am a single mom (not divorced but separated 9yrs) rcv no child support - we are on fuel asst and Mass Health - I cannot affort to pay the bill - I own a yr2000 vehicle and rent - no money in the bank - I am selfemployed and survive week to week - they want a response and I don't know what my next step (if any) should be - can you please give me some advice? thank you


Asked on 12/28/06, 9:40 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Dmitry Lev The Lev Law Firm

Re: Debt Collection

They want an "answer," which is a legal document known as a pleading, filed with the court. If you do nothing and do not respond, they will obtain a default judgment and execution against you which will enable them to levy upon property (car) or garnish wages. If you do not owe anything on your car, they can have it picked up and sold, and you will be entitled to receive $700 back. By the same accord, if you do file an answer but have no valid defenses to their claim, they will still be able to obtain a judgment and resort to any of the above methods for collection. You can approach this in 3 ways: try to negotiate with them and settle the matters out of courts; do nothing and see how aggressively they pursue this; or file for bankruptcy. Please let me know if you have additional questions. What is the amount of the debt and in what court was it filed?

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Answered on 12/28/06, 6:06 pm


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