Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Missouri

Hi. The short answer to your question is, yes, they can collect. Will they be able to collect the entire amount owed in one lump sum? Doubtful.

In these situations, where a creditor sues on a past due balance, there will be a court date assigned at the courthouse of the jurisdiction where the suit was filed. If your mother or an attorney does not show up on the court date, the attorney for the credit card company will automatically obtain a "default judgment" against your mother for the full amount that they allege that she owes, including attorney fees. This is an outcome that should certainly be avoided. Court procedure permits a creditor to garnish many types of income, or "freeze" bank accounts until the full amount of the judgment is satisfied. Another option the creditor can have is to place a lien on property, making the sale or transfer of the property affected nearly impossible, and, in some instances, requiring a forced sale of the item to pay the judgment.

If your mother or an attorney appears on the scheduled court date, there will be an attorney there for the credit card company. That attorney may or may not be willing to work out some type of payment arrangement, to pay off the debt in increments. If you have an attorney assist, he/she will likely be able to negotiate with the attorney from the credit card company to work out some type of monthly installment arrangement that your mother can afford. In addition, an attorney can get a "continuance", which can push back the court date to a later time, often 45-60 days out. This can allow additional time for your mother to determine how much can be paid on a monthly basis. In the meantime, the attorney can negotiate to see how low the credit card company can go with a monthly payment arrangement. Once a payment arrangement is agreed to by both parties, the attorney for the credit card company will dismiss the case against your mother.

Depending on how long the negotiation process goes on, there can be more than one court appearance required, and there may be as many as three. Also, if your mother is contesting any part of the suit, including the amount owed, a court document called an "answer" will have to be prepared. There are time limits on filing the answer, and it is usually prepared by an attorney. If she is not contesting the allegations, an answer does not need to be filed, and the fee for having an attorney handle the negotiations and court appearances is usually more reasonable.

In any event, I am a Missouri attorney that has handled many of these collection cases, whether brought by banks, auto finance companies, student loan companies, or credit card companies. The fees for handling these cases are negotiable. My e-mail is [email protected], for your convenience. Phone is (314) 471-5585. Evenings are acceptable. Thanks.

NOTE: This answer is for educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. The use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship or privilege between the user and the attorney responding.