Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New York

Debt Reduction

My husband and I decided inorder to get out of debt sooner we joined a debt reduction firm. We are recieving lots of calls from our creditors, most of them balking at reducing the amounts. The most persistent creditor recently had a summons sent to my resident and I have 20 days to respond to it but don't know what exactly that means or if the document is really even official, it isn't signed by the county clerk, or notorized just a stamp saying that it came from there should I be worried and trust that my credit reduction service will take care of this for me or should I act on my own to make sure I don't have to go to court for this there isn't a date filled out or anything on it.


Asked on 2/26/09, 8:40 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Starr Starr & Starr, PLLC

Re: Debt Reduction

Docs "don't look official" is something we hear a lot. Assume you have been sued and you need to file an answer to prevent having a default judgment taken against you.

So called "debt settlement", "debt negotiation" or "debt consolidation" doesn't seem to work well for most people, except the happy people on the TV adds for it. Perhaps some people have had a good experience with it, but our bankruptcy clients typically tell us that it only made their problems worse and lulled them into a false and temporary sense of security that they were taking care of their financial problems.

This is a topic we have previously covered on our Blog. Cut and past the following link into your browser and you can read it: http://www.newyorkbankruptcylawyerblog.com/2008/08/i_live_in_new_york_and_am_cons_1.html

As you have seen many creditors don't want to participate in a so called "debt settlement", "debt negotiation" or "debt consolidation" AND IT IS AN ENTIRELY VOLUNTARY PROCESS FOR THE CREDITORS.

You need to deal with the lawsuit and address the problems that led you to debt settlement. If that doesn't work you should consider bankrutcy, which is not a voluntary process for the creditors (they don't get to choose to opt out).

Best regards,

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Answered on 2/26/09, 9:34 pm


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