Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in North Carolina

You either need an attorney to help you or you have to be able to do research on your own. There are self help books written that might provide assistance such as by Nolo (I can't attest to how good ro accurate they are). You can make a written motion for a 30 day extension of time to answer which would need to be filed with the court along with the proposed order.

If you fail to answer complaint, a default judgment will be entered against you. If you answer the complaint but admit the allegations, a summary judgment will be entered against you. You also need to raise any affirmative defenses you may have.

There are no forms for an answer and I do not know what kind of third-party proof you are referring to. There is no proof from a third-party.

But I am not sure that an answer would help you anyway. If this was your car and it was repo'd, then you are still responsible for the car loan. In such case, it does not matter whether you file an answer or not as they will get a judgment against you. An answer should be filed in only the following cases: (1) the creditor mistakenly sued the wrong party or you were the victim of an id theft; (2) the statute of limitations has expired from the time the car was sold till the suit was commenced (3 years in NC); (3) the amount you owe was mistaken; or (4) you paid off the car loan already. You also can challenge the sale if it was not commercially reasonable or if the repo was wrongful, but I do not have enough details to know whether you would have a viable case in that respect, but that may be unlikely.

How much do you still owe? Do you have other debts? Have you considered filing for bankruptcy? Bankruptcy should be an option of last resort. If you can afford to pay, can you afford to do it in a lump sum or a payment plan? You can pay directly to the clerk of court after a judgment is entered. If you do this, make sure that you pay the interest AND something on the principal so that the payment goes down. When the judgment is paid, the clerk will automatically mark the judgment as satisfied. If you want to work out a payment plan, the creditors typically might want a payment equal to 1% or 2% of the debt. The more you can pay up front, the more a creditor will be willing to settle for less than 100% of the debt.

I can help in negotiating a settlement and confession of judgment. Feel free to contact me if you are interested.

Rachel Hunter

Attorney at Law

[email protected]

(678)-687-9693

Admitted in GA, PA & NC