Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania

You dont go to court to set up payment arrangements. That should be done beforehand. Simply call the attorney and see what you can do.

Before you do that, and this troubles me quite often when people say this, are you sure that you cannot afford an attorney? Have you tried to hire an attorney and received a fee quote? You mention that you can make payment arrangements on this debt, then perhaps you can afford an attorney.

I obviously dont know the particulars of your case, as in, who is suing you and who is representing that company, but many of these cases are winnable. If it is a collection agency that is pursuing you, your odds of winning may be over 90%. Thats a pretty good chance in any aspect of life.

You are facing a $7000 lawsuit that may be winnable. How can you afford to not at least talk to an attorney about defending this case? Any consumer attorney should be able to represent you for under $1000, probably well under that. If you can win the case and not owe the money, isnt that money well spent?

My office, and the offices of other consumer attorneys that I know, offers a free consult and case review. Take the time to do that before you try to make payment arrangements with the creditor. If the case looks like the creditor is going to beat you, a consumer attorney should know that right away and should give you an honest opinion in that regard. On the other hand, the attorney should also know if you have a good chance of winning.

I'm sorry for the lecture, but I hear people say all the time that they cant afford an attorney. If you can get out of the debt, you need to think long term and find the money, IF you have a winnable case.

FIRST, what was the quad worth when repossessed? Find out from a dealer, try the dealer where he had it serviced, and/or bought parts, and try to get it in writing. THEN call the atty that filed the complaint, and ask for a full accounting. You can NOT owe $7,000 if you owed $5,000 AND they took back the quad. Don;t you see this does not make sense? Tell the atty he owed $5,000, the value when repossessed was (say) $3,000 (which is why the value from the dealer is important), and tell him you will agree to repay the difference ($5,000 - $3,000 = $2,000), whatever that is. He will say there was a cost to repossess, and the actual value was less than your estimate. NEGOTIATE. If they will not be reasonable, then go to court, and explain your position to the judge, and you will do MUCH better than owing $7,000! If you can not do this yourself, get help from a friend or go to an attorney. If you go to court you have to do it yourself, or hire an attorney.