Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania
I received a Writ of Executution from a lawyer for an old credit card debt, but in 2008 this same credit card had a judgement passed and a lien put on my house. I only had one account with this credit card company. What are my options and can they do this?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Yes. A writ of execution is the process by which the creditor collects on a judgment. The creditor is trying to collect on the old credit card debt on which they got a judgment.
Your options at this point are: (1) file bankruptcy, depending on your assets and circumstances; (2) do nothing if you have less than $300 in the bank and are otherwise known as "judgment proof" as you have no assets that can be seized and sold; or (3) try to resolve the debt in some way.
I don't know the balance on the debt now or whether you have funds to pay it. I am confident that something could be worked out - most creditors will take between 50% to 80% of the amount now owed on the judgment in settlement. However, you have to have the funds to pay it in a lump sum or within relatively few pays (it depends on the creditor however). If you want to make payments, some creditors will accept that, but it must be on the entire balance. The advantage to doing some kind of payment plan is that you do not have to worry about the creditor seizing money in your bank account or your other assets.
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