Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Tennessee

Collection Laws and Credit Card Company

The terms and condition of credit card accounts are typically found in the original agreement sent with the card. You didn't state many facts in your question, but it seems that you may be in default and the company is now demanding payment in full.If you are in default, and the company has made the proper demands and notices, they probably have the right to sue for the debt. The fact that you stated your intention to pay in two weeks may not be a legal basis for the company not to bring a collection action. If they do, you may owe more in legal fees and costs (depending on the contract language and applicable state law). As a practical matter, most credit card companies don't want to sue, they just want paid. If possible, you should contact them to make a payment arrangement, even if you can make a token payment now and the balance in two weeks. I don't know the facts, but collection people often use the threat of "we will sue you tomorrow" as a bluff (although sometimes they are ready to file suit). If the person handling the account will not make a payment arrangement with you, you might ask to talk to that person's supervisor or to the companies in house counsel. It seems that if you are really ready willing and able to pay off, they would rather have the money than file the suit. However, they may have the legal right to.If you are having trouble paying this and other creditors, consider contacting Consumer Credit Counseling in your location to set up a repayment plan. These agencies are underwritten by creditors, and put clients on a stringent financial program, but are able to negotiate paymnt plans with creditors. Good luck. If you cannont work out something with the creditor, you should consult an attorney licensed in your state, as this is just general information and may not be relevant to the facts in your case.

Offers to Pay Delinquent Debts

This response to your posting is not considered to be the giving of legal advice or the establishment of an attorney-client relationship. Accurate legal advice can only be given by a licensed attorney in your state upon a fuller statement of the facts involved.

Having said that, assuming that your debt to the creditor is delinquent by its terms (and that's why it was sent to a collection agency in the first place), the creditor or its agent (the collection company) is under no obligation to allow you to force it to accept repayment of the debt on terms that are not agreeable to it. The whole essence of contract law is that the parties have originally reached an AGREEMENT, or meeting of the minds. It would be as unfair to allow you to change that by dictating the terms under which you will repay as it would be for the creditor to unilaterally change the terms of the contract and, for example, charge you an annual credit card fee of $50 when all of the literature when you signed on said the annual fee would be $20. Clearly, it would take the collection agency some time to file suit against you and, if you pay the debt after the 48 hours but before the suit comes up for trial, the bulk of the amount sued for will no longer be at issue. However, if your agreement with the creditor provided for an award of attorneys fees in connection with collection action, the fact that you have paid the underlying debt may not make the suit go away.

Don't let them harass you.

Put your offer in writing and do it. If they sue you, then the issue of bad faith filing will come up. Just make sure you do it. AND, you'll want to report whomever you spoke with to the manager, so that they can see that corporate nastiness is only going to lose the company money.

Delinquent Debt On Credit Card

If, as I presume, you are delinquent on the account, the terms of the credit card agreement would give them the right to file suit against you at any time. However, as a practical matter, if the account is still with a collection agency and has not yet been turned over to a law office, the odds are very low that you are going to be sued in the next 48 hours, much less the next two weeks. Furthermore, you should be aware of the fact that you may be able to negotiate a reduction in payment if the collection agency becomes worried about your declaring bankruptcy, if that is in your plans. At this time, your overall strategy should be to pay the debt, if you can. But under no circumstances should you be pressured by anyone to do so within a given deadline as short as the one you have been given.