Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Re: Warrant in Debt

Fear not, the judge will not send you to jail if you do not have funds to pay the debt. At most

a judgment will be entered against you for the the amount of the outstanding debt and it will then be up to the judgment creditor(the one who is owed the money) to determine how to collect it.

Re: Warrant in Debt

First you need to confirm whether you actually owe the amount of money that is stated. You should be careful to distinguish between owing SOME money versus getting an accurate accounting of how much money they think you owe. Second if you can make any monthly installment payments, you should contact the attorneys listed on the form and propose monthly installment payments instead of having a judgment entered against you. However, anything you put in writing about this could be taken as an admission that you owe the money, so make sure first whether you do or do not. Third, on the day that your case is called for court (DO NOT be late, get there early so you can find the right courtroom, etc.) the judge will only ask you if you owe the money or you don't. If you don't know, then say NO, maybe explain, but don't say "I guess so" or anything like that. Say "I don't think I owe this money, not that I know of." And the Judge will set the case for trial, maybe 2-3 months in the future. If you don't know what it is about exactly ask for a Bill of Particulars. If you agree with the debt that day or lose at trial, the court will enter a judgment against you. Nothing will happen at that time. It will be reported on your credit report, which is why installment payments are better than having a judgment against you. However, nothing will happen right away. However, the creditor's attorney has a right to garnish your wages, take money out of your bank account, and asking questions of you under oath.

My other colleague is of course correct. I have seen many people come to court thinking something is going to happen to them right away.