Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Re: warrant in debt

If you agree that you owe the money (including the interest, etc.) then you do not need to do anything.

If you do not show up (whether you owe the money or not), you will LOSE, and judgment will be entered against you. You will waive all rights to object and many rights concerning collection of the account too detailed to list here (but nothing surprising).

The creditor can then begin to take collection action. It can summon you to come in and answer questions. It can garnish your bank account without warning. That means you may not be able to pay rent or mortgage. Keep enough cash out of your account to pay your rent/mortgage without interruption. They can garnish your salary.

The best thing to do is to contact the law firm that filed the warrant in debt and offer a payment plan. If the monthly payments are not too small for them to accept, they will postpone court action to give you a chance to pay off the debt. A well-organized law firm will provide you with a payment agreement and dismiss the case. Then you must make the payments or they can sue you on the payment agreement, if you fail to pay it. However, if you make the payments you will NOT have a judgment against you on your record. A smart law firm will know that it is better to get your payments for sure, in return for not taking a judgment, than to have to go fight for the money in collection activity. Not all law firms are smart. Not all creditors are smart.

This is the only way to stop further legal action at this point, if they have already filed a warrant in debt.

It is best to send a letter in writing, not to make phone calls. They have so many cases, they will not always answer their phone, they will lose phone messages, and they will forget. But a letter will go into the file and be there permanently. So write letters instead of making phone calls (or both).

On the court date named on the Warrant in Debt, if you do not agree to the full amount claimed, you can tell the court that you disagree with the total amount.