Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Wisconsin

I would recommend that you immediately retain a bankruptcy lawyer to negotiate with this company and appear in the lawsuit, even if your hope is to avoid bankruptcy. This is because bankruptcy lawyers will have the most clout in any negotiating scenario, because the creditor knows that they will generally get nothing at all of the bankruptcy is filed. I have also found recently in client cases recently that that collectors have not been able to locate sufficient records to fully verify some older debts; possibly due to corporate mergers or changes in ownership of your account, which may currently be owned by a debt buyer rather than the original lender, who no longer has access to the lender's database. Although your financial hardships are a social issue suggesting that compassion may be needed, courts unfortunately are not allowed to exercise compassion in matters of debt collection, but are instead restricted to considering legal sufficient defenses only. The most common legally sufficient defense is that of "payment," i.e., having proof that you have paid the debt, but there are also many other defenses. However, if you retain a lawyer early enough in the process to protect your procedural right to fight the case in a timely fashion, you can force the burden of proof onto the collector, who sometimes cannot meet it. Attempting such matters on your own, however, is likely to lead to a default judgment against you, unless you have legal training or experience. You therefore are in dire need of representation as soon as possible if you wish to assert your rights to defend this matter. My comments here are for public educational purposes only and are not legal advice specifically tailored to your specific situation. You should therefore retain a lawyer in order to meet your legal needs, or at least schedule a private consultation with one. I am not your attorney and will not be taking any action on your case. Disclosure of confidential information in a public web forum is not recommended and is always subject to possible use against you later, in court. However, you are welcome to contact my Racine, WI office at 262-633-3090, see me on the web (www.jayknixonlaw) or email me at [email protected] with further questions. Web forum answers may contain attorney advertising materials.