req. a bit of free lawyerly advice.....

[dhorne at telus.net]

At 11:04 PM 12/21/1999 EST, you wrote:
>In a message dated 99-12-21 18:37:06 EST, you write:
>
><< Hello all--  Excuse the random query, reply off list if you dont mind,
but 
> a friend/colleague of mine has a bit of a problem in re. some debt 
> collecting lawyer b.s.  She has just been served a summons to appear in 
> court, on Dec 27th,  in re. a $1200 debt from a credit card co. (First 
> Union Bank, quite a name).  BUt my friend cannot appear and the student 
> legal aid offices are closed for the holidays, so she is wondering what 
> will happen as a result.  I myself figured this means the judgment goes to 
> the plaintiff, but then what?  My friend has your typical grad student 
> income (i.e., low) and is unconcerned about her credit rating, so is 
> wondering how they will proceed to get blood from a stone.  Can credit 
> card/court  scum garnish wages, and what are the limits on that?  I assume 
> debtor's=prisons havent come back yet....
>  >>
>
>Without venturing to offer legal advice (I don't even know what state your 
>friend is in, which woiuld determine the governing law), one might surmise 
>that if your friend does not appear she will probably lose by default and 
>have a judgment entered against her. It is possible that she would be
subject 
>to wage garnishment, depending on the creditor's remedies available in the 
>state. Without being overly sympathetic to the bank, I am wondering why you 
>dismiss it and the courts as scum for expecting her to repay the money she 
>borrowed, but that is neither here nor there.  Your friend might try to 
>contact the bank and explain that she cannot pay just now but would be 
>willing to work out a repayment scheme over time. If the bank was amenable, 
>that would avoid the difficulties associated with a judgment lien on her 
>assets, whatever they might be. She might not care about her credit rating 
>now, but the lien would remain on her credit reports for seven years (at 
>least), and she might care down the road.
>
>--jks

When you're income is limited and someone drops a credit card on you, its a
temptation to max it out. Plastic just doesn't seem like real money. But a
debt "is" a debt. It is always better to work out a deal with the creditor,
rather than let it go to court. Creditors are often amenable because court
action costs them money too, and believe it or not, they would rather have
a customer with the potential for producing future income rather than a
disgruntled [from their point of view] deadbeat who they are trying to
collect from.

David H.

P.S Is this a "real" summons? Dec 27 seems like an awfully strange day to
go to court.
>
>