Being sued, can't pay.

[Khirsa]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Jersey

I got a credit card when I was 18, and now 4 years later the company is suing me for not paying. The debt is $2,000. I know it was a very irresponsible thing to do, and not paying it was even more so.

The thing is, I'm currently unemployed because I am my terminally-ill father's primary caregiver. I have no assets. And in turn, I have no idea how to pay off this debt. I take odd jobs when I can, to help support myself, but it is not steady or near enough to pay off this debt.

I called the collection agency this morning and this is what they are offering me:
A.) Pay 75% of the balance in full as a settlement. They won't accept payments on this, they want a lump sum.
B.) Pay 25% of the balance and then pay off the rest with monthly payments in 6 months.

I can't afford to do either of these things, and they suggested I go to family and friends to borrow the money. Realistically my only family is my father and he is on a very fixed income. If I borrowed from him it would be hurting him greatly.

I have a court summons now... and really no idea what to do. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

[Wirelessany1]

Originally Posted by Khirsa

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Jersey

I got a credit card when I was 18, and now 4 years later the company is suing me for not paying. The debt is $2,000. I know it was a very irresponsible thing to do, and not paying it was even more so.

The thing is, I'm currently unemployed because I am my terminally-ill father's primary caregiver. I have no assets. And in turn, I have no idea how to pay off this debt. I take odd jobs when I can, to help support myself, but it is not steady or near enough to pay off this debt.

I called the collection agency this morning and this is what they are offering me:
A.) Pay 75% of the balance in full as a settlement. They won't accept payments on this, they want a lump sum.
B.) Pay 25% of the balance and then pay off the rest with monthly payments in 6 months.

I can't afford to do either of these things, and they suggested I go to family and friends to borrow the money. Realistically my only family is my father and he is on a very fixed income. If I borrowed from him it would be hurting him greatly.

I have a court summons now... and really no idea what to do. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

When you show up in court and have the judgement rendered against you, the judgement creditor will have a very long time to collect.

The amount you will be responsible to pay will increase over time so years later when they finally do get their money do not be surprised the the amount is significantly higher than the original debt.

[cosine]

Suing you is not about trying to get you to pay. It's about escalating the issue because you won't/can't pay. It's about them getting the court to help extract money out of you (garnishment, etc).

I do still think it's silly for creditors to demand payments that people can't actually make. Quite many people would have been paying on time if they had the lump sum cash. OTOH, they are experienced with people that do have the cash, or can get it, but don't pay. These days there are more of the former and fewer of the latter.

You probably won't qualify for chapter 13 bankruptcy because you have no employment or other income source. You'd have to do chapter 7 if you went the route of bankruptcy, anyway. That would wipe out your debts and make it hard for you to get any credit for years (which might be a good thing for you).

Show up in court and learn how justice works.