getting a settlemen tout of court

[skidrowphoto]

What is the name of your state? ohio

Received a summons, have 25 days left to answer. would prefer to just settle the matter out of court. I cannot afford the time off work or a lawyer. I cannot at this time afford to pay the entire amount. I am willing to pay it by the week or by the month which ever is easiest. But, I have had trouble with this agency before. When they have done "payment plans" before where it is automatically taken from a checking account, they take it a week or more after the specified date and it royally messes up the account. I need to be able to pay by money order or bank issued check. Any suggestions for settling this matter? I owe $4538 and could pay half of it. I have other bills and rent to pay.

[seniorjudge]

I cannot at this time afford to pay the entire amount. I am willing to pay it by the week or by the month which ever is easiest.

This is not a settlement; it is a promise to pay which they already had from you and which you did not follow.

[skidrowphoto]

I don't want the agency to garnish my wages. Is there anything I can do in the stage I am at to stop this from happening? What I am getting at is I don't want them to mess with my paycheck. The summons said that they" pray for a Judgement against the defendant for the sum set forth and costs." All they sent with the summons and the complaint was a bill from 2007 and a copy of a credit card agreement with rates that don't correspond to the bill.

A bit of help on how to answer the summons would be appreciated.

[Debt Guy]

I don't want the agency to garnish my wages. Is there anything I can do in the stage I am at to stop this from happening? What I am getting at is I don't want them to mess with my paycheck.

Three ideas:

1. File bankruptcy.
2. Make a deal to settle the debt either in a lump sum or by payments. You really cannot force the creditor to take what you want to offer. They already know what they can get as a garnishment and they really are not inclined to accept less.
3. Defend yourself -- but anticipate that you are really only buying time and unlikely to prevail unless you can come up with a darn good reason you don't owe the money. You can hire an attorney or do it yourself.

The summons said that they" pray for a Judgement against the defendant for the sum set forth and costs." All they sent with the summons and the complaint was a bill from 2007 and a copy of a credit card agreement with rates that don't correspond to the bill.

That is probably more than enough to convince the judge you owe the debt.

If you object to the amount of the debt you can force the creditor to do a full accounting of the amount you owe. To do this you must file an answer with the court and set forth your defense -- then conduct discovery.

It don't say this to be mean and I am not suggesting you roll over and play dead. The questions you are asking indicate this is clearly over your head. That is no shame but poses a very real problem for you. If you try to do this yourself, you must very quickly learn how to be a lawyer. The judge will cut you a little slack but will expect you to file all your documents in the correct format and right time/right place. The Court Clerk can direct you to a copy of the local Rules of Civil Procedure. Nolo communications publishes some books on legal self-defense. You can buy them online at nolo.com or sometimes they are carried at Borders.

[skidrowphoto]

Thanks for the help. According to the means test, Bankruptcy would make me more poor. It would take about half of the money I owe the creditor in question just to pay the attorney. As for settling, Do I just call the attorney listed as representing the creditor? They are right here in town. I suffered a series of hardships that led to the debt getting to them in the first place. (I had a job where I was paid with bad checks, I was hospitalized for a medical condition twice, had a bad divorce and a few other minor complications.) I have tried explaining this to them each time, tried to pay according to whatever agreement I set up, then I Had some other problem to complicate paying iit back. I have applied for credit counseling, which, if they can help, according to what I read may stop the wage garnishment.