Can You Be Sued For Credit Card Debts? Not If You Negotiate Credit Card Settlement First

When credit card debts go unpaid, it is not at all unusual to be threatened with legal action. When this happens, it is reasonable enough to wonder if they really can sue you or whether this is just another ploy to scare you into paying back the money they are chasing. Debt collection agencies often use this threat, and we all know that some of the less reputable collectors are not afraid of some slightly underhand practices if they think it will get a result.

It is certainly possible to be sued for a debt by a credit card company, though it will cost them money to do it, so it is by no means guaranteed that they will. They will weigh up lots of factors when they are deciding whether to sue for a debt or not, because all they are really interested in is doing whatever will cost them least and get them the most money back.

Being sued for debt is certainly something you should avoid if you possibly can, not least because a court order against you has a lasting affect on your credit rating and could lead to problems getting credit for quite some time. It is most likely to happen if you just ignore calls from the credit card company or debt collector. The best thing you can do to avoid being sued is to take action to deal with the situation. Ignoring a problem never makes it go away.

What action you take will depend on your particular situation. Assuming you have quite a serious amount of debt, and cannot afford to keep up with the repayments, your best option is probably going to be debt settlement. The reason that this works in serious situations is that it involves reducing the actual amount of debt you owe, making it more possible to pay the remaining debts off at a rate you can afford.

It is possible to negotiate debt settlement yourself if you have a good understanding of how credit cards operate, but for most of us, we need the services of an expert who understands what makes the card companies tick. A good negotiator might be able to get well over half your debts written off, whereas someone without their experience and negotiating skills may get no agreement at all and you still end up in court.

So you best bet for a serious credit card debt problem is to find a good debt settlement company to work on your behalf. There are of course fees involved in debt settlement, but these are normally just a fraction of the amount that they manage to save you, so you are still much better off. The principle is that they deal with your creditors on your behalf to agree new, reduced terms for settling your debts. This will often involve writing off large sums of money in exchange for a one-off payment. It can also include freezing or reducing interest charges and re-structuring repayments.

The net result should be that your overall debt is drastically reduced, and you just have to make one monthly payment into a special account. The negotiations take varying amounts of time, and as the money in your account grows, it is used to pay the card companies the agreed settlements.

The theory is straightforward and it works, but you need to be cautious over choosing your debt settlement company, as the process is open to exploitation by less scrupulous organisations and individuals. People in debt are in a vulnerable situation and can be easy pray for companies who are great at charging expensive fees without actually delivering on the settlement.

Be very careful to choose long established companies with a good reputation. The best ones will have already settled huge amounts of debt for many people, so these are the ones to look for. It also makes sense to contact two or three and see which one gives you the best offer, and also which you feel most comfortable working with.