What are the chances of being sued for a delinquent account?

Problem: I have always been current on my accounts. However, things changed after I lost my job in October 2010. I have not been able to make payments on the Amex card and the Chase card since then. I planned to pay off my debts after securing a job. I told the same thing to my creditors too. However, the creditors refused to believe me. They have sent the accounts to a third party collection agency. I have heard that the collectors are quite aggressive people. Will they file a lawsuit against me? What are the chances of being sued? I am pretty scared. I live in Los Angeles and owe around $45,000 on the cards. My current credit score is around 525. Thanks for any information. Solution: Your chances of getting sued are quite high. The collectors are not patient people. They want their money by any means. They will try various methods to collect the money. The collectors will file a lawsuit against you when they lose hope of collecting money from you. The debt collectors will calculate the total owed money prior to filing lawsuit against you. They will assess their chances of getting the money by suing you. Lawsuits are expensive and so the collectors would not like to waste any money if there is no chance of retrieving money. The debt collectors will evaluate your income and assets. They will check whether or not you have a house or a vehicle. They will also try to know if you have available funds in your checking account. If you have some funds in the checking account or have some equity in your home, then the collectors will definitely file a lawsuit against you. They will try their best to secure a judgment against you. Once the collectors win judgment, they will garnish your checking account or put a lien on your home. You'll also have to think about your credit score apart from the lawsuits. Your credit score is already in a bad state right now. Your score will drop further if you don't make any payments on the cards. This implies that you'll face tremendous problems in getting a new loan or future. Moreover, you may not even get a job in spite of having good working experience and high qualification. I would suggest you to assess your financial situation first. Evaluate how much you have to pay on each account. Then, make a list of your assets and calculate the available funds in your account. Find out if you can repay the debts with budgeting. If not, then you'll have to get a job as early as possible. It will not be possible for you to get of this mess without any income. You should contact the collection agency and explain your situation to them. Explain to them that you are trying your best to get a job. Try to negotiate an alternative payment plan with them. If the collectors demand full payment, then you can take advantage of Los Angeles debt settlement to clear your dues. However, you should consider debt settlement as your last option. This is because settlement will drop your score further. Finally, if you are not able to secure a job or qualify for debt settlement, then you can file bankruptcy. This debt relief option will help you repay your debts and avoid lawsuits.