Background

• Credit card companies may begin calling you to ask about payments when you first become past due. Often, they start the day after the payment becomes late. The intensity of the calls will increase, and they may have the recovery department or the legal department call you. Eventually, they may get around to suing you. They may also sell the debt to a collection's company, and then they will continue the process. They may not sue you, but they can do so at any time.
  
  

Criteria for a Suit

• Credit card companies and collectors look at specific items about your personal situation to decide if they are going to sue you over the debt. If you are six months or more behind on the debt, you are more likely to be sued. If you have a co-signer on the account, you are less likely to be sued, but the co-signer will be contacted immediately. Being on your job or living in the same house for a long period of time means that you are more stable, and also that you are more likely to pay them in the event of a lawsuit. A less-stable person might skip town rather than pay the debt.
  
  

Lawsuit Process

• The credit card company or collections agency will file a suit in your local court. You will be served with the lawsuit papers, which will have a date and time to report to court, and a timeframe for you to respond to the suit. If you do not respond to the suit, and do not show up on the date of the hearing, you could lose the lawsuit by default. Even if you go to court to defend yourself, if you owe the debt legitimately, you will probably lose the lawsuit. The creditor can then try to execute that judgement by seeking garnishment of your pay and attachment of your bank account and other assets. These processes may vary according to the state you live in.
  
  

Other Considerations and Suggestions

• Often a credit card company or collector will threaten to sue long before they do so. They do this to try to get an emotional response from you and coerce a payment. Be careful as your debt nears the statute of limitations in your state, as the collectors may want to sue you before this time expires. If a collector doesn't think that they will recover anything from you, they are less likely to file a lawsuit.