How to Stop Credit Card Judgments

Stopping credit card judgments is an important step toward protecting your assets and maintaining good credit. Anytime a lender or debt collector sues you in court, you risk having a judgment placed on your credit profile. This happens when someone wins a lawsuit against you, and is considered a high-risk collection activity for future lenders. Fortunately, it is easier to prevent getting a judgment onto a credit report than trying to deal with the consequences of a judgment once it has already happened.

Instructions

1. Negotiate as best as you can regarding your mounting credit card debt before the debt is 6 months or more late. Once these debts reach 180 days past due, they are often considered uncollectable and a prime candidate for a consumer credit lawsuit against you. Even making partial payments may be better than letting a large credit card debt remain unpaid and late.

2. Pay anything you can before a court date, even if you feel you may not be able to work out the whole debt situation. This will help the judge realize you do want to work toward paying off your late credit card debt, and may end with him continuing the case to a later date. This would give you the time you need to try to pay as much on the debt as possible without being forced into losing a consumer debt lawsuit.

3. Hire an attorney if you have a major debt situation and cannot negotiate it on your own. Lawyers may be able to push through out-of-court settlements that individual debtors cannot, and this could be money well spent if it helps you not be successfully sued in court for a credit card debt.

4. Attend court anytime you are summoned for a lawsuit. Even though you cannot be placed into prison for failure to pay your credit card debts, going to court can go a long way to stopping a credit card judgment from being awarded against you. You can try to negotiate with the creditor outside of court, or opt to work out the situation with the judge's help.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider that if all else fails, you might have to file bankruptcy if creditors have started getting judgments against you. This is because judgments can and do lead to wage garnishments, which could make it even harder for you to make ends meet. A bankruptcy case automatically stops judgments and makes ones from the past uncollectable.

• Do not avoid going to court, even if you do not have any money. Not showing up at all will lead to the credit card company getting a default judgment against you. In some states, such judgments can be indefinitely renewed until paid in full.