In my personal and vicarious experience, legal proceedings related to credit card debt are the result of the debtor exhibiting weakness or opportunity to debt collectors.
Collection attorneys expect default judgments. They do not want to go to court to actually try a case. They just want their paralegals to mail the summons and file for a default judgment when the consumer does not answer.
What are the ways someone with delinquent credit card debt can show weakness or opportunity to an original creditor, junk debt buyer, collection agency or collection attorney, and indicate that they probably will not answer a summons?
Actively —
1) Not responding to every initial communication from a junk debt buyer, collection agency or collection attorney with a deny/dispute/debt validation letter sent CRRR.
2) Not following up with further deny/dispute/debt validation demands in response to poorly documented validation sent by the collector.
3) Talking to debt collectors on the phone, or worse returning their phone calls.
4) Calling a debt collection agency or attorney to discuss a debt when invited to do so in a letter from them.
5) While on the phone with a debt collector innocently, naively, honestly revealing personal information that can be used against you to collect the debt.
6) Admitting (and re-contracting) to the debt on the phone or, worse, in writing.
7) Not sending written communications CRRR – certified mail return receipt requested. [CRRR alone sets you apart from every other debtor not doing this.]
Attempting to settle with a collection agency or collection attorney for a junk debt buyer.
9) Not documenting and filing/saving written communications to and from debt collectors and referencing those in future written communications.
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