How to Resolve Debt with GC Debt Collection

Chloe Meltzer | July 31, 2024

Chloe-Meltzer
Legal Expert
Chloe Meltzer, MA

Chloe Meltzer is an experienced content writer specializing in legal content creation. She holds a degree in English Literature from Arizona State University, complemented by a Master’s in Marketing from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Hannah Locklear
Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Summary: Are you being sued by GC Debt Collection for an past due debt? Make the right defense and win your case in court. File an Answer, then reach out to negotiate debt settlement. SoloSettle can help you start the debt settlement process.

If you have missed payments on one of your bills, you may get phone calls from a company called GC Services. GC Services is a debt collector who will work to force you into paying your debt. To legally collect from GC Debt must open up a collection account on your credit report, this will hurt your credit score and possibly prevent you from obtaining loans in the future.

This can stay on your report for up to seven years even after paying the debt. They may use illegal methods and a violation of your rights. If you can understand what your rights are, then have a better chance of beating the debt lawsuit.

Settle debt with GC Services

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Who is GC Services?

GC Services is one of the largest collection agencies in the country. It was founded in 1986 and has its headquarters in Houston. With over 9000 employees, they generate around $100 million in revenue per year. This is done by collecting on debts. They collect on various debts such as those from student loans, utilities, cable, telecommunications, and more.

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How to handle a debt collection lawsuit from GC Services

In most cases, debt collection lawsuits will lead to default judgments. This is because most people do not respond to their debt-collection lawsuits. In this instance, you may not want to respond because you are afraid. Whether or not you owe the money, you need to ensure that you respond. Typically you only have 20 to 30 days to respond, so it is essential to be quick in your answering.

In debt collection cases you always have options. The plaintiff in a collections lawsuit (the creditor or debt collector) rests with the burden of proof. This means they are required to show proof to collect on the debt. They also must prove how much you owe.

This is why it is essential to force GC Debt Collection to prove your debt. Simply ask them to produce admissible evidence that the lawsuit is yours. Although you would think this is simple, it is not. In many cases debt has been sold once, or more times, which means that the chain of title is lost. This is a lot more difficult than simply filing the debt collection lawsuit followed by serving the summons and complaint.

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Challenge the debt collector's right to sue you

Challenging the debt collector's right to sue you is the best way to remove or decrease a debt lawsuit. In this case, the debt collector must prove that it legally owns your debt. If the debt buyer is not your original creditor then they didn't enter into a contract with you. They can only meet the proof requirement by showing the sale or assignment of the debt.

In many cases, the courts will require that your debt collector has documents showing the purchase or the assignment. If you do not present this possibility to the courts, then they will not pursue it or ask for this from the debt collector. Without doing this discovery, the debt collector will most likely win. If you ask for evidence, then you have a much better chance of winning your case.

Review the statute of limitations

Statutes of limitations govern how long creditors can bring a lawsuit against a consumer. The rules are different in every state, but typically the laws are around four to six years. Some debts have different lengths, and some can be anywhere from two to 20 years.

What you need to know about the statute of limitations is that it will begin on the last day you were active on an account. “Activity” is considered making a payment, pulling funds from an account, or making a purchase. You mustn't make a payment on a debt that you owe if it is a few years old. This can restart the statute of limitations and ruin your chases of having the lawsuit thrown out.

Because making a payment on an account can restart the clock for your debt, many debt collectors will reach out to consumers who have either expired debts or soon to be expired debts. These are called zombie debts, and this is a common debt collection tactic. Even paying $5 towards the balance of your debt will restart the statute of limitations.

Although you can no longer be sued for a debt after the statute of limitations has expired, it does not mean that you do not owe it. You will need to ensure that you still pay off the debt, or settle it because it will continue to haunt you, you will just about the debt collector's calls. This debt will stay on your credit report for up to seven years, and be considered debt for as long as you owe it.

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Settle the lawsuit for less than what is owed

Most often debt collectors purchase debts for pennies on the dollar. This gives you some leverage when negotiating a settlement. Even if you are not able to get the lawsuit tossed on a technicality, you can still settle for much less than you initially owed. Especially when you mention that you may file for bankruptcy, this can help you get a settlement as well. The debt collector would rather make some money off the debt rather than nothing.

We asked an attorney how to settle debt in the following video. Check it out to learn more about how to negotiate with GC Services and how SoloSettle can help you through the process:

>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit: A Student Solution To Give Utah Debtors A Fighting Chance

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