How I Settled My Credit Card Debt With Discover

Hannah Locklear | September 25, 2023

And today I'm going to be talking about ways that you can resolve your credit card debt. Recently, I interviewed a Solosuit customer who used our services to respond to a debt lawsuit against Discover Credit Card.

Diane had racked up several thousand dollars in credit card debt and was trying to take care of her sister who was struggling with health challenges. After her sister passed, Diane was left with the debt and eventually Discover contacted her about it. But several months went by without her being able to pay it off, Discover sued Diane in her local court in Texas.

Now at the time, Diane was struggling with several other debts as well and had recruited the help of a debt consolidation agency who referred her to SoloSuit. Diane was initially skeptical because of how affordable our service was, but she decided to use the SoloSuit software to draft a customized answer to her case. More specifically, Diane used the SoloSuit premium package, which meant that an attorney reviewed her documents before filing and a SoloSuit legal support specialist filed her answer document for her.

Here's Diane's story.

Sued for credit card debt? Resolve it through debt settlement.

Interview begins here

Hannah: Thank you so much, Diane, for being willing to share your story of how you used SoloSuit to win your debt lawsuit. We really appreciate you taking the time. Can you tell me a little bit about your debt? What kind of a debt was it? How did you incur the debt?

Diann: I live a very frugal life, but I had a sister that could no longer work and was very sick. So while we were trying to wait for her to get Social Security disability, I supported her and I had another sister help, but that's where a lot of things, if she needed, I just covered for her. And then I ended up getting just more and more in debt until she passed away.

Hannah: I'm sorry to hear about her passing, but it sounds like you're an incredible sister helping support her. Was the debt like credit card debt or was it loans? What kind of debt was it?

Dianne: It was credit card debt. It was several credit cards that I had. I was paying on time, but I was never catching up because I was just basically paying the interest because it was just getting more than I could afford.

Hannah: Yeah. Wow. So I think it can be pretty overwhelming, especially when there are multiple debts involved, but it sounds like all these debts were incurred as a way for you to help support your sister as she was struggling. That's really selfless of you and I admire that you would do that and be willing to help her that way. Can you tell me a little bit about how you found out that you were being sued?

What happened when you get served papers for debt in Texas?

Dianne: I had gotten something in the mail and then I was served in person when I got home from work. Which is scary because I've never been served before. It was very scary for me because I was thinking and they were giving me such a short period of time that I needed to get representation or I needed to agree to what they were asking for. And there was no way that I could even meet either which way. And so I was really scared because I'm like, I don't even know what to do. You know what I mean?

So when I contacted my consolidation company, they told me about you all. And really, I think it was just fear itself of just like, there's nothing I can do. I don't know what to do. But oh, my God. SoloSuit made it so easy. It was just getting over that step of saying and then the amount, because all I could think about, oh, my God, how much are they going to charge me? I'm consolidating now for a reason. And then when they told me the amount, it was so affordable. I said, I can do that, you know what I mean? And the person that talked to me over the phone didn't seem like a lawyer. They just sounded like a friend that was very knowledgeable, that was helping you. And I just felt so comfortable. I said, there's no way this is too easy. I said, this can't be real. Am I wasting my money?

I was really nervous because of all the legal paperwork that it was in English, but I had no idea what it was saying. It just wasn't in the language or words that I would use on a daily basis. So it made me very nervous. And I was already in debt trying to pay everything off. And I was like, how am I going to afford a lawyer? I never knew there was something like that out there. I wish more people knew about that.

Respond to your debt lawsuit before your state’s deadline.

How did you respond to your credit card debt lawsuit?

Hannah: Yeah, that's a common thing, right? Like, people who are struggling with debt often don't have the means to hire an attorney, especially because it can be hundreds, thousands of dollars to do so. So that's kind of why SoloSuit exists, is to give people another option to represent themselves.

Dianne: The man that they put me in contact with that was working on my case, he made it so easy to talk to him, and he put everything in layman's terms where I didn't feel so afraid anymore. And he told me what to expect. Also, once the papers were submitted and he never lost contact with me, if I wanted to call him, I could call him at any time. It was the best experience I ever had. I usually don't give reviews, but with SoloSuit, I did give a review that I was very happy with who they had me in contact with.

Draft and file an Answer to your debt lawsuit online.

What does the SoloSuit Premium package include?

Hannah: Got you. So it looks like you purchased our SoloSuit premium package, which includes an attorney review of your documents. So an attorney looks at your documents and makes sure they're ready for filing, makes sure there's no issues there. And then it also includes filing of the documents themselves. So one of our legal support specialists filed your documents for you, and it looks like they did it electronically because I think your court accepts that through the electronic system, right?

Dianne: Yes. And I don't know if anybody's ever had to go to the court system. You'd have to take the whole day off because you just learn as you go. And from start to finish, it was like I had my own personal attorney right there. He did everything for me. And it was a little more than some of the cheaper packages, but I would tell everybody, if you can afford the bigger one where they do everything for you, you don't even know what a load they take off of you, because from start to finish, they took care of me.

How long did it take SoloSuit to file your Answer document?

Hannah: Well, I'm so glad that we were able to help out with that. I'm curious, so you got served. How long after you got served did it take for you to use SoloSuit? And how long after you were served did your documents actually get filed into the case? Do you know?

Dianne: God, it was like fast. Once I got SoloSuit's number and I contacted them, which was the next day after I got served. I mean, within days. It was just within days, everything was taken care of. I didn't have to get after him and say, hey, did you take care of that? He was calling me, he was emailing me. Everything was taken care of. I'm not even exaggerating of how wonderful this experience was for me that I would do it again or I tell everybody that I know about them, hey, you should try that and see if they can help you. It's mostly just understanding what the documents say because they're just not written in layman's terms. You don't understand. It doesn't make sense.

Hannah: And that's actually, I think, a tactic that well, I guess it's one of the factors of this whole process that really is not in favor of the consumer. Right. Debt collectors, they know what they're doing. They have a lot of experience with this. Therefore they know all the legal terms, all the legalese, and so they have that advantage over us. Right. But at SoloSuit, I think another one of our goals is to just make things more understandable, give people free resources, free education that can help them be armed to fight the case. Right.

How long did it take Discover to respond to your Answer?

Hannah: Now, how long after your documents were filed did it take before you heard back from the people suing you?

Dianne: It took them a while, which really surprised me because they made everything like, you got to do something right now. I felt like they were rushing me, if you don't do this, this is going to happen. It was very intimidating for me, but I would say a year before they actually decided to go ahead and come to an agreement on what we were going to pay back.

How long did it take you to settle your debt?

Hannah: Okay, so it sounds like after you used SoloSuit to respond to the case, you ended up settling your debt with the opposing lawyer, is that right?

Dianne: Well, it was my debt consolidation company that did that, but any legal work was all done by SoloSuit, which was very fast. I think from start to finish was within a week, everything was submitted, everything was verified, everything was done very quickly. It was just waiting for them to respond from Discover is what I had to wait for.

Hannah: And Discover, that's a huge organization, right? So when it's a small person going up against this big company right, it can be kind of intimidating. Can you tell me a little bit how you felt going up against Discover?

Dianne: I think that's why I was really scared at first using SoloSuit, because the company was so big that it was coming against me. And I said, there's no way I can pay X amount of dollars so little to be able to do this paperwork for such a company that's so large. That really was my biggest fear.

Settle credit card debt on your own with SoloSettle.

How much did Discover sue you for?

Hannah: Do you remember how much it was that you were being sued for?

Dianne: I think the original bill was probably… It wasn't huge, it was, I think, like $5,000, but with all the interest and everything that they just kept accruing and accruing, then it ended up being like $7,000. So it wasn't like an outrageous amount, but it took them a while. And then we got it down to what we agreed to, which was like $3,800 or something like that.

How much did Discover settle for?

Hannah: Okay. So it looks like you were about to settle for almost half of the amount they were claiming you owed.

Dianne: Exactly, because I had really paid. If you when we went back and looked at it, I had already really paid the card back. But it was all just an interest I'd been paying for so long. Just interest that really I had paid for everything that I had gotten. I was just paying interest and interest and interest. I was very happy with the amount that they did settle for. And we are working to clear that out. Even as of now, which will be in a few months, I will be completely out.

Hannah: Wow, that's awesome. Congratulations. I'm so glad you're able to settle for half of what you originally were claimed to have owed, especially with a big company like Discover. That's intimidating. It's scary, but it sounds like you did everything that you needed to do on your end, not only to respond to the lawsuit, but then to resolve the debt and clear your name of it. That's awesome. Congratulations.

Dianne: Yeah.

Did you have to go to court after you got sued for credit card debt?

Hannah: Did you end up having to go to court at all?

Dianne: No, everything was done through the mail and through the debts. Consolidation never showed up anywhere, never actually met people in person. Everything was either by phone or by letter and very few letters, to tell you the truth. With SoloSuit, they took care of everything. And most of it was even just saying, hey, we do this every day, we really know what we're doing and just, we'll take care of this. You just got to trust that we're going to take care of it. And they did everything they promised they would do.

Hannah: Awesome. So just to confirm, you said you used SoloSuit on your own and you're the one that went on our website and filled it out yourself, right?

Dianne: Yes, I was just given a referral of somebody that would help me for a very reasonable price and that's my debt consolidation company that I was working with only gave me the referral. But really they weren't so much like working with them. So that's what made me nervous because I was bringing someone else from the outside in and I thought it would be confusing, but it wasn't. I just sent him the paperwork and he goes, this is easy, we can take care of this. This is not as scary as it's sounding. And they did and they took care of it. So that was the scary part, is that I had to work with somebody from outside the debt consolidation company.

How did you settle your debt for less with Discover?

Hannah: Yeah. So you were a little nervous to work with SoloSuit, but then when you got on our site, you saw that it was really straightforward and simple.

Dianne: I couldn't believe how easy it was. That's the part I kept saying, this is too good to be true.

Hannah: Well, I'm glad that it was easy for you. And it's interesting because you said that they said you owed $7,000 after all the interest charges, court costs, attorney fees. If you hadn't responded to the lawsuit with a SoloSuit Debt Answer, there's a chance that they would have been able to collect that full amount. They could have garnished your wages. But by filing the Answer and utilizing SoloSuit as a resource, you were able to block that from happening and then ultimately settle your debt. So like I said, it sounds like you did everything that you needed to do on your end to resolve it and not end up having to pay all those court costs and fees.

Dianne: Exactly.

Hannah: And it's also kind of a mutually beneficial thing because you're able to settle for less than you owe, but also Discover ends up getting the money for what they lent you. Can you tell me what the craziest or most surprising part of the whole process was?

Dianne: I was so shocked that I didn't really have to do anything for the amount that I paid. I really didn't have to do anything. They took care of everything. That's the shocking part. Having to trust somebody you've never met and then you having to give a credit card, which sometimes is scary, but that's the shocking part because nothing seems to be easy nowadays and it was just that easy.

Hannah: Oh, wow, that's awesome. I'm so glad to hear it was easy.

Dianne: I had a really good experience, so I'm very happy for you.

Settle your debt for less.

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Hannah: What was the best part of using SoloSuit?

Dianne: It was the price because I could afford it. I could afford it and I got the Premium package. I was thinking there's no way that I'm going to be able to get Premium help for the amount that I paid, and I'm by no means making a lot of money. So it's not like it was just easy for something like that. But that was the best part was that it was affordable.

Hannah: Awesome. Well, I think those are all the questions that I have for you. Is there anything else that you would want people to know about SoloSuit or even just like the process of being sued for debt and resolving it?

Dianne: I think the person, their biggest thing is going to be fear. Are they really going to help me? But I think if they will, just because you're so intimidated that you start just take it out on the other person that you're talking to that's supposed to be helping you. I think that if you just calm down, listen to what they say, do exactly what they tell you to do, that you will have the same experience that I had. It was a really good experience.

Hannah: Awesome.

SoloSuit can help you respond to debt collectors at any stage of the collection process.

SoloSuit can help you respond to a debt lawsuit and resolve your credit card debt

I hope hearing from a real SoloSuit customer helped you learn more about the steps that you can take to resolve your own debt. SoloSuit is here to help you defend yourself in case of a debt lawsuit. Our software can help guide you through the process of drafting your own answer document that is personalized to your case. It takes a matter of minutes, and depending on which package you select, we can also file your Answer for you after having an attorney review your document.

Our Answer document is properly formatted, contains legitimate legal language, and is accepted by hundreds of courts throughout the US. Every day. Most people who are struggling with debt don't have the funds to hire an attorney to take on their case, but SoloSuit empowers you to represent yourself in the case and increases your chances of winning.

The biggest reason you should file an answer to your lawsuit is to avoid default judgment. If you don't respond before your state's deadline, your creditor or debt collector might request a default judgment that, if granted, could give them the rights to garnish your wages, seize your property, freeze your bank account, among other things. But other than that, responding to your case with an answer also buys you time to discuss debt settlement options and payment plans with your creditor.

And lucky for you, we recently developed a new service at SoloSuit called SoloSettle that can help you negotiate a debt settlement agreement, resolve your debt and clear your name of your debts for good.

Resolve your credit card debt through debt settlement

SoloSettle is a tech based approach to debt settlement. Our software helps you send and receive settlement offers until you reach an agreement with the collector or your creditor. Once an agreement is reached, we'll help you manage the settlement documentation and transfer your payment to the creditor or debt collector and help you keep your financial information private and secure.

So if you're like Diane and have been sued for credit card debt, take action. Respond to your lawsuit. Give yourself time to work out a settlement agreement. Use SoloSettle to negotiate a settlement and resolve your debt for good, saving money in the end and clearing your name of the debt. And if you're lucky, you might even be able to settle for as little as Diane did.

Thank you so much for watching. And just remember, that SoloSuit is rooting for you. We hope that you win your case.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to fight debt collectors.

You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, to send letters to collectors, and even to settle a debt.

SoloSuit's Answer service is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your Answer. Upon completion, we'll have an attorney review your document and we'll file it for you.

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

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit. (We can help you in all 50 states.)

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