Sued by D&A Services? How to Settle It

George Simons | January 31, 2025

George Simons
Co-Founder of SoloSuit
George Simons, JD/MBA

George Simons is the co-founder and CEO of SoloSuit. He has helped Americans protect over $1 billion from predatory debt lawsuits. George graduated from BYU Law school in 2020 with a JD-MBA. In his spare time, George likes to cook, because he likes to eat.

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: If sued by D&A Services, respond promptly to avoid default judgment. Validate the debt, assert defenses, and negotiate a settlement to resolve it. Solo can help with all this and more.

If you are months or more past due on a debt, your creditor may assign or sell the debt to a third-party debt collection agency. At this time, the debt collector may purchase your debt and then work to collect the debt or be paid to collect the debt. If you do not pay off the debt, you may find yourself in court. If you are being sued for debt by D&A Service and unsure how to respond, you can follow the steps below to settle.

Settle debt with D&A Services

You can negotiate debt settlement at any stage of the collections process. SoloSettle makes it easy.

Settle with SoloSettle

What is D&A Services?

Previously known as Dynia & Associates, D&A Services, LLC is a third-party debt collector based in Illinois. This agency has been in business for 18 years and maintains an A rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

Ready to contact D&A Services to negotiate your debt? Use the D&A Services phone number and other information below:

Who does D&A Services collect for?

D&A Services, LLC collects debts at every stage of the collection process, including pre-charge off, early-out, and third-party collection services for clients in multiple industries, including:

  • Credit card debt
  • Personal loans
  • Pay-day loans
  • Small businesses
  • Auto loans
  • Hospitals

If a company lends money or finances a purchase, it may use D & A to collect the debt.

Read D&A Services reviews online as you prepare to negotiate

Reading online reviews can provide insight on how to approach D&A Services to resolve your debt. Explore reviews on the following sites:

Learning from the experiences of others will help you know how to engage with D&A Services.

Sued by D&A Services? Here’s how to respond

Understand the timeline of a debt collection lawsuit

If a debt collector is suing you, you need to understand the process of being sued for debt. It will vary from case to case, but you need to ensure that you verify the debt before paying anything. Scams do exist, so it's important to do some research on the debt before you take any other action. Here's a typical debt collection timeline:

  • After 180 days of the debt being past due, you may receive a call from a debt collector.
  • Within five days of initial contact, the collector must send written verification of the debt, which provides additional information about the debt (e.g., the amount you owe, the name of the creditor, and how to dispute the debt if you wish to do so). If they do not send this, you can request one by sending a Debt Validation Letter.
  • The collector must validate the debt or stop collection efforts. If they cannot validate the debt, then they must leave you alone.
  • You have 30 days to dispute the debt if you feel that any of the information from the collector's debt verification letter is inaccurate. Otherwise, the debt is considered valid.
  • If the collector succeeds in validating the debt and you cannot dispute it or pay it off, they can take the issue to court and file a Summons and Complaint against you.
  • Once the lawsuit is initiated, you have 14-30 days to respond before the case enters default judgment.
  • You should respond to the lawsuit with a written Answer.

Check out this handy flowchart that outlines all the possible routes a debt lawsuit can take:

Make sure the debt is valid before the lawsuit begins

Debts change hands, and in doing so, information is lost and the debt may become invalid. Some reasons a debt may be considered invalid are:

  • It is past the statute of limitations
  • The amount is incorrect
  • The debt has already been paid off
  • It is a fraudulent debt

If any of these apply to your debt, you can send a debt validation letter.

Respond to a lawsuit against D&A Services.

If D&A Services has sent you a debt Summons and Complaint, you should respond before the deadline in order to avoid a default judgment. A default judgment would give D&A Services the right to garnish your wages and seize your property. You can dodge this by filing a written Answer with the court.

Draft a written Answer in response to the Complaint

The Complaint document that you should have received from the court will contain a list of allegations against you (these are often referred to as “paragraphs”). In order to fight back in your debt lawsuit, you should prepare a formal response to each of these allegations. There are a few ways you can respond to each point in a Complaint. You can:

  • Admit: This is like stating that you agree with the allegation.
  • Deny: This is like stating that the allegation is false or that you refuse to admit it before the court.
  • Deny due to lack of knowledge: This is like stating, “I don't know,” which can be a good option if you don't understand the legal jargon in the Complaint.

When a debt reaches the point of a lawsuit, the burden of proof is on the plaintiff, which is D&A Services. Denying the claims keeps the burden of proof on the plaintiff.

Assert your affirmative defenses

As a part of your written Answer, you should include a list of affirmative defenses that will strengthen your side of the case. Be sure to list these defenses in your Answer because you will not be able to bring them up later. Some common affirmative defenses include:

  • The account with the debt is not your account
  • The contract was already canceled
  • The statute of limitations has expired (the statute of limitations is the amount of time you can be sued for a debt; it is usually 4 to 6 years)
  • The debt has been paid or excused
  • The debt has been partially paid

Make the right defense the right way with Solo.

For six easy tips on drafting an Answer to a debt lawsuit, check out this video:’

File the Answer with the court

After drafting your Answer and asserting your affirmative defenses, you should file the original document with the court and send a copy of it to D&A Services' lawyer. SoloSuit can file the Answer for you and have an attorney review your documents before sending them to increase your chances of winning.

Filing an Answer is only the first step to resolving a lawsuit. Attend all hearings and respond to other documents filed in the case to avoid a judgment. You can also contact D&A Services after filing your Answer to negotiate and settle the debt for less.

Settle with SoloSettle

Make an Offer

How to settle a debt with D&A Services, LLC

You can offer to settle a debt at any time during the debt collection process, including after a lawsuit has been filed. Typically, debt settlement saves both parties time, money, and stress by resolving the debt outside the courtroom.

Debt settlement doesn’t have to be a complex matter. Follow these steps to reach an agreement and resolve your debt with D&A Services.

  1. Take a hard look at your personal finances. How much can you reasonably afford to settle the debt? If money is tight, you may have to think outside the box. Do you have assets you can sell or an untouched rainy-day fund you can access?
  2. Once you determined how much you can offer to settle, it’s time to start negotiations with D&A Services. If you start the process by phone, follow up with an email or postal mail that outlines the settlement offer.
  3. Be prepared to negotiate. The debt collector may send a counteroffer. If it’s reasonable and you can afford to pay it, it may be wise to accept.
  4. Once you’ve reached an agreement, memorialize it in writing. The debt collector should provide a settlement agreement that is signed. Keep this as it’s proof that the debt is resolved.
  5. Pay the amount you agreed to on time.

SoloSettle can make the debt settlement process simple by helping you draft your correspondence, keeping track of negotiations, and providing a secure way for you to provide the final payment. To learn more, watch the following video:

How to Answer a Summons for debt collection in all 50 states

Here's a list of guides on how to respond to a debt collection lawsuit in each state:

The Ultimate 50 State Guide

Debt collector guides

Are you being contacted by a debt collector? We’re making guides on how to resolve debt with each one.

Arbitration

If the thought of going to court stresses you out, you’re not alone. Many Americans who are sued for credit card debt utilize a Motion to Compel Arbitration to push their case out of court and into arbitration.

Below are some resources on how to use an arbitration clause to your advantage and win a debt lawsuit.

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a great way to legally resolve debt, but it's usually best to consider it as a last resort. Here are some bankruptcy guides to help you decide which debt resolution option is best for you.

Check your case status

Don’t have time to go to your local courthouse to check the status of your case? We’ve created state guides on how to check the status of your case throughout the US, complete with online search tools and court directories.

Credit

Debt has a big impact on your credit. Below is a list of guides on how to repair and improve your credit, even while managing major debt, along with other credit-related resources.

Debt collection FAQs

Find answers to some of our the most commonly-asked questions about debt collection below.

Debt collection documents and templates

If you're dealing with debt, these documents and templates will help you respond, protect your rights, negotiate, and resolve your debts.

Debt relief

We’ve created a specialized guide on how to find debt relief in all 50 states, complete with steps to take to find relief, state-specific resources, and more.

Debt settlement

Debt settlement is one of the most effective ways to resolve a debt and save money. We’ve created state guides on debt settlement. Find out how to settle in your state with a simple click and explore other debt settlement resources below.

Eviction

Facing an eviction? The following guides will help you navigate your situation with confidence.

Federal debt collection laws

Knowing your rights makes it easier to stand up for your rights. Below, we’ve compiled all our articles on federal debt collection laws that protect you from unfair practices.

Legal aid

Helping people find access to justice is at the heart of Solo's misison. If you're dealing with a legal debt issue, the following guides will help you through it.

Medical debt

Having a health challenge is stressful, but dealing with medical debt on top of it is overwhelming. Here are some resources on how to manage medical debt.

Personal finance

Learn how to manage your finances and overcome crushing debt. Check out our personal finance guides below.

State debt collection laws

Debt collection laws vary by state, so we have compiled a guide to each state’s debt collection laws to make it easier for you to stand up for your rights—no matter where you live.

Statute of limitations on debt

Like all debt collection laws, the statute of limitations on debt varies by state. So, we wrote guides on each state’s statutes and more.

Stop collection calls

Do you keep getting calls from an unknown number, only to realize that it’s a debt collector on the other line? If you’ve been called by any of the following numbers, chances are you have collectors coming after you, and we’ll tell you how to stop them.

Wage garnishment

Forgot to respond to your debt lawsuit? The judge may have ordered a default judgment against you, and with a default judgment, debt collectors can garnish your wages. Here are our guides on how to stop wage garnishment in your state, plus other wage garnishment resources.

The Debt Hotline

Hosted by Team Solo, The Debt Hotline breaks down debt and personal finance topics with help from attorneys, financial experts, and industry pros. We respond to real questions to help you navigate debt with knowledge and courage.

Other debt resources


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