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Bank of America Is Suing Me For Credit Card Debt — How to win

George Simons | December 17, 2024

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 Bank of America sues you for debt, respond quickly with a written Answer. In the Answer, deny claims that you aren't sure about and assert your defenses. This will buy you time to negotiate and settle for less.

Did you just receive a lawsuit filed by Bank of America? If so, then you need to take action. Unlike a lot of credit card companies, Bank of America does not tend to sell overdue credit card accounts to other debt collection companies. Rather, Bank of America will take action to collect on an overdue, or defaulted, credit card account itself.

So, even though Bank of America seems like a behemoth of a company and you are only one person, you need to push back against that lawsuit. Why? Because there is a lot at stake.

It can be tempting to ignore calls and correspondence from debt collectors out of stress, anxiety, or just the business of everyday life. However, a lawsuit is different. Ignoring a lawsuit from Bank of America (or any other company that is suing you) can result in a default judgment against you.

With a default judgment, Bank of America is awarded the legal authority to do things like harm your credit, garnish your wages, or gain access to the funds in your bank account. Those are not the results you want.

In this article, we take you through the essentials about Bank of America and explain how you can take proactive steps to protect yourself from a default judgment.

If, after reading this article, you have more questions about how you can effectively respond to a Bank of America lawsuit, we invite you to contact us at Solo. We are here to help people resolve debt by reaching an agreement with debt collectors that works for both parties.

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How does Bank of America wind up filing a lawsuit against you?

As noted, Bank of America does business a little differently than other credit card companies. Most credit card companies sell accounts with unpaid bills to a debt collection agency and leave it to that agency to go after the cardholder who owes money. Bank of America, however, tends to keep its own accounts, and it will attempt to obtain money owed by its customers by filing collection lawsuits.

Approximately 90% of customers with credit card debt fail to respond to a lawsuit filed against them. As a result, Bank of America does not have to do anything other than file a lawsuit to obtain a judgment against its customers in most cases. Don't fall into that trap.

Instead, when you’re served with a Summons and Complaint from Bank of America, file an Answer to preserve your rights in the lawsuit. By filing an Answer, you let Bank of America know that you want to engage in a conversation about the alleged debt. They will have to prove the allegations in their lawsuit, and if they can’t, the case just might be dismissed.

In the next section, we will explain how easy it is to respond to a collection lawsuit, particularly with tools like those available from Solo. Solo’s mission is to help consumers and debt collectors reach mutually beneficial settlements without the costs and stress of hiring legal counsel..

What to know about Bank of America

Bank of America (BofA) has been in business for 76 years, though its roots can be traced back to 1904 when an Italian banker opened the Bank of Italy in San Francisco. It has an A rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and is one of the world’s leading financial institutions.

BofA’s net charge-offs (debts unlikely to be collected) increased from 807 million in 2023 to 1.5 billion dollars in 2024. Such figures highlight the importance Bank of America places on pursuing delinquent credit card debt.

On a positive note for consumers, this increase in charge-offs may prompt BofA to work more collaboratively with individuals to settle debts for amounts lower than what is owed, potentially easing financial burdens for some consumers.

Settle debt with Bank of America

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

Settle with SoloSettle

How to handle a Bank of America lawsuit

You do not necessarily need a lawyer if you are sued for credit card debt. We understand, lawyers are expensive. The key to properly responding to a collection lawsuit is to understand the format, and the due date, for your response.

The response to someone who files a lawsuit (or “Complaint”) in court is called an “Answer.” Typically, you have as little as 14 days to file your Answer, depending upon the state you live in.

SoloSuit files for you.

When you file the Answer, you need to “admit” or “deny” each and every allegation in the numbered paragraphs in the Complaint. Also, you have the opportunity to assert “affirmative defenses,” which are basically reasons why you may not owe the credit card debt at all. Here are three main things you need to think about when filing an Answer:

  1. Be sure to address every allegation. Remember, you need to “admit” or “deny” each and every allegation in the numbered paragraphs in the Complaint;
  2. Don't forget to assert affirmative defenses. Such defenses could include things like: the credit card was not in your name, you have already paid the debt, the company already forgave the debt, or that the company is too late in suing you (i.e., the lawsuit was filed after the statute of limitations has run); and
  3. Mail the Answer to the cCourt on time. Ensure that you mail the Answer to the appropriate court within the time allotted. Keep in mind that the deadline is different in each state. Check for your state's deadline here.

While those three steps may seem confusing, don't worry. With the help of SoloSuit it is really as easy as one, two, three.

Know your options when facing a Bank of America lawsuit

Remember, we discussed that approximately 90% of consumers won’t respond to a credit card collection lawsuit. Bank of America often wins these suits by default, but you’re here to learn about the proactive steps you can take to avoid a default judgment.

Get the help of SoloSuit to respond and make them prove their case. Bank of America may not have the resources or documentation to actually prove its case. However, if they do have the documentation, that doesn’t mean you’re out of options. Let SoloSuit help you respond to the Bank of America lawsuit today.

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Who does Bank of America use for debt collection?

As we said, Bank of America does not use a collections agency to collect on debt. It has a designated department that works internally to contact consumers and get them to pay off their debts. This might seem intimidating, since Bank of America is such a huge corporation. However, just like any collection agency, Bank of America must have documentation of a debt to be able to pursue it.

That being said, here’s a list of some of the debt collection law firms that Bank of America hires to help sue its customers for debt delinquency:

  • Andreu, Palma, Lavin & Solis, PLLC
  • Cooling & Winter
  • Frederic I. Weinberg & Associates, P.C.
  • Glasser and Glasser
  • Gurstel Law Firm
  • Hayt, Hayt & Landau, PL
  • Hood & Stacy
  • Levy & Associates
  • Lloyd & McDaniel
  • Mullooly Jeffrey Rooney Flynn
  • Nelson & Kennard
  • Rubin & Rothman
  • Scott & Associates
  • Shermeta Law Group
  • Suttell & Hammer
  • Weber & Olcese PLC

This is only a short list of the many clients that Bank of America employs to collect debt.

It’s also possible for Bank of America to sell your debt to a collections agency. If you are contacted by a debt collection agency about a BofA debt, proceed with caution. Ask that all future communication be in writing and send a Debt Validation Letter as soon as possible. The steps are necessary to ensure that it’s not a scam or an invalid debt, such as one where the statute of limitations has expired.

Remove BofA collections from your credit report.

If Bank of America has contacted you about a debt you supposedly owe, and you've noticed a negative mark on your credit report, try sending a Debt Validation Letter.

When Bank of America contacts you about a debt you owe, it must verify the debt within 5 days of initial contact (as per the FDCPA rules). You should send a Debt Validation Letter within 30 days of initial contact, especially if you suspect that the debt is fraudulent or past the statute of limitations. BofA must validate the debt or stop contacting you after receiving a request for debt validation.

Bank of America must include the following information to validate the debt:

  • The amount of the debt.
  • The name of the creditor.
  • The collector will assume the debt is valid unless the consumer sends them a Debt Validation Letter within 30 days.
  • If you send the collector a Debt Validation Letter, they will need to mail you validation of the debt.
  • If you send them a Debt Validation Letter, they will need to mail you the name and address of the original creditor.

If Bank of America fails to appropriately validate the debt, you can take action to have it removed from your credit report using the following steps.

  1. Dispute the inaccurate information with TransUnion, Equifax and Experian credit reporting agencies.
  2. Provide any supporting documentation for your claim.
  3. Request a goodwill deletion if you’ve already paid the debt. Send a letter to BofA explaining the circumstances that lead to the negative mark on your credit report and ask that they remove it. They are under no obligation to do so, but some institutions will provide a goodwill deletion if you’ve offered a compelling reason for how the financial misstep occured.
  4. Negotiate with BofA. If the debt is valid, you can contact Bank of America and make a pay-for-delete offer. Essentially, you offer to pay all or a portion of the debt in exchange for having them remove the negative information from your credit report. If they agree, make sure you get it in writing before moving forward with paying the debt.
  5. You can contact a credit repair service, but these services can’t guarantee results and you will be charged for work you can do yourself to clean up your credit.

Remember, if you’ve disputed or negotiated a settlement, it may take some time for the updates to reflect on your credit reports. Keep watching your credit report to ensure that the negative information is removed.

You can draft a Debt Validation Letter in minutes with SoloSuit.

Bank of America debt collection is common

You might feel overwhelmed by your debt or debt lawsuit with Bank of America, but you're not alone. Bank of America's collections department contacts hundreds of thousands of consumers each year.

Don’t let the size of Bank of American intimidate you into failing to take action. Just because BofA is a massive company, it doesn’t mean you can’t reach an agreement that benefits you and the company.

You can reach a credit card settlement with Bank of America—here's how

After you've filed your written Answer in court, try reaching out to Bank of America to negotiate a settlement. Keep in mind that you can likely reach a settlement for less than the original amount you owed. In fact, Bank of America is known to settle for 25%-80% of the original debt, depending on the circumstances.

It's important to file your Answer before negotiating a settlement. An Answer allows you to challenge the claims made against you, present your affirmative defenses, and safeguard your standing in the lawsuit.

After filing the Answer, you can use SoloSettle to send a debt settlement offer and initiate the negotiation process. It is important to remember that the debt is not settled until you have signed a Settlement Agreement and paid the agreed amount. Until then, you will retain the responsibility for monitoring your court case. This includes attending hearings and responding to any discovery requests that arise. Staying organized and proactive in these areas is crucial to ensure a smooth resolution to your case.

To learn more about how to settle debt with Bank of America, watch the following interview with an attorney who shares tips on how ot settle with big banks like Bank of America, debt collector, debt law firms, and more:

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