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

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.

Beating CRDT First feels like this ^^

Summary: Is CRDT First suing you for a debt? SoloSuit can help you take a stand and win in court.

If you are being subjected to harassment by a debt collector who was retained by CRDT First, it is understandable if you feel scared, anxious, and unsure about what to do next. Debt collectors routinely employ overly aggressive and troubling tactics to try and compel you to repay the debt you allegedly owe.That is why debt collectors retained by CRDT First may call you on your phone multiple times each day, try to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, or another social media platform and they will probably send you threatening letters in the mail.

If you are being subjected to this type of harassment, do not give up hope. You have legal options and tools available that can show you how to beat CRDT First in court.

Overview of CRDT First and How They Do Business

The “CRDT” in CRDT First stands for Credit First National Association. CRDT First specializes in offering credit cards affiliated with automotive companies to consumers. CRDT First routinely manages credit cards on behalf of Bridgestone, Firestone and Tires Plus. More than 4.5 million people own a CRDT First credit card. If you fall behind on making payments towards a CRDT First credit card, the company will eventually refer your account to a debt collector.

In the past three years, CRDT First has received more than 1,600 complaints on its Better Business Bureau profile. It also has more than 100 complaints against it on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's complaint database.

To keep yourself safe from unfair debt collection practices, you should understand your rights outlined in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Keep reading to learn more.

Know your rights under the FDCPA

Debt collectors hired by CRDT First are known for using aggressive tactics against consumers who are unaware of their legal rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The FDCPA is a federal statute that was designed to protect consumers from harassment and other unlawful actions by debt collectors. In addition, the FDCPA established guidelines and rules that dictate how debt collectors can act. Some of the restrictions on companies such as CRDT First include:

Debt collectors are not allowed to contact you at your place of employment.
Debt collectors are prohibited from threatening you with a lawsuit.
Debt collectors cannot contact you prior to 8:00 a.m. in the morning or after 9:00 p.m. at night.
Debt collectors cannot use rude or vulgar language when talking to you on the phone or in emails or texts.

If CRDT First debt collectors have violated the FDCPA when trying to collect a debt from you, you can report it to the CFPB, FTC, or your state's attorney general.

You can defend yourself if CRDT First sues you

If CRDT First decides to file a debt collection lawsuit against you, do not ignore the suit in the hopes it will just go away. Why? Because the lawsuit will not just magically disappear. In fact, CRDT First debt collectors expect people to simply ignore the lawsuit and throw it in the garbage.

Ignoring a debt lawsuit accomplishes nothing, except to benefit the debt collection agency. How? Well, if you ignore the debt collection lawsuit, it means CRDT First will simply file a motion for a default judgment in court and likely get that motion granted (since you opted to just ignore the litigation). Do not make this mistake. There are options available to take on and defeat debt collectors agencies like CRDT First.

Follow these three steps to respond to a debt lawsuit against CRDT First::

Answer each claim from the Complaint document
Use affirmative defenses to strengthen your case.
File your Answer in court and send a copy to CRDT First.

Now, let's take a closer look at each of these steps. If you don't like to read, check out this video where SoloSuit's CEO, George Simons, breaks down the three steps to responding to a debt lawsuit:

1. Answer each claim from the Complaint document

When you get sued for a debt by CRDT First, you should receive some legal documents called the Summons and Complaint (also called the Petition in some states). The Summons notifies you of the debt lawsuit and any court dates, and the Complaint lists the specific claims that CRDT First is making against you. The first step to beating CRDT First in court is to respond to these documents with a written Answer.

The first section of your Answer should be a bulleted list of individual responses to each claim from the Complaint document. You can use one of the following answers to respond:

Deny
Deny due to lack of knowledge
Admit

Denying a claim is asking CRDT First to prove it. That's why most attorneys recommend that you deny as many claims as possible. It forces CRDT First to do more work to prove their case. Some debt collectors would rather drop the case at this point. On the other hand, when you admit all the claims, the court will most likely side with CRDT First.

Draft an Answer to a debt lawsuit in minutes with SoloSuit.

2. Use these affirmative defenses against CRDT First

When you respond to CRDT First's lawsuit, you have the chance to torpedo their legal arguments if you have the knowledge of debt collection tactics and laws. You can do this by asserting your affirmative defenses in your Answer. These are any legal reasons that CRDT First should not win the case. Also, remember that the company must prove that you are the person who owes the debt and owe the alleged amount. This means CRDT First must prove the following:

CRDT First has the right under the law to sue you.
You are the person who owes the debt.
You owe the money listed by CRDT First in the complaint filed in court.

If CRDT First fails to meet these requirements, there are excellent odds you will beat them in court and have the lawsuit tossed out.

Depending on the facts of your case, you might argue that CRDT First did not file the suit within the required statute of limitations. The statute of limitations states that a lawsuit must be filed within a given timeframe.

If the case facts show that CRDT First sued you for debts where the statute of limitations lapsed, you may file a motion to have the suit dismissed with prejudice.

Also, think about filing a countersuit against CRDT First, if you have evidence that proves CRDT First violated the FDCPA when they contacted you to repay a debt. If you possess proof that CRDT First violated this law, you may receive compensatory damages. They may have to pay your attorney fees, too.

SoloSuit can help you make the right defense the right way.

3. File your Answer in court and send a copy to CRDT First

Once you've drafted your Answer with your responses and affirmative defenses, you can submit it to the court. Make sure to file your Answer before the deadline, which is 14-35 days, depending on which state you live in.

Send a copy of the Answer to CRDT First via USPS certified mail. Request a return receipt so you can prove that the document was properly served to the opposing party.

Now, let's explore an example:

Example: Abraham is being sued for a debt with CRDT First in California. He uses SoloSuit to represent himself and draft his own Answer to the lawsuit. In his Answer, Abraham denies as many claims as appropriate. Since the debt is from seven years ago, Abraham includes the statute of limitations passing in his affirmative defenses section because California's statute of limitations on credit card debt is just four years. Finally, Abraham pays SoloSuit to file his Answer before the deadline, which is 30 days in California. They also send a copy to CRDT First. Shortly after filing the Answer, CRDT First dismisses the case. Abraham wins!

SoloSuit can help you file your Answer in all 50 states.

Summary of what to do if you are sued by CRDT First

Here's a quick recap of actions to take if CRDT First sues you:

Answer each claim listed in the Complaint document.
Assert your affirmative defenses.
File the Answer before the deadline, and send a copy to CRDT First.

Debt collection lawsuits are no fun, but don't despair. With the assistance of SoloSuit, you can beat these shady companies at their own game. And you might even get them to pay compensatory damages if they violated the FDCPA.

Best of luck!

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.

Respond with SoloSuit

"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James

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