Patrick Austin is a licensed attorney with a background in data privacy and information security law. Patrick received his law degree at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief for the National Security Law Journal.
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.
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:
LTD Collections, also known LTD Financial Services, is a debt collection agency that may sue you for unpaid
debt. To settle, draft and file a written Answer with the court to avoid default judgment. Then, negotiate with
LTD
Collections to settle the debt for less. Solo can help.
U.S. researchers estimate that 28% of Americans struggle with debt in collections. If you are one of those people,
it might be comforting to know that you’re not the only person who has past-due debt. But it may still be unpleasant
to have debts in collections even though it is fairly common, and a debt collector agency like LTD Collections can
sue you.
If you are not familiar with what to expect when sued for a debt, it can be an unsettling experience. Despite the
overwhelming feelings, ignoring the court Summons and Complaint is a mistake. Our article will help you discover how
debt collection lawsuits work and the steps you can take if LTD Collections sues you to protect your rights and
resolve your outstanding debts while saving money.
Settle debt with LTD Collections
You can negotiate debt settlement at any stage of the collections process. SoloSettle makes it easy.
As a nationally recognized, top-tier collection agency, LTD Financial Services provides collection services to
leading creditors.
Services offered by LTD include:
Business Process
Outsourcing
1st party recoveries
3rd party recoveries
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) gives you rights that can protect you
Yes. Federal law regulates third-party collectors' practices, so exercising your rights can help you regain control
of your debt collection experience. Below are five ways the Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act protects you:
LTD Collections can't contact you before 8:30 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.
It is against the law for LTD Collections to harass or abuse you in an attempt to collect debts.
Debt collectors are prohibited from making false, deceptive, or misleading representations.
They cannot collect more than you owe on a debt, which may include fees and interest.
LTD Collections must prove that you owe the debt. If they don’t, you should request a debt validation by sending
a Debt Validation Letter. In response, LTD
Collections must confirm the following: proof that the debt amount is accurate, that you actually owe it, and
that they have rights to collect it.
If LTD Collections has violated the FDCPA when communicating with you about a debt, you can report them and even be eligible for up to $1,000 per violation.
Consider Engaging with LTD Collections to Try and Negotiate a Settlement
If the amount owed is simply too much for you to pay at this time, it may be worthwhile to contact LTD Collections
and try to negotiate a debt settlement. For context, the debt settlement process is relatively straight-forward:
contact the debt collector and offer a lump-sum payment that is less than the amount owed. Debt collectors like LTD
Collections are open to such a proposal since they get at least partial payment on your debt and you get the rest of
the debt forgiven.
If you are interested in attempting to engage with debt settlement negotiations, then take these steps:
If LTD Collections filed a debt collection lawsuit, make sure to respond in a timely manner.
Assess what you can reasonably afford to pay based on the amount you owe. For example, if you owe $6,000 but
calculate that you can only afford to pay $3,000, then this calculation can give you a guide during settlement
talks.
Convey your proposed settlement offer to LTD Collections. You can call them, send an email, or write a letter.
Be prepared for a counter-offer and to engage in multiple rounds of negotiations.
If you can negotiate a settlement agreement, get the terms in writing.
To learn more about debt settlement negotiation, check out this video explaining how you can negotiate a debt
settlement on your own, with tips directly from a debt lawyer:
SoloSettle makes it easy to start the debt settlement negotiation
process. Keep in mind that many debt collection agencies are willing to settle for less than the original amount,
because often they purchase the debt for pennies on the dollar.
Respond to an LTD Collections lawsuit
LTD Collections legal notices and papers won't disappear if you ignore them. Contrary to what you may have seen on
TV, refusing to accept the lawsuit's delivery or "service" will not stop things. Your absence will not affect the
case's progress, and if you don't show up in court, the debt collector may win when the court orders a default
judgment against you.
With a default judgment, LTD Collections can garnish your wages or
bank account and put a lien on your property as payment for the debt. They can request additional awards from the
court, like collection costs, interest, and attorneys' fees. The last thing you want is a default judgment. Below,
we describe three steps you can take to respond to your lawsuit and avoid a default judgment.
Don’t like reading? You can watch this video instead:
1. Answer every Complaint
Respond to the debt lawsuit, within your state’s deadline, with a
written Answer.. In your Answer, respond to each claim listed in the Complaint document with "admit," "deny," or
"deny due to lack of knowledge".
Keep in mind that most attorneys recommend denying as many claims as possible. This forces LTD Financial Services to
prove each of their claims. If they don’t have enough evidence or documentation to do so, you might just win the
case.
Below is an example.
Example: Vinny is being sued by LTD Collections in California. He uses SoloSuit to draft and file his Answer
before
California’s deadline, which is 30 days. In his Answer document, Vinny denies the majority of the claims that
LTD
Collections has made that were listed in the court Complaint document. This forced LTD Collection to prove each
claim that he denied, and when they realized they didn’t have evidence of each claim, they decided to dismiss
the
case instead of continuing to pursue the debt.
As the meat of the lawsuit defense, the affirmative defenses are the most important. They are legal reasons why you
might not owe LTD Collections any money or why you should pay less than they demand. Common defenses include:
It is not your debt.
You have already paid the debt.
The debt is past the statute of limitations in your state. When
you have not paid or added to debt for several years, you may be able to claim that the statute of limitations
has expired for the creditor to sue you.
A bankruptcy discharged the debt.
The plaintiff is unknown to you.
You do not owe the plaintiff the amount they claim. Sometimes, the amount allegedly due on an account differs
from what you owe. There are several reasons for this, including: the payment was not applied, fees and interest
were incorrectly added, unjustified charges were applied, etc.
They are collecting debts without a license: LTD Collections must have licenses. As an example, in New York City
Administrative Code,
Section 20-489(a), which mirrors the federal statute, "debt collection agencies" are defined as "persons
engaged in businesses whose primary purpose is to collect or attempt to collect debts owed, due regularly, or
asserted to be owed.". This law states: "It shall be unlawful for any person to act as a debt collector."
Let’s take a look at another example.
Example: When Vinny gets sued by LTD Collections in California, he feels confused because he doesn’t remember
the
debt. After doing some research, he learns that the debt came from an old credit card account that has been
inactive
for over four years. Since the statute of limitations on credit card debt is four years in California, LTD
Collections has no legal standing. Vinny uses Solo to respond to the lawsuit. In his Answer document, Vinny
lists
the expired statute of limitations as one of his affirmative defenses. This prompts LTD Collections to drop the
case.
Before you file an Answer, you should consider any defenses you may have or other factors that will affect the
outcome.
3. File the Answer in court and serve LTD's attorney
As mentioned above, you must file your Answer to the debt lawsuit before the deadline outlined by your state’s laws.
Most courts accept filings through the mail, but some required electronic filing. If you prefer to file your Answer
in person, you can print it out and take it to the county clerk's office in the relevant county.
The process of finding an attorney is stressful and expensive. But Solo empowers you to represent yourself in court
by giving you the resources you need to do so confidently. You can negotiate with debt collectors such as LTD
Collections, and you don’t always need a lawyer in order to do it.
Solo helps with the following:
Preparing a lawsuit Answer.
Filing your Answer with the court and serving the plaintiff with a copy.
Some creditors, banks, and lenders have an internal collections department. If they come after you for a debt, Solosuit can still help you respond and resolve the debt. Here’s a list of guides on how to resolve debt with different creditors.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Don’t have time to go to your local courthouse to check the status of your case? We’ve created a guide on how to check the status of your case in every state, complete with online search tools and court directories.
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 all 50 states.
Debt settlement is one of the most effective ways to resolve a debt and save money. We’ve created a guide on how to settle your debt in all 50 states. Find out how to settle in your state with a simple click and explore other debt settlement resources below.
Not sure how to negotiate a debt settlement with a debt collector? We are creating guides to help you know how to start the settlement conversation and increase your chances of coming to an agreement with every debt collector.
We give a factual review of the following debt consolidation, debt settlement, and loan organizations and companies to help you make an informed decision before you take on a debt.
You can represent yourself in court. Save yourself the time and cost of finding an attorney, and use the following resources to understand legal definitions better and how they may apply to your case.