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How to Settle a Debt in Idaho

Sarah Edwards | March 20, 2023

Sarah Edwards
Legal Expert
Sarah Edwards, BS

Sarah Edwards is a professional researcher and writer specializing in legal content. An Emerson College alumna, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication from the prestigious Boston institution.

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 you’re facing a debt lawsuit in Idaho, you can settle the debt before your court date. Just respond to any pending lawsuits, send a settlement offer, and get the agreement in writing. SoloSettle can help with all these steps and more.

If you’re in a tough spot with your finances, you might not be able to make regular monthly payments to your creditors. Whether you’ve lost your job, are going through a divorce, or simply took on too much debt, your creditors will take notice of your nonpayment.

At the beginning of the collection process, creditors start to call you and send you letters. They’ll ask you to resume your payments; if you don’t, they’ll probably charge off your account. Once they charge off your account, they’ll sell it to a debt collector.

Other creditors will take legal action. If they win a lawsuit against you, they’ll obtain a judgment they can use to enhance their collections practices. A judgment will allow them to garnish your wages or potentially even freeze your bank account.

You’ll want to avoid a judgment and move on from the obligation. The best way to do so is through debt settlement.

In this article, we’ll discuss how to settle a debt in Idaho and how SoloSettle can make the process easy and painless.

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There are 3 main steps to debt settlement

If you’ve been sued for a debt in Idaho, you still have time to settle the debt before court. Just follow these three steps to settle your Idaho debt:

  1. Respond to the debt lawsuit with an Answer.
  2. Make an offer to start negotiations.
  3. Get the settlement agreement in writing.

Keep reading to explore each of these steps in detail. Otherwise, watch this video to learn more:

1. Respond to the debt lawsuit with an Answer

Creditors and debt collectors begin the legal process by filing a Complaint with your local Idaho court. The Complaint will list the reasons for the lawsuit, such as your lack of payments toward the debt. It will also include the amount you owe and any accumulated interest and fees.

You’ll want to respond to your creditor’s Complaint with a legal response known as an Answer. An Answer is your defense to the lawsuit against you. You’ll list why you haven’t repaid the debt or believe it is invalid.

You have 21 days to respond to a debt lawsuit in Idaho. If you don’t respond in time, you lose automatically when the court orders a default judgment against you. With a default judgment, creditors and collectors can garnish your wages and seize your property. This is why you should submit an Answer to defend yourself from an automatica loss.

A few typical defenses people use in a debt lawsuit Answer include a lack of business relationship with a debt collector or insufficient validation of the debt. However, if neither of those defenses is appropriate for your situation, you can find others that are.

Make the right defense the right way with SoloSuit.

2. Make an offer to start negotiations

Your next step is determining how much you should pay in a debt settlement. Take a look at your savings and add any upcoming income. If you don’t have much extra money, consider borrowing from friends or family or taking on a few odd jobs.

Use this basic formula to determine how much you should offer to settle:

Amount available to settle = (monthly income – monthly costs) + savings

You should start the negotiation process with an offer of at least 60% of the total value of your debt. That’s enough for your creditor to know you’re serious about the settlement.

If you can’t afford that much, offer what you can, but explain your financial situation to the creditor. They might accept a lesser amount, especially if they know you’re in a difficult situation.

You might go through a few rounds of negotiation before you arrive at a deal. Be patient throughout the process, and don’t accept anything you know you can’t comply with. If you do and fail to remit the appropriate payment, your creditor will resume their collection activities.

SoloSettle takes care of the negotiation process.

3. Get the settlement agreement in writing

When you have a deal with your creditor or debt collector, prepare a settlement agreement showing its terms. Your agreement should stipulate the amount you’ll repay the debt and a due date. It should also specify how you’ll make your payment.

A settlement agreement should also include conditions that absolve you of the remaining amount of your debt. In exchange for payment, your creditor must stop the lawsuit against you and report your account settled to the credit reporting agencies.

SoloSettle helps manage your settlement agreement documentation.

We recommend including a space for a notary to witness the agreement for both parties. Notarizing the agreement adds credibility to your contract. If your creditor tries to renege on the terms, you’ll be able to use the witnessed deal to protect yourself.

Here’s a debt settlement agreement example, with a preview attached below, to give you an idea of what yours should include.

SoloSettle Debt Settlement Agreement

Now that you understand the debt settlement process, let’s take a look at an example of how to settle a debt in Idaho.

Example: Laura stopped paying her monthly bill to New Credit Solutions eight months ago. Since then, New Credit has tried to get her to resume her payments but has been unsuccessful. It sues her for the outstanding $3,000 and sends her local Idaho court a Complaint. Laura uses SoloSuit to file an Answer to New Credit’s claim before Idaho’s 21-day deadline. This buys her time to take a closer look at her finances and determine a settlement plan. Next, she uses SoloSettle to contact New Credit to make a settlement offer. New Credit reviews Laura’s offer and decides to accept it. They sign an agreement, and SoloSettle transfers Laura’s payment to New Credit who drops the lawsuit. New Credit also reports the account settled to the credit reporting agencies.


What are the debt collection and debt settlement laws in Idaho?

Idaho has passed a Collection Agency Act under ID Code § 26-2221 (2022). However, these laws concern the registration and licensing of debt collectors; they do not relate to debtors’ protections.

For consumer protection, Idaho relies on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which precludes creditors from taking certain actions against consumers. Creditors cannot:

  • Contact a consumer at work if the consumer asks them not to.
  • Tell the consumer they’re breaking the law by failing to pay their debt.
  • Pretend to be someone else when contacting the debtor.
  • Call the debtor at odd hours, such as before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
  • Use templates designed to look like a legal process in their communications.
  • Tell the consumer they’ll take legal action against them if they don’t plan to.

Like other states, Idaho has statute of limitations laws that cap the time a debt collector has to pursue a lawsuit against a creditor. Under ID Code § 5-216 (2011 through Reg Sess), written contracts have a statute of limitations of five years. ID Code § 5-217 (2011 through Reg Sess) establishes a four-year limit for oral contracts.

What’s the best debt settlement company?

If you’d like help settling your debts, we recommend these companies.

SoloSettle

SoloSettle’s goal is to empower you to negotiate and reach a debt settlement on your own.

SoloSettle makes negotiating easy by providing a structured process.You can use our web-app to send and receive offers from collectors. It will draft offers for you and protect you from the potential lies and bullying of debt collectors. Most importantly, SoloSettle makes sure all of the proper legal language is included to protect your rights when communicating with the creditor or debt collector. When a settlement agreement is reached, SoloSettle manages the settlement agreement documentation for you and protects your sensitive financial information from the collectors, preventing them from over-charging you.

Check out this review from a real SoloSettle customer:

“I'm very thankful for SoloSettle.. Having a third party negotiate the settlement was instrumental in resolving this case and saved me from two giant headaches: 1) I didn't have to deal with the plaintiff's lawyer and 2) I didn't have to go to court. I also love that the payment was processed through SoloSettle. I was nervous about sharing my personal financial data with the other side, but SoloSettle protected that for me. I hope I never get sued again, but if I do, I would use SoloSettle again in a heartbeat.

SoloSettle really saved me a ton of time and heartburn and kept me from having to be my own lawyer in court.”

Freedom Debt Relief

Freedom Debt Relief is a debt settlement company that’s been in business since 2002. It’s helped thousands of consumers resolve over $10 billion in outstanding obligations. Customers often save 50% or more of the total value of their debt. Programs last two to four years, and fees range from 15% to 25% of their obligations.

National Debt Relief

National Debt Relief is another debt settlement company that assists individuals with overwhelming unsecured debts. To qualify for its programs, you must have a minimum of $10,000 in outstanding debt and agree to make monthly payments according to your customized plan.

What are the best ways to contact a creditor?

If you’d like to try settling an obligation with your creditor, you can contact them via email, phone, or letter.

Emailing your creditor is usually the best way to settle debts since it provides a written record of your conversation. It’s also reasonably quick; you may be able to reach an agreement within a day or two.

Some people prefer a direct conversation with their creditors over the phone. A phone conversation is helpful when you don’t have much time before your court date or have specific information you need to discuss with the creditor.

You should record the conversation if you decide to contact your creditor over the phone. According to ID Code § 18-6702 (2016), only one party must consent to the recording. You’ll be the party granting consent.

FAQs about debt settlement in Idaho

You might have other questions concerning debt settlement in Idaho. Here are a few of the most common inquiries we hear.

Q. What percentage of debt should I offer to settle?

We recommend starting with an offer of at least 60% of the total amount of your debt. If you can’t afford that much, offer as much as possible, especially if you’re facing a debt lawsuit. Explaining your personal circumstances may result in some leeway from your creditor.

Q. At what point does a debt become uncollectible in Idaho?

Debts never disappear unless you repay them, settle them, or declare bankruptcy. However, Idaho prevents creditors from taking legal action against debtors after a specific period. Oral debts have a statute of limitations of four years, while the statute of limitations on written debts is five years.

Q. Can I do my own debt settlement?

Yes, it is possible to handle your own debt settlement. Read up on the process and determine how much you can afford to pay your creditor. Once you negotiate a deal, get it in writing before transferring your payment.

How to get debt relief in Idaho

SoloSuit has additional guides concerning debt relief and debt collection in Idaho. Check them out below.

Settling your debts is possible

While no one relishes negotiating with creditors or debt collectors, it’s essential to do so if you’re facing a debt lawsuit. Debt settlement can help you avoid a potential judgment and move on from the obligation.

Learn more about SoloSuit’s solutions for settling debts.

What is Solo?

Solo makes it easy to resolve debt with 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.

SoloSettle can help you contact your debt collector or creditor and negotiate the debt to settle for less, all online. It simplifies and streamlines the process to settling your debt.

No matter where you find yourself in the debt collection process, Solo is here to help you resolve your debt.

>>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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It only takes 15 minutes.

And 50% of our customers' cases have been dismissed in the past.


"Finding yourself on the wrong side of the law unexpectedly is kinda scary. I started researching on YouTube and found SoloSuit's channel. The videos were so helpful, easy to understand and encouraging. When I reached out to SoloSuit they were on it. Very professional, impeccably prompt. Thanks for the service!" - Heather



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