Sued by Barclay for Debt Collection – How to Win

Edited by Hannah Locklear

If Barclay sues you, you need to act on it quickly. Barclaycard, owned by Barclays, is a credit card and payment service provider based in London, U.K. It was founded as a charge card in 1966; it became the U.K.'s first available credit card the following year.

Barclays is not recognized by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Whether you are confused or unsure how to respond, you must educate yourself to defend yourself correctly.

Use SoloSuit to respond to a debt collection lawsuit in 15 minutes.

What to do if Barclay has sued you

Respond to the lawsuit promptly

Regardless of if the debt is yours or not, you will need to respond to the debt collection lawsuit. Do not admit fault, but respond to avoid a default judgment. Suppose the debt collector obtains a default judgment. In that case, they can garnish your wages, put liens on your property, or even take money from your accounts directly.

If you disagree with anything said in the debt collection lawsuit, you will file a response to the lawsuit and contest it. You can even ask the court to submit the lawsuit. In this case, you must bring documentation to show the following:

• Who the creditor is
• If the debt has been paid
• If the amount is accurate
• If the debt is past the statute of limitations

You can bring evidence if you feel your rights have been violated. Violations of the FDCPA are not tolerated and include the following:

• Contacting a consumer at odd hours (outside the hours of 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.)
• Harassment using profanity or threatening harm.
• They are threatening to take your property without the legal right to do so.
• They are contacting you once you are working with a lawyer.
• Make fraudulent claims, such as misrepresenting who they are or saying you owe something different than what you do.

Don't let debt collectors intimidate you. Respond with SoloSuit and win in court.

Challenge the lawsuit

Because debt collectors are third-party agencies hired by the original creditor, they usually have purchased your debt for pennies on the dollar. This means that you have the opportunity to challenge the lawsuit and see if they can prove it is yours. Reasons to challenge a case include:

• The wrong person being sued
• You already paid the debt.
• The debt amount is wrong.
• The statute of limitations has passed.

Accept the judgment

In some cases, you may wish to accept the judgment and end the collection suit. There are various reasons why you may or may not take a debt collection lawsuit. You may take the decision but also want to settle out of court, or you may be considered "judgment proof." This means that you have limited wages, so you will not have your wages garnished. If your debt ends up being unmanageable, you can eventually file for bankruptcy as a last result.

When to hire a lawyer

If you have accepted a judgment, you may decide to hire a lawyer. In this case, you may be able to obtain a free consultation to discuss your options. If you choose to speak with a lawyer, make sure that it is a licensed debt collection lawyer. This is important because they specialize in debt defense and can give you good advice.

Some debt collection lawyers will take your case for a low or contingent fee if you do not want to hire a lawyer because you think it is too expensive. Otherwise, you can try to fight it on your own.

Use SoloSuit to respond to debt collectors fast.

Negotiate a settlement if possible

If you owe the debt, then you can try to negotiate a settlement. This can allow you to at least obtain a lower price for your debt. This can also help you avoid going to court, and sometimes the debt collector might use this option instead.

If you decide to settle, one tactic is to state that you plan to file for bankruptcy. Even if you do not intend to, it may push the creditor along and help you negotiate a settlement. This is because they know that they lose all chance of getting paid if you file for bankruptcy.

Other options to look into:

• Exempt Status: Depending on the state and how much you owe, you can be exempt from wage garnishment if you have limited wages or assets. This means that you are judgment proof.
• Filing for bankruptcy: If you are in a bad situation financially, filing for bankruptcy may be an option. If you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, then Barclay will forgive all your debts. If you file a Chapter 13, then you can usually negotiate a lower amount to pay.

Regardless of what your decision might be, whatever you choose may follow you for the rest of your life. Be sure to weigh your options carefully and make the decision that is right for your situation.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

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

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit: A Student Solution To Give Utah Debtors A Fighting Chance

How to answer a summons for debt collection in your state

Here's a list of guides for other states.

All 50 states.

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri

Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah; File a Motion to Satisfy Judgment Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Guides on how to beat every debt collector

Being sued by a different debt collector? We're making guides on how to beat each one.

• Absolute Resolutions Investments LLC
• Accredited Collection Services
• Alliance One
• Amcol Clmbia
• American Recovery Service
• Asset Acceptance LLC
• Asset Recovery Solutions
• Associated Credit Services
• Autovest LLC
• Cach LLC
• Cavalry SPV I LLC
• Cerastes LLC
• Colinfobur
• Covington Credit
• Crown Asset Management
• CTC Debt Collector
• Cypress Financial Recoveries
• Delanor Kemper & Associates
• Eagle Loan of Ohio
• Educap
• Estate Information Services
• FIA Card Services
• Forster & Garbus
• Freshview Solutions
• Fulton Friedman & Gullace LLP
• Harvest Credit Management
• Howard Lee Schiff
• Hudson & Keyse LLC
• Integras Capital Recovery LLC
• Javitch Block
• Jefferson Capital Systems LLC
• LVNV Funding
• Mannbracken
• Mariner Finance
• Medicredit
• Michael J Adams PC
• Michael J Scott
• Midland Funding LLC
• Mullooly, Jeffrey, Rooney & Flynn
• Mountain Land Collections
• MRS Associates
• National Collegiate Trust
• Nationstar Foreclosure
• Northstar Capital Acquisition
• NCEP LLC
• NRC Collection Agency
• OneMain Financial
• Palisades Collection LLC
• Pallida LLC
• Paragon Revenue Group
• Pinnacle Collections Agency
• PMAB LLC
• Portfolio Recovery Associates
• Provest Law
• PYOD LLC
• Reunion Student Loan Finance Corporation
• Revenue Group
• Regents and Associates
• RSIEH
• Salander Enterprises LLC
• Second Round Sub LLC
• Security Credit Services
• Sherman Financial Group
• Suttell and Hammer
• T-Mobile
• Transworld Systems
• Tulsa Teachers Credit Union
• UCB Collection
• Velo Law Office
• Velocity Investments
• Waypoint Resource Group
• Weinberg and Associates
• Wolpoff & Abramson

Win against credit card companies

Is your credit card company suing you? Learn how you can beat each one.

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