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Sued By Credit Card Company? Here's What To Do

George Simons | January 16, 2025

Fact-checked by Patrick Austin, J.D.

Patrick Austin
Attorney from George Mason
Patrick Austin, JD

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.

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 you're being sued by a credit card company, follow these four steps: respond with a legal Answer, verify your debt, negotiate debt settlement, and fight the lawsuit in court.

Being sued by credit card company providers can be stressful, but that doesn’t mean a lawsuit will ruin your life. By taking a few key steps, you can ensure the process of handling your lawsuit is as smooth and easy as possible. Here is what you can do if you are sued by a credit card company.

Sued for credit card debt? Consider debt settlement.

What happens if you get sued by a credit card company?

You may wonder what it means exactly to be sued by a credit card company. If you have unpaid credit card debt, your credit card company can sue you to compel you to pay it off. But keep in mind that getting sued by credit card company providers typically comes as a last resort.

Prior to the lawsuit, your credit card provider may have reached out to you directly by phone, email, or mail to recover the unpaid balance. When these options didn’t work, they opted to take the legal route and sue you for the debt.

If your credit card company wins the lawsuit in court, the court can compel you to pay the full amount you owe, as well as additional legal fees or debt collection fees. And if the court finds that you are responsible for the debt, they can legally garnish your wages.

This means that a portion of each paycheck will go to your credit card company until the debt is paid in full. That’s all the more reason to respond quickly to a debt collection lawsuit and avoid a potential legal battle.

Learn more: Can a Credit Card Company Sue Me?

In the video below, a Solo customer won his credit card lawsuit against Discover:

Follow these 4 steps if sued by credit card company providers

Are you currently being sued by credit card company providers? If so, you have some initial options — but you have to act quickly. Here’s how to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

1. Respond quickly with a legal Answer

First, you must respond to the lawsuit by filing an Answer with the court. An Answer is an official response, indicating your intent to defend yourself in the case.

This part is critical, and there’s a narrow window in which to file your Answer. In many jurisdictions, you have as little as two weeks to respond, after which the court may render a default judgment in favor of your credit card provider. This means that you’ve lost the lawsuit and may owe your full debt as well as any other legal fees.

SoloSuit makes it easy to draft and file your Answer. Just use the online tool to answer some basic questions, then print the completed Answer to file it with your local court. Alternatively, you can have SoloSuit file it on your behalf and even opt for an attorney to look it over for added clarity.

To get an idea of how this works, let’s look at an example.

Example: Abby had gotten behind in her credit card bills and eventually received notice of a credit card lawsuit. Using the SoloSuit platform, Abby answered some basic questions until she was able to generate a legal Answer. She let SoloSuit file for her and opted for a package including an attorney review for extra peace of mind. As a result, Abby was able to avoid a default judgment.


Check out these tips on drafting an Answer to a lawsuit:

2. Verify your debt

If you’re being sued by credit card company providers, how do you know that the debt is legitimately yours? Avoid admitting that you owe the debt unless the credit card company can connect it directly to you.

Some credit card companies may insist that you make a good-faith payment to avoid further legal complications. Instead, ask that your credit card company prove that the debt is yours by:

  • Identifying the date(s) when you first incurred the debt
  • Listing your payment history, if any
  • Calculating the remaining balance
  • Distinguishing between the principle and interest
  • Connecting you directly to the debt

Never pay a dime until you’re certain that the debt is yours and that the amount is accurate. For example, if you believe that your credit card was stolen, the Fair Credit Billing Act limits your financial liability to a certain amount.

3. Negotiate debt settlement

You should consider trying to engage the credit card company in settlement negotiations. Getting sued by credit card company providers isn’t something you want to deal with, but chances are that your credit card provider would also prefer to avoid a legal battle too. Rather than fight the lawsuit in court, you can try negotiating a lower settlement amount so that you can pay less than what you currently owe.

SoloSettle can be your partner throughout this process. Using this tool will allow you to negotiate with your credit card provider without having to interact with them directly. The intuitive platform allows you to negotiate until you and your credit card company reach a mutually agreeable settlement amount.

Start negotiating by offering to pay 60% of your original debt. Your credit card may accept this, but they may also issue a counteroffer. The point is simply to find a way to reach a mutual settlement so that you avoid court as well as resolve your debt for less than the original amount.

Learn more about how to settle debt with a credit card company by watching this video:

Use SoloSettle to Negotiate with your credit card company today.

4. Fight the lawsuit in court

If negotiations are unsuccessful, you may need to defend your case in court. This should be your final option, as it may require legal counsel, time away from work, and an airtight defense. Most consumers should aim to resolve the lawsuit before it gets this far, which can help you settle your debt quickly and affordably.

How to negotiate a debt settlement with a credit card company

If you acknowledge the fact that you owe the debt that is being collected by a credit card company and would like to avoid going through a stressful litigation process, then you can take proactive steps to try and negotiate a debt settlement. Credit card companies are generally open to negotiating a debt settlement, especially if you make a reasonable lump sum offer. The debt settlement process can be as simple as follow these three steps:

  1. Respond to any pending debt collection lawsuit filed by the credit card company.
  2. Determine how much you can reasonably afford to pay based on the amount owed, then send a settlement offer to the credit card company.
  3. If you are able to negotiate an agreement, get the settlement 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:

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.

Resolve debt and avoid a legal battle

Knowing what to do if sued by credit card company providers is vital. By responding quickly and responsibly, you can avoid further legal complications. And by using SoloSettle, you can resolve your debt for less than what your credit company claims.

Start using Solo to prepare an Answer to a debt lawsuit today!

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