What If an Order for Default Was Entered?

Edited by Hannah Locklear

If you have gone to court due to not paying your debt then you may have had a default judgment placed upon you. This happens when you do not respond to a debt lawsuit, and when you do not show up in court. Typically this lawsuit would be against you from a debt collector or a creditor. Because you do not respond to the lawsuit, the judge resolves the case and never hears your side. You lose before you even make your defense.

Also known as an automatic judgment, default judgments happen quickly, and can easily be avoided. They also have huge consequences. If a default judgment is placed against you then it allows a creditor to take money from your bank account or garnish your wages. This is what to do if an order for default was entered against you.

Avoid a default judgment by responding with SoloSuit.

Gather information on the debt

The debt collection process can be a multi-year process before it ever ends in a lawsuit. Your debt might be sold and resold multiple times, which means there is a lot of room for error. This means you need to ensure you have all the information regarding your debt, and that you owe the amount they are saying you do.

Other information you should have, includes the original bills, notices from the debt collector, a validation letter, and any documents from the courts. If you have never been given any of these then you may have had your rights violated and be able to serve them with a countersuit to challenge the judgment.

Come up with a plan

You have four options when being served with a default judgment. You can either accept it, settle it for less, challenge it, or look into debt relief.

If you owe the money and you accept the judgment, then you can pay the amount off in the form of a lump sum. Instead, you can also settle the judgment for less than you owe. This happens when the creditor wants to avoid you filing bankruptcy. You can even threaten to file bankruptcy even if you do not have any intention to.

Because your debt has most likely been purchased more than once, for less than the total amount. This means that your debt collector might be satisfied with a partial payment, but they will require it all upfront.

Respond to debt collectors in 15 minutes with SoloSuit.

If you want to challenge the judgment because you believe it was made in error, then you may be able to challenge it. Other options include having it be set aside, or vacated completely. If you do not owe the debt or were never legally notified of being sued, then you have the opportunity to do this.

Move quickly

Because wage and bank account garnishment orders can start less than a month after a judgment is granted, you need to move quickly. If you never responded initially, then you have six months to claim “excusable neglect.” You can state you were sick or traveling but after that, you will only have two years to challenge. Be aware that this may vary from state to state.

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

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