Debt Advice

Below are some debt advice that you can use as a guideline. When people are in debt and cannot pay them off, creditors will use all sorts of tactics to try to collect. The collection agencies can also try to collect by any means possible. The debt situation is different for each person, so for your specific situation, consult your credit counselor or debt management counselor or debt repayment counselor.

General debt advice

Don't juggle the debt priority because creditors threaten to sue

Study the debt priority and pay off any debts in order of importance. Creditors with debts with low priority will try to collect from you using any ways they can. Whatever they try to do, do no move the debt up in the list of debt priority, even if the creditor threatens law suit. Many threats to sue are not carried out. Even if the creditor dos sue, it will take a while for the collector to be able to reach your property and much of your property may be exempt from seizure. For unsecured debts, there is nothing they can seize.

Do not pay the debt off if you have good legal defense

If you purchase goods that were defective or if the creditor is asking for more money than it is entitled to, you have good legal defense. You are in the right and should obtain legal advice to determine if you legal defense will succeed in court. The only debts that you shouldn't wait to pay is the mortgage payments or rent payments because that can result in eviction.

How important is the court judgement against me?

When a debt collector obtains a court judgement against you, the debt often moves up in the list of debt priority. With a court judgement, the creditor can ask the court to seize some property, wages or bank accounts. However, the state law may have a protection clause for your wages and bank accounts as well as your properties. If you have a court judgement against you, obtain legal help or consult your debt management counselor.

Beware of threats!

When you are in a high debt situation, there will be threats to sue you, threats to ruin your credit and all sorts of debt threats that your creditors or debt collectors will pull on you. However, you should never move the debt priority up just because they threaten you. They are on a thin line and cannot cross. If they harass you beyond what they can legally, they can be sued by you. You have plenty of rights so don't be afraid of them threatening you.