When sued, am I Admitting I Owe a Debt Because I call the collection lawyer?

“If I call the collection lawyer to try to settle the collection lawsuit, isn’t this admitting I owe the debt?”

No.

The law encourages settlement talks.

Settlement negotiations are not admissible in court because the law encourages both parties to talk to try to work things out. No party would talk if “simply talking” could be used against that party to admit they owe the debt (consumer) or the debt is not valid (collector).

If when you called the collector and said you wanted a settlement option, this somehow meant you admitted you owe the debt, then you would never want to make that call.

If the collector admitted you owe nothing if it offered to “compromise” off of the amount sued for, then the collector would never take your call.

But what if you and the collector could live with the same deal?

It would be a shame for you to not talk.

The law in Alabama recognizes that we want to encourage folks to talk so the cases that can be settled will be settled.

You can talk to the collection lawyer and still dispute owing the debt.

The same is true of any lawyer you hire.

We normally don’t pay a collector any money but we talk in almost every debt buyer lawsuit as we settle the vast majority of the cases we have.  The same is true when we sue a debt collector — we are always willing to talk.

Remember if you have been sued you have 5 options.

We suggest you read this article and watch this video on your 5 options.

If you have questions about being sued by a debt collector in Alabama, please feel free to get in touch.

You can reach us by phone at 1-205-879-2447.

You can also contact us through our website and we will be happy to help you think through your options.

John G. Watts
Watts & Herring, LLC
Birmingham and Madison Offices in Alabama
We represent consumers from all parts of Alabama