How will I be notified of my trial date in my debt collection lawsuit?
“I’ve been sued by a debt collector. How will I be notified of my trial date?”
This is a very important question because if you miss your trial date, you will almost certainly lose your case.
It really depends.
Are you handling your case on your own, or have you hired an attorney to handle your case? (By the way — in Small Claims or District Court either can be a good option).
If you’ve hired a lawyer, then the lawyer will be notified and let you know.
Here in Alabama, the lawyers are notified by the online court system known as “AlaCourt.”
So what happens is we (the attorneys) get that notification by email.
When we have that notice,we let you know.
If you represent yourself, then a trial notice for your debt collection lawsuit will be sent to you in the mail.
This notice will not come by certified mail as it normally is just in an envelope.
Or, it may look like a postcard, similar to the way your voter registration comes in.
So bottom line is if you’ve filed your answer and you’re waiting for your trial notice, check your mail very carefully.
Sometimes this notice can get stuck in between pieces of junk mail, and can easily be overlooked.
Therefore, you need to be very careful because if you miss that trial notice, and you don’t show up to your trial because of that, you’ll lose your case.
Which means you will have a judgment against you, which is very damaging to your credit reports.
Here’s our suggestion:
If you filed your answer, and your trial notice doesn’t arrive after 1-2 weeks, call the court.
It’s no trouble to call them and say, “Hey, I just wanted to make sure I haven’t missed a trial notice/haven’t missed my trial date.”
They may say that they haven’t set it yet, which is completely fine.
Or they may say that they’ve already sent it, and you should’ve gotten it by now.
But since you haven’t, just let them know and they will explain the time and place for your trial.
Then make sure you write down this information.
Finally, the most important thing is to show up for your trial!
Contact Us.
If you live in Alabama and you have any questions, give us a call at 1-205-879-2447.
Or fill out a contact form and we will get in touch with you as soon as possible.
We will be glad to help you find your best course of action. This includes helping you get prepared for trial if you are handling on your own — we can share some resources with you.
I look forward to chatting with you and hope you have a great day.