What should I do if I have been sued on a debt that I’ve already paid off?
“What should I do if I have been sued on a debt that I’ve already paid off?”
You’ve paid off a debt that you may have owed, and there’s a sense of relief. You’re done with the debt collector (or original creditor), and you can breathe easy now.
However, 6 months later (maybe even a year later), you’re served with a lawsuit from the same collector for the same amount that you paid in the past.
What should you do now?
This isn’t something that we see often, but it does happen to consumers in Alabama.
For us, it’s maybe once or twice a year that we see this happen.
It’s fairly common for debt collectors to call you or write you letters about these debts, which is illegal.
We’re talking about actually being served with a lawsuit on a debt you’ve already paid.
First, make sure you answer the lawsuit.
Whether you do it on your own or hire a lawyer to handle it, make sure you take action.
Sometimes people will say, “I don’t need to do anything because I’ve already paid the debt off.”
Here’s the thing, the judge doesn’t know that, and a judgment will be entered against you. If the judgment is entered against you, your wages will be garnished, your bank account will be garnished, and in some cases, they can even seize your property in a sheriff’s sale.
The objective is to win the lawsuit.
Since you paid the debt before, that gives you a strong case against the debt collector.
You can show the judge that you’ve already paid this debt, and make sure that it is, in fact, the same debt.
While you’re responding to the lawsuit, you may as well dispute with the credit bureaus as well since they have false information on your report.
Let them know what the debt collector is saying you owe $5,000, but you really don’t. Ask them to remove the false information because you already paid the debt collector.
Maybe they’ll take it off of your report.
If they do, that will definitely help you with your lawsuit.
If they refuse to take it off of your report, then you will have a strong case to sue the bad guys after you win your lawsuit.
These types of cases are powerful.
Because you’ve already paid the debt, the debt collector has sued you again on the same debt, and to top it off the credit bureaus refuse to take the false information of your report.
We’ve had cases like that before, and if I’m remembering correctly, all of those cases have settled in the 6 figure range.
The FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act), FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act), Alabama Malicious Prosecution, etc. are some incredible tools and laws to help us with these cases.
If you’re facing this type of situation, do not ignore it.
Don’t assume that it’ll work itself out.
Take immediate action.
If you live in Alabama, get in touch with us. We’d be glad to help you with taking the best course of action for your case.
You can reach us by phone at 1-205-879-2447, or you can fill out a contact form and we will get in touch with you quickly.
Hope this is helpful to you!
We look forward to chatting with you.
Have a great day!