r/Debt

Hello,

I have a family member who just received a lawsuit from MCM for a $7k debt. Says we have about 2 weeks left to respond to the lawsuit. Do we respond to the lawsuit? I don't even know how to respond back; unsure if it is even legitimate. If I do respond back, what happens next? Do I contact MCM for a settlement deal or keep waiting from the court? Do I have to show up to court, my family member does not have strong English skills either. Would there be any questions we can use to counter this lawsuit if we show up to court? I am also not sure if my family member had received any calls from MCM or letters that were kept/discarded.

This is all new to me and the family and are unsure on what's the best course of action to take. I've read from several posts on the sub and online and the options aren't too consistent with each other. Thanks for any advice!

If you did, what happened? Did anything effect your credit? Did they call your employer or garnish wages? Did they sue you?

I live in Indiana for state reference.

Edit to add insurance adjuster’s license.

Collections agency started texting me daily. The texts are very short and brief with the debt name, the amount, and a URL shortener.

Example:

Reminder: X-ray debt $500. Please pay here: shorturl/debt-payment. Reply STOP to opt out.

Any time I reply to the text, it just sends a response saying I am required to click on the link to continue.

They are technically only texting me within the legal window and only once per day, but I am absolutely not clicking on a link. That’s IT 101.

The text is from a six-digit number that I can’t find through a basic google search.

lakhs ka debt earning bhi lakhs me...lekin Loop nhi sulje to koi kya kre..income badhae ya kharche kam kre

Hey All

My business LLC racked up quite a bit of CC debt - 44K spread over two cards plus 65K from the SBA

But my industry just collapsed post COVID and I’m going to shutter the business and move on the just having a regular job.

The problem is the CCs are connected to me as a personal guarantor. One of them is even reported on my personal credit report regardless of it being attached to and EIN.

I don’t think bankruptcy for the business will help - since it doesn’t have any real assets any more and it will just impact me personally.

Any advice?

Owed Credit one $997 and never paid it off now they are suing me. I just received my summon last night so I’m aware I have to file an answer with the court within 21 days. How do I do that? I looked up form MC 03 online so I can file online and send it to the court? I’m very confused as I never been in this situation before. I plan on paying back the debt in payment plan if that possible but just don’t want it to go to court

I have no insurance in Pennsylvania and had to get rabies shots but now I'm stuck with a bill I can't pay what should I do.. I payed for financial assistance but it's pending still most of it was sent to like collections I think or something I'm just scared sorry

Signed up for NDR to keep from Bankruptcy last year (my mistake, I know.) During the process, out of all the people I talked to - nobody mentioned the scenario where a debtor settling for lump sum only.

Anyways, discover was settled, in the process of paying them through NDR now, citi cards finally sued and want a lump sum amount in the next 2 weeks or go to court - NDR says I can may an extra $150 bi weekly for 12 months to cover, or pay lump sum. It was never explained to me that this scenario would arise.

Would it be smart to contact the attorney representing the debtor and plead my case, and make another offer - something I can actually pay? Or take it to court and see if there’s a payment plan offered?

Capital one are the last 2 accounts on my NDR that’s not settled yet - is it possible I run into this again?

Bankruptcy?

Attorney?

I’m at a loss, and now scared to death.

Hi guys any help or advice would be greatly appreciated . 

Quick summary put myself thru college, worked part time which I have lost and can’t secure a full time job. Racked up 27k debt through 7 different cards usually only paid minimum payments for years. All cards have been closed and charged off because I’m literally at 0 and could not afford the minimum payments anymore. I was hoping after graduating Id be back living with my parents and with a job paying them off immediately. My credit went from around 720 to around 400 so my credit score destroyed. My parents have said they can help me pay it off if I decide to settle as a loan and pay them back when I’m employed which is life saving. 

Credit Amounts A = 4740 B = 5500 C = 1330 D = 5700 E = 1500 F = 4300 G = 4700

So as of right now ( A ) has sent me a settlement for about 1900 but the deadline was 03/27 so is that a problem or is the deadline thing just a scare tactic ? Should I try and ask them to settle for lower? Should I ignore and they might not sue? 

Now ( G ) HAS SUED ME. Not gonna lie I’m scared beyond belief and I tend to run from my problems which was stupid. Lawsuit says …

In the attached complaint, the person or business suing you briefly tells the court his or her version of the facts of the case and how much money he or she claims you owe. If you do not answer the complaint, you may lose the case automatically and the court may give the plaintiff what the plaintiff is asking for, plus interest and court costs. You have 35 days from the date of service to file your answer or a signed agreement. If a judgment is entered against you, a Special Civil Part Officer may seize your money, wages or personal property to pay all or part of the judgment. The judgment is valid for 20 years.

IF YOU DISAGREE WITH THE PLAINTIFF'S CLAIMS, A WRITTEN ANSWER OR SIGNED AGREEMENT MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE COURT ABOVE, ON OR BEFORE 04/08/2026, OR THE COURT MAY RULE AGAINST YOU. IF YOU DISAGREE WITH THE PLAINTIFF, YOU MUST DO ONE OR BOTH OF THE FOLLOWING:

1. Answer the complaint. An answer form that will explain how to respond to the complaint is available at any of the New Jersey Special Civil Part Offices or on the Judiciary's Internet site njcourts.gov under the section for Forms. If you decide to file an answer to the complaint made against you:Fill out the Answer form AND pay the applicable filing fee by check or money order payable to: Treasurer, State of New Jersey.Include (your Docket Number) on the check.Mail or hand deliver the completed Answer form and the check or money order to the court's address listed above.Hand deliver or send by regular mail a copy of the completed Answer form to the plaintiff's attorney. If the plaintiff does not have an attorney, send your completed answer form to the plaintiff by regular and certified mail. This MUST be done at the same time you file your Answer with the court on or before 04/08/2026.Please Note - If you file an Answer your case will be sent to a settlor to try to resolve your case prior to trial.

2. Resolve the dispute. Contact the plaintiff's attorney, or contact the plaintiff if the plaintiff does not have an attorney, to resolve this dispute. The plaintiff may agree to accept payment arrangements. If you reach an agreement, mail or hand deliver the SIGNED agreement to the court's address listed above on or before 04/08/2026.

Anyways Should I file for bankruptcy? Are there people you can hire to settle these’s lower? What are the chances the plaintiff won’t want to settle and wants the full amount? Should I tell them I might file bankruptcy ( as in tell the plaintiff attorneys) to negotiate a better settlement? As pathetic as it sounds I feel scared calling them which is why I’m asking for advice. Also I own a car and that’s pretty much it. If I decide not to file for bankruptcy are there any tips on how to settle? Should I tell them I literally don’t have any money? Should I tell them I’m borrowing money to settle or pretend like it’s my own? Also if they do settle and we come to agreement do I literally just say “ Can I get that in writing as well as agreement to pay to delete?” 

Any Advice would be greatly appreciated ! Ps I haven’t been in contact with anyone one of them at all. 

So I have a bit of debt from a couple credit cards. One is a Visa signature card from Chase, pretty sure I got it through Amazon. I owe around $1,700 dollars but they keep offering me deals to pay it off for much less via the Chase app and through phone calls and emails. Is this a viable way to pay it off for good and can I negotiate them further down or should I take what is offered?

The other card is an Amazon Prime Card that I owe much more on, I haven’t even checked or know how to. Is there a service or an app that I can use to find my debt and pay it off slowly? Any advice at all would be welcome.

Would it be worth it to work with a lawyer to reduce collections? A family member was in a parking lot accident a year ago. It seemed like both sides were at fault, but our guy got hit with the blame. Fast forward a couple of months, and a collections agency comes asking for 7500. He asks them to break down the costs and prove he owes it. They only offer a letter that says the total amount is 7500. While talking back and forth, they raised the cost to 15k because of additional costs that were still pending. still no breakdown or explanation of costs, other than a letter saying that is the final costs and he is responsible.

What could be some options here?

My daughter owes about $600 to our local community college for a class that was dropped. Unfortunately the college had an old address for her and she wasn’t getting the bills, and therefore didn’t realize she owed the college anything until she received a collection letter from a third party agency at her new address a few months ago. She was going back and forth with student accounts about the debt because she disputes that she owes it, but that’s another story.

However, last month she received notice that her state tax refund had been offset due to this debt.

I’m no expert, but I thought once the school sold the debt that they no longer own it and can no longer take any collection actions. Maybe there’s a loophole for government agency debts. This is in Iowa. Thanks.

Hi, I’m trying to figure out what to do and I’m honestly really frustrated.

I financed dental work through PatientFi at my dentist. My understanding when I signed up was that it would be about $120/month for around 2 years and then it would be paid off. I also thought I had until around February to finish paying it before anything changed.

I didn’t fully understand that after that period, the interest would kick in at 30% APR (I had a dental emergency and needed to work). Once that happened, the balance jumped a lot and now I owe almost $2,000 total (about $971 principal + a ton of interest).

I just made a $150 payment and $0 went to principal, all of it went to interest. So it feels like I’m just throwing money away and not actually paying anything down.

At this point I’m considering just stopping payments because I can’t afford to keep paying when nothing reduces the balance.

My questions:

• Will this behave like medical debt if it goes to collections?
• Or will it behave like credit card debt / personal loan debt?

I’m not trying to avoid paying entirely, I just literally can’t afford to keep making payments that don’t touch the principal.

I am trying to get my finances squared away and did a budget today. Been on a deficit for a while without any cushion to cut on expenses.

My biggest issue are my credit cards that amount to $26k and $570 minimum payments. Was considering a dmp to try to get more favorable terms. I really don’t have much breathing room on fixed expenses.

February I sent out a validation letter to a lawyer office whose reporting on my credit as a collection because I believed the amount owed on a rental collection was incorrect. It got returned as nobody being at the address they provided to the credit bureau (TransUnion). I’m at a loss how am I supposed to pay them if I can’t even get them to respond. When I call the number they provided as well the line always stays busy. What can I do now??? I have to move in about four months so I’m trying to figure this out as quickly as possible

So as the title says my girlfriend has credit card debt totaling to around 20-22k she has until October until the interest payments start to double. She just had her car totaled and also received taxes back so she has about 6-7 grand. What should she do?

Im 30 and my wife is 30. We have 4 kids and one foster. I work full time and she stays at home with the kids. Over the last 2 years it seems I may have put us in a never ending cycle of taking loans to pay loans and never actually paying anything down. Also because I have a repo on my credit for 20k still owed and 14k in credit card debt from 2019 when I lost my job. The loans I can get are honestly stupid but I was just starting to see improvement in my credit. From 520 to 645 and didn't want to default again on anything. I thought I had a handle on things. Put my 11k tax return for the last 2 years on my debt but cant seem to get out of the cycle with the internet rates on them. I have 21k in a repo. $35k in credit card and personal loan debt. 10k lean against a car i own. Also about 15k in medical debt.

I have 12 credit cards between me and my wife and 7 personal loan/pay day loans. Also mabey 13 different affirm accounts/upgrade. Im Currently current on everything but im at a point were i either take another massive loan out possible against my home of file bankruptcy. I also booked a cruise like 2 years ago and I plan to still go on it because its none refundable. $70 a month. Nothing crazy and I took a upgrade account out recently for another $800. I can pay that back next week from some side work that I did. Its not what's drowning me. Its the crazy lines of credit that are. Ive worked a budget up with my wife and if all debts disappeared in a chapter 7 I know we could get back to a normal routine. I own my home in Florida and are car is worth like 2.5k at max. I would let the other go back unless I could get a better apr rate. Current is 36.4%. credit lines are 200%. 3.5k cost me $630 a month. Thats just one. What are some problems i could possibly face or battles? Im talking with a bankruptcy attorney on Wednesday more than likely I guess I'll stop paying all debts starting this month for atleast 90 days from what I see. Mabey change my phone number so I dont get all these calls. Life took a little sharp turn a year ago. My job took my company car away so I had to drive to work in my personal car. The motor blew a few later and I got a cargo van with a loan for 2k and another loan for 1k for parts to fix it myself. Also had to start paying for gas and being 45 minutes from work came to about $200 a month extra. Then because of some back contractor work on my home i had to get a lawyer and cant use my ac system. Had to buy 5 windows units for my home. One for each of the kids and living room. Me and my wife go without. That was 1.2k Affirm loan. My power bill went from $120 to $300-450. I also have had to get space heaters for my home for the winter. So between the loans for the car, the ac, gas and power along with everything else going on it started to spiral out of control and I cant get ahead. Not to mention haveing to get 4 kids new clothes for school. Even going to resale events and thrift stores are expensive. With have no extra money I took another loan out. and another. Never tried to fraud the system and I was happy because I September this year all my credit cards for 2019 would fall off my credit. Is bankruptcy the best option or just stop paying everything and let the companies do what they want or bankruptcy for a fresh start. I make 65k a year. idk if that matters. Or debt settlement company.

Hello Everyone,

I'm trying to assist my husband with a $22,000 credit card debt at a 19% interest rate he incurred while struggling with mental health and medical issues prior to our recent marriage. I'll be setting up an appointment to consult with a bankruptcy attorney this week, so we can get as much advice as possible on our options and how best to move forward, but I would also like other people's suggestions on our situation.

Currently, all our finances remain separate, and I plan to buy a house in my own name in 3 years when my husband finishes his degree, using a 100,000 down payment I have already saved in my high-yield savings account before we were married. My husband is currently attending school for a healthcare degree that will cost 12k in total tuition in subsidized and unsubsidized student loans, and will take 3 more years to complete. He is focused solely on school and doesn't have time to take a part-time job, as he watches over our son when he isn't at school to save us on daycare costs. His credit score is 700. Once he is finished with school, the expected pay from his new job will be approximately 75k a year. He has already fully paid off his car, has no other assets or debt, and has $3,000 in savings for emergencies. We live together, and I pay for everything we need and am still able to put money into savings with no issues (medical expenses, car maintenance, utilities, food, daycare, rent, health insurance, etc.). Everything remains under my name only because I wanted to keep our finances separate. My credit score is 830, and I make over 100,000 a year.

Would it be better if he:

1. Take a personal loan to transfer his CC debt to a lower interest rate. However, he would not be able to make the monthly payments alone, regardless of the lower interest rate, for as long as he cannot work right now, because he's in school.
2. Declare bankruptcy since he will not need to use his own credit to apply for anything, such as apply for apartments, get a new car, or use his own credit cards, and will not be applying for a mortgage since everything will always be under only my name from now until he finishes his healthcare degree and gets a job in three years.
3. Take from my savings originally meant to go towards the house I wanted to buy us in 3 years to pay off his 22k debt immediately. I would still be able to buy a house, but it would increase my monthly mortgage payments to an uncomfortable level in the future.
4. Are there other options were aren't considering?

Thank you to everyone for your help!