Do I Have to Pay the Collection Company?

When you get behind on your bills, your creditors might use the services of a collections agency to try to get you to pay. Collection agencies can be very persistent and you might feel like avoiding them. When a collection agency calls you, you do not necessarily have to pay them, but you could face steep consequences in the process.

Collection Agency

When one of your accounts has been turned over to a collection agency, you will most likely start to receive phone calls on a regular basis. Collection agents will call you throughout the day to try to get in contact with you. They will send you letters and statements to try to get you to contact them. Collection agents are not allowed to threaten you or harass you in their collection efforts. You may want to talk to the collection agent to find out what the debt is and if it is legitimate.

Lawsuit

If a collection agency does not receive any payments from you and you do not try to work out a solution with them, they may file a lawsuit against you. Some debt collectors will be inclined to file a lawsuit against you for any amount of debt while others only focus on the larger debts. You will receive a summons from your local court telling you about the court date. At the court date, the judge will essentially verify that the debt is legitimate and then issue a judgment in favor of the creditor.

Garnishment and Levies

Once the debt collector gets a judgment against you, they can work towards getting a writ of execution. This is a process that is completed with a separate court date and requires your presence. Once they get a writ of execution, they can proceed to garnish your wages. They will work with your employer to set up a wage garnishment that takes a certain amount of money out of your paycheck each time that you are paid. The creditor can also use this to levy money directly out of your bank account.

Arrest

In some cases, you may be arrested during this process. While you will not be arrested for the actual debt itself, you could be arrested for not showing up to the court date. When you are summoned to the court date for the writ of execution and you do not show up, the judge could possibly issue a warrant for your arrest.