When you receive any notice threatening legal action, you MUST act immediately! If not, you could diminish your ability, power and rights to stop the inevitable. When your debt escalates to a potential lawsuit you want to seek debt advice A.S.A.P.! I’m repeating this because it bears repetition. All too often, debtors bury their heads in the sand praying, hoping, thinking and believing this matter will go away. It won’t! They want their money! The smart consumer will reach out for help before he or she digs himself or herself into a financial sinkhole. Virtually all wage garnishments and judgments and can often be avoided if the problem is addressed early on.

What should you do? You have a number of options. You can seek debt counseling from a reputable agency. You can hire an attorney. You can enroll in a debt reduction or debt management program. You can learn how to perform your own debt settlement. And as a last resort, you may have the option of filing bankruptcy.

Here’s how to defend yourself against a debt collection lawsuit.

Here’s how to perform your own debt settlement.

Ignore outstanding credit card debt can turn into an expensive, painful and embarrassing lesson in life. Once that debt or debts is turned over to debt collections, there is a great potential that the collection agency will sue you. If they do and if they win, their next course of action will be: WAGE GARNISHMENT!

Although this is usually a last ditch effort at debt collection, many debt collectors are turning up the heat and filing as fast as they legally can.

When Credit Card Debt morphs into a wage garnishment scenario, it hits debtors where it hurts most: it impedes their ability to pay the bills, put food on the table, fill the gas tank and keep a roof over their heads. Yes, amassing debt can come back to bite you.

If you are wrestling with credit card debt, the best course of action is to act immediately, speak to creditors and try and reach some sort of revised payment arrangements and stick to that new repayment plan. Otherwise, and that debt remains unpaid and ignored, the courts may intervene by issuing a judgment against you requiring your employer to “garnish” or withhold a portion of your wages or property, forcing payment of that debt.

As you can imagine, having your paycheck garnished cannot only be financially damaging it can also be embarrassing. Your employer now becomes aware of their financial situation. Employers are typically required to tell workers about the withheld amount. Another issue that arises is, while it is against the law for an employer to fire an employee because their wages are garnished, that protection goes away after a second and third such judgment. If you are headed in that direction, the time to act is NOW!

Here’s how to defend yourself against a debt collection lawsuit.

Once a person gets entangled in plastic money debt, their options to get out greatly decreases the longer they leave the matter unattended. Many people throw their hands up in disgust, only because that mountain of debt seems unmovable. One way to getting things moving in the right direction is by using Credit Card Debt Settlement.  This is the process of negotiating with all of your credit card creditors and getting them to agree to settle for less than the actual balance. There are two ways to accomplish this phenomenal option. One is by doing it yourself. If you have the know how and/or coaching, it’s relatively simple. The other way is by electing to use a credit card debt settlement company.

If you decide to use a company, you need to know how to choose the right one. KNOW THIS, since the economy went haywire, a multitude of people, companies and businesses have popped up to take advantage of those who are seeking help. If you follow these instructions, you won’t become a victim of an unscrupulous organization.

Step Number One – Check to see if the Credit Card Debt Settlement company has any complaints with your Attorney General, the Better Business Bureau and see if they are listed negatively on the website, RipOffReport.com. It never ceases to amaze me how fast people are letting the world know when a company has slighted them. In times past, shyster companies could go on for years without being detected by the masses. Now days, they get put notice almost immediately. Also, if your state has an Office of Consumer Affairs, check with them. Between all of these sources, if the company is operating in an unethical manner or using deceptive practices, you’ll receive some kind of an alert.

Step Number Two – Confirm how long they’ve been in business. Do a WHOis check to see how long they’ve been online and then check with your state to make sure they have the proper licenses. In numerous states, such companies must be licensed and bonded as “Debt Adjusters” and meet other criteria.

Step Number Three – Confirm that they are members of The Association of Settlement Companies (TASC) and that the negotiators are certified by the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators (IAPDA). If they can’t pass all of this criteria, don’t waste your time and don’t consider doing business with them. In order for a Credit Card Debt Settlement company to be suitable to handle your finances, they need to pass this evaluation with flying colors.