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Sued for credit card debt?
The papers you got have a clock on them. In Georgia you have 30 days from the day you were served to file a written response, or the collector can take a judgment against you without a hearing.
Most of these lawsuits are filed by companies that bought old debt for pennies and have to prove they own it. Many cannot. That is where a defense starts.
Thirty days from service in Georgia’s Magistrate, State, and Superior Courts. We confirm the exact date from your documents.
What a default judgment does
If no written response is filed by the deadline, the court can enter a default judgment without a hearing. That judgment is the plaintiff's license to collect.
- The full amount, and then some. A default judgment is for everything the plaintiff asked for: the balance, interest, court costs, and often the plaintiff's attorney's fees. Interest keeps running on the judgment until it is paid.
- Wages garnished. With a judgment, the plaintiff can take up to 25% of your take-home pay straight from your employer, and a Georgia garnishment can keep going for years.
- Bank account frozen. A bank garnishment freezes what is in your account and hands it to the plaintiff, sometimes before you know it has happened.
- A lien on your home. The judgment is recorded on the county execution docket and indexed statewide. It becomes a lien on any real estate you own, and it has to be paid off to sell or refinance.
- A public record that follows you. Civil judgments no longer appear on the three major credit reports, but the debt behind the lawsuit can still be reported as a collection, and the judgment itself shows up in the public-record and tenant, employment, and mortgage screening reports that landlords, employers, and lenders run. Lenders commonly require a judgment to be paid before they will approve a loan.
- Your counterclaim goes unraised. Debt lawsuits often carry collector violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Raised as a defense or counterclaim, they can force a settlement and can make the other side pay your attorney's fees. Default, and none of that is ever put in front of the court: the plaintiff collects and you never get to ask.
- It lasts. A Georgia judgment is good for seven years and can be renewed, so it can follow you long after the lawsuit itself is forgotten.
What happens when you start
- You answer a few questions and upload a photo of the papers. Five minutes.
- A Georgia lawyer reads the lawsuit and writes your response.
- You read it in plain English before anything is filed.
- We file it, make the collector prove its case, and keep you posted in your own portal.
One flat fee, quoted before you pay, based on the amount they are suing for. No hourly bills.
Or call (321) 294-9540
Fair Counsel · Christopher C. McClurg, Esq., a lawyer licensed in Georgia. Marietta, Georgia. We handle Georgia lawsuits only.
This page is an advertisement. Reading it, scanning a code, or sending us information does not make us your lawyers. An attorney-client relationship begins only when you and the firm sign a written agreement. Do not send confidential details until then. Past results do not guarantee a future outcome; every case depends on its facts.