Credit Card Lawsuit Lawsuit News

October 9, 2012

Laws for Being Sued Over Credit Card Debt in Florida

Credit cards can be a great way to pay for something when you don't have the cash on hand. They can also be a great way to get into trouble with too much debt. Whenever a credit card user runs into debt problems in Florida, he should be aware of the laws that apply to the situation. In general, being sued over credit card debt, or having a collections action filed against you, can only happen in a limited amount of time in Florida.

Debts

In general, credit card debts in Florida can only be acted upon before the statute of limitations expires. For credit card debts in Florida considered open accounts, this is generally four years. That means that a credit card company has four years to sue the card holder on any unpaid debt. Generally, this time period starts from the last date upon which payment was due. So, if a card bill went unpaid starting on February 4, 2008, the credit card company has until February 4, 2012 to sue on the debt. If they file after that, they lawsuit will probably be dismissed.

Judgments

Let's say the card company has sued you and won. After that, the company can try to collect on the debt. They can call you, send you letters or go to court to try to garnish your wages or file a lien against your property. However, the time in which a card company has to do this is also limited. The statute of limitations for collections on judgments in Florida is 20 years. If a debt has gone uncollected for longer than that, the credit card company is generally barred from collecting on it.

Collections

Whenever a creditor tries to collect either on an unpaid debt or on a judgment, the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act applies. This federal law applies to all states, including Florida. In general, the law prevents collections agents from harassing a debtor. If a debtor demands the collections agent stops contacting them, the agent must comply. Though this doesn't mean the debtor can prevent the credit card company from suing them, or from collecting on a judgment through a garnishment or other action, it does allow them to be free from harassment in collections attempts.

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