______________Friday, June 28, 2002

However, the threat is much less serious than it may seem, for a number of reasons. First, a lawsuit is so expensive that it is usually not worth the cost to the creditor unless the debt is in the mid-to-high hundreds of dollars. Second, the consumer/debtor has the right to contest the debt with or without a lawyer, by explaining to the court why the debt is not owed, further driving up costs and lowering incentive to the creditor. Third, even when the creditor wins, all he/she gets for his/her trouble is a judgement giving him/her expanded rights to try to seize the debtor’s property or wages. And fourth, the debtor might very well be totally be judgement-proof. Certain laws protect a stated amount of a family or individual’s property from seizure. In addition, the amount of wages that can be seized by the creditor are strictly limited by federal law.A debtor who is worried about being sued should research the foregoing factors, and may find piece of mind after finding out that the threat was exaggerated after all.

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