Sued by a Debt Collector? What to Do First

The papers might have come in a stranger's hand at your front door, folded into the screen when you got home, or in an envelope with a court's name in the corner. The top one says SUMMONS. Underneath is a stack with your name in a caption, a company you may not recognize, and a dollar figure.

Put everything else down for a minute and find one thing on that page: the date, or the number of days, by which you have to respond. That date is the most important fact in your situation right now, more important than whether you owe the money, how much you owe, or who is suing.

A debt collection lawsuit is a civil case in which a creditor, a debt buyer, or a collector asks a state court to order you to pay a debt. It is not a criminal matter, and nobody is arrested over it. What decides most of these cases is not the facts. It's whether the person being sued responds, and most don't.

What should you do first if a debt collector sues you?

The first thing to do when a debt collector sues you is to find the response deadline on the summons, write it down, and contact a lawyer or legal aid office the same day. Everything else can wait until that is done.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's instruction is short: if you're sued for an unpaid debt, you should respond to the lawsuit, either personally or through a lawyer, by the date specified in the court papers. The Federal Trade Commission's debt collection guidance says the same and adds, "respond and don't ignore the lawsuit."

• Find and write down the response date

  It's on the summons, either as a date or as a number of days after you were served. Write down the day you were served too, because many deadlines count from it.

• Keep every page, and the envelope

  The summons, the complaint (Texas calls it the petition), any attachments, and how the papers reached you. Don't throw anything away, even pages that look like boilerplate.

• Confirm the case with the court yourself

  Look up the court's phone number independently and ask the clerk whether a case exists under that case number. Never rely on a number printed only on the papers.

• Call legal aid or a lawyer referral service

  Today, not after the weekend. Intake at free programs takes time, and the clock is already running.

• Get advice before you call the plaintiff

  Settling may well be possible, but a conversation with the collector is not a response to the court, and it does not stop the deadline.

Those five steps hold up whether the debt is yours, isn't yours, or is too old to sue over. They also hold up if you plan to settle, because settling and responding are not alternatives. You respond to protect yourself while any settlement conversation happens.

What is a summons, and what is the complaint that comes with it?

A summons is the court's official notice that you have been sued and that you must respond by a stated deadline; the complaint is the plaintiff's written claim saying who it is, why it says you owe money, and how much it wants. They usually arrive together.

1

2

3

$ —4

5

1. 1

   The court and the caption

   Which court the case is in (county court, justice court, civil court) and the parties: the plaintiff suing you and you as the defendant.

2. 2

   The case number

   The court's index or docket number. You need it to look the case up, to file anything, and to talk to legal aid.

3. 3

   The instruction and the deadline

   What the court requires you to do, such as file a written answer or appear on a date, and how long you have.

4. 4

   The amount claimed

   On the complaint or petition: the balance, often with interest, fees, and court costs added.

5. 5

   The clerk's seal or signature

   A real summons is issued by the court. A collector's letter dressed up to look like one is a federal violation.

The plaintiff on a debt case is often a company you never borrowed from. Accounts are sold after charge-off, and a debt buyer that bought yours can sue in its own name, which is why understanding who owns a debt after it's sold helps make sense of the caption. Pew's research on debt claims found that consumers frequently report not responding to a suit precisely because they don't recognize the debt buyer suing them. An unfamiliar name is not a reason to ignore the papers.

The complaint is worth reading slowly, because it states what the plaintiff claims: the original creditor, the account, the amount, and sometimes attached documents. A lawyer or legal aid attorney will want it in front of them.

How long do you have to answer a summons for a debt?

The time to answer a summons for a debt is set by your state and the court you're sued in, and in the courts below it runs from 10 to 30 days after service. No single national number exists, so the deadline printed on your own summons is the only one that counts.

Where you're sued	Deadline to respond	What counts
Texas justice court (debt claim cases)	By the end of the 14th day after you were served with the citation and petition	If day 14 is a weekend or legal holiday, the next business day. Served by publication: 42 days from issuance
California superior court	30 days after you are served with the summons and complaint	A filing fee of $225 to $435 applies, depending on the amount demanded. A fee waiver is available if you qualify
New York, City Courts outside New York City	10 days if the papers were handed to you within the county; 30 days if served any other way	Weekends and holidays are included in the count
New York, all other courts	20 days if handed to you in person; 30 days if served any other way	Weekends and holidays are included in the count

• Where you're suedTexas justice court (debt claim cases)

  Deadline to respond

  By the end of the 14th day after you were served with the citation and petition

  What counts

  If day 14 is a weekend or legal holiday, the next business day. Served by publication: 42 days from issuance

• Where you're suedCalifornia superior court

  Deadline to respond

  30 days after you are served with the summons and complaint

  What counts

  A filing fee of $225 to $435 applies, depending on the amount demanded. A fee waiver is available if you qualify

• Where you're suedNew York, City Courts outside New York City

  Deadline to respond

  10 days if the papers were handed to you within the county; 30 days if served any other way

  What counts

  Weekends and holidays are included in the count

• Where you're suedNew York, all other courts

  Deadline to respond

  20 days if handed to you in person; 30 days if served any other way

  What counts

  Weekends and holidays are included in the count

Texas State Law Library, Small Claims: Filing an Answer (Tex. R. Civ. P. 502.5). Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, Defendant's Guide to Debt Collection Cases (rev. March 2025). New York State Unified Court System, Answering a Consumer Debt Case.

In a Texas justice court debt claim case, the answer is due by the end of the 14th day after the day you were served with the citation and petition, according to the Texas State Law Library's guide to Rule 502.5. That is two weeks, counted from the day of service, not from the day you finally open the envelope.

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Day 14: Texas justice court answer due by end of day

Texas State Law Library, Small Claims: Filing an Answer (Tex. R. Civ. P. 502.5).

California gives 30 days. The Alameda County Superior Court's self-help guide says the answer must be filed within 30 days after you are served, that filing fees range from $225 to $435 depending on the amount demanded, and that a fee waiver is available if you qualify. New York uses 10, 20 or 30 days depending on how the papers reached you and which court you're in, and the state court system notes that those periods include weekends and holidays.

Two more points that trip people up. First, how you were served can change the count, so note the date and the method. Second, not every court asks for a written answer. Pew's review of court procedure notes that in small claims courts written answers are often optional and the case moves straight to a hearing, which means your obligation may be to appear on a specific date rather than to file a document. Read the summons for which one it is, and ask the clerk if it isn't clear.

How can you tell if a debt lawsuit is real and not a scam?

A real debt lawsuit has a case number that the issuing court can confirm, so the reliable test is to look up the court yourself and ask the clerk whether the case exists. Don't decide it's fake and ignore it on instinct.

Fake legal papers do exist. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lists, among prohibited practices, the false representation that documents are legal process (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(13)), and threats of court are a staple of scam calls. The warning signs of a fake collector, from refusing to give a mailing address to demanding gift cards, are covered in how to tell if a debt collector is a scam.

The opposite mistake costs more. A genuine summons treated as a scam turns into a default judgment just as surely as one thrown in a drawer. So verify, and don't use any phone number or website printed only on the papers. Find the court through your state judiciary's site, call the clerk, and give the case number. If the case is real, you've lost ten minutes. If it isn't, you've found a scam without paying it.

What happens if you ignore a summons from a debt collector?

Ignoring a summons from a debt collector usually leads to a default judgment: the court rules for the collector because you didn't respond, without deciding whether the debt is valid or the amount is right. A judgment is enforceable like any other court decision.

The numbers are stark. The Pew Charitable Trusts found in its May 2020 report, How Debt Collectors Are Transforming the Business of State Courts, that, in the jurisdictions with available data, courts resolved more than 70% of debt collection lawsuits with default judgments for the plaintiff. Individual studies ran higher: 71% of debt buyer suits in five Colorado counties from 2013 to 2015, and more than 80% of debt buyer cases in Washington state's superior court from 2012 through 2016. In the CFPB's January 2017 national survey, 15% of consumers contacted about a debt in collection said they had been sued in the past year, and only 26% of those who were sued said they attended the court hearing.

Pew is direct about what a default means. The court makes no finding on the validity of the debt, the accuracy of the amount sought, or whether the correct person was sued; it simply orders payment. Collectors sometimes win cases built on inaccurate information or filed after the legal right to sue had expired.

1. Day 0

   You're served

   The summons and complaint reach you. The answer clock usually starts here.

2. The deadline

   No answer is filed

   In a Texas justice court debt claim, that's the end of day 14. In California, day 30.

3. After the deadline

   Plaintiff asks for a default

   The court can enter judgment without hearing any evidence from you.

4. Judgment

   The debt becomes a court order

   Often for more than the original balance once interest, court costs, and fees are added.

5. Collection

   Garnishment, levy, or lien

   In California, the plaintiff can start garnishing wages 30 days after judgment is entered.

Pew Charitable Trusts (May 2020); Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, Defendant's Guide to Debt Collection Cases (March 2025).

Once there's a judgment, the CFPB notes, a collector can use it to garnish your wages, put a lien on your property, or freeze your bank account. The Alameda County court's guide says that in California the plaintiff can start collecting, including garnishing wages, 30 days after judgment is entered. Pew adds that courts routinely order consumers to pay accrued interest and court fees, which together can exceed the original amount owed. What that looks like in a paycheck, and which income federal law protects, is covered in how wage garnishment works for consumer debt, and the wider picture of what happens if you never pay a collection explains how a judgment can follow you for years.

Avoiding the papers doesn't help either. The CFPB notes that refusing to accept service can be treated by the court as ignoring a properly served lawsuit. And some people never learn they were sued at all: Pew reports that in many jurisdictions the plaintiff is responsible for service, often only by first-class mail to the last known address, with no obligation to confirm that address is correct. It also notes enforcement actions in California, Illinois, and New York over "sewer service," where a process server falsely swears papers were delivered. If you find out about a case late, that is a reason to call a lawyer immediately, not a reason to assume it's too late.

Does answering a debt lawsuit mean you admit you owe the money?

No. Answering a debt lawsuit does not mean you agree you owe the debt or that it is valid; the CFPB states this explicitly. An answer is your formal response to the complaint, and it is what keeps the case from ending by default.

When you respond, the CFPB explains, a debt collector has to prove to the court that the debt is valid. That matters on debt buyer cases in particular, where the paperwork connecting you to the account can be thin after several sales, the same gap that makes requesting validation of a debt worthwhile before any suit is filed.

Representation also tracks with outcomes. Research Pew reviewed from 2010 to 2019 found that fewer than 10% of debt-suit defendants had a lawyer, compared with nearly all plaintiffs. In Utah cases disposed from 2015 to 2017, 53% of represented defendants won, compared with 19% of those without representation. Those figures describe who won, not why, and they don't predict your case. They do explain why the CFPB, the FTC, and the courts' own self-help guides all point people to a lawyer.

What goes in an answer, which defenses to raise, and how to raise them are exactly the questions a lawyer or legal aid attorney should handle. Courts in some states publish answer forms; California's self-help guide, for instance, refers defendants to form PLD-C-010. A court self-help center can explain forms and procedure, but the Alameda guide says plainly that its self-help center cannot tell you which option to choose.

Can the statute of limitations be a defense to a debt collection lawsuit?

The statute of limitations can be a defense to a debt collection lawsuit when the state's deadline for suing on the debt has passed, but the court generally won't apply it on its own. The person being sued has to raise it.

Federal rules already forbid the lawsuit in the first place.

Regulation F (12 CFR 1006.26(b)) says a debt collector must not bring or threaten to bring a legal action to collect a time-barred debt. Suits on expired debts still get filed, and Pew notes that enforcement of the deadline typically falls on the defendant rather than on the court. The FTC's guidance is plain: if you're sued on a debt past the statute of limitations, show up and tell the court the debt is time-barred.

Whether your debt is actually past the deadline is harder than it looks. The period differs by state and by type of debt, the date the clock starts is itself a legal question, and in many states a partial payment can restart it. The full breakdown is in the statute of limitations on debt by state, with the specifics of what a time-barred debt means and which actions can restart the clock. Use those to prepare the question, then put it to a lawyer licensed in your state.

Where can you get free or low-cost legal help with a debt lawsuit?

Free or low-cost legal help with a debt lawsuit is available from legal aid organizations, bar association lawyer referral services, court self-help centers, and, for servicemembers, JAG offices. Start with legal aid if money is tight, and start today.

Where to go	What it offers	How to find it
Legal aid organization	Free civil legal help for people who qualify by income; many handle consumer debt cases	The Legal Services Corporation's legal aid finder at lsc.gov, or LawHelp.org
Lawyer referral service	A referral to a private consumer attorney	Your state or local bar association, or the American Bar Association's directory
Court self-help center	Forms, filing instructions, and procedural information; not legal advice	Your state judiciary's website, or the clerk of the court that issued your summons
JAG legal assistance office	Legal help for active-duty servicemembers	Your installation's legal assistance office

• Where to goLegal aid organization

  What it offers

  Free civil legal help for people who qualify by income; many handle consumer debt cases

  How to find it

  The Legal Services Corporation's legal aid finder at lsc.gov, or LawHelp.org

• Where to goLawyer referral service

  What it offers

  A referral to a private consumer attorney

  How to find it

  Your state or local bar association, or the American Bar Association's directory

• Where to goCourt self-help center

  What it offers

  Forms, filing instructions, and procedural information; not legal advice

  How to find it

  Your state judiciary's website, or the clerk of the court that issued your summons

• Where to goJAG legal assistance office

  What it offers

  Legal help for active-duty servicemembers

  How to find it

  Your installation's legal assistance office

Legal Services Corporation, Get Legal Help; CFPB, How do I find a lawyer to help me with a creditor or collector (November 2023); FTC, Debt Collection FAQs (March 2023).

The Legal Services Corporation funds 129 independent nonprofit legal aid organizations covering every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories, and its legal aid finder locates the nearest one by address. The CFPB's page on finding a lawyer for a debt collection problem adds lawyer referral services, bar associations, state legal aid programs, and JAG offices, and suggests asking a lawyer you can't afford to refer you to a consumer attorney who may not charge up-front fees. The FTC points people to LawHelp.org.

When you call, have the summons, the complaint, the date you were served, and the deadline in front of you. Say the deadline first, so the person taking the call knows how little time there is.

A consumer attorney may also be interested if the collector broke the law along the way. The FDCPA lets consumers sue collectors for violations, and your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act explains what those violations look like. Whether any apply to your case is, again, a lawyer's call.

Can you still settle a debt after being sued?

Yes, you can settle a debt after being sued. The CFPB says you may be able to work out a compromise or settlement by negotiating with the debt collector before a court makes a judgment, and Pew notes the parties can settle a case at any time.

Settlement is not a substitute for answering the summons. The Alameda County court's guide lists filing an answer and settling as things that can happen together: even after you file an answer, it says, you and the plaintiff may still work toward a settlement. Responding keeps your options open while you talk. Not responding hands the plaintiff a judgment while you're still negotiating.

Settling a case in court has details that settling an uncontested collection account doesn't, and the Alameda guide names three of them:

• What happens to the case. If you and the plaintiff agree, the case can be dismissed. A dismissal with prejudice means the plaintiff can't sue you again for the same debt; without prejudice means it can. The difference belongs in writing.
• Follow-through. If you don't keep up your end of a settlement agreement, the guide warns, the plaintiff may be able to get a judgment against you without a trial. A payment plan you can't sustain is riskier in a lawsuit than outside one.
• Who files what. In California, a dismissal is filed by the plaintiff on a form. Confirm afterward, with the clerk, that it was actually filed.

A lawyer can review any agreement before you sign it, and that review is worth more here than anywhere else in debt negotiation. The mechanics of the offer itself, from what percentage to offer to choosing a lump sum or a payment plan, are the same as outside court, and the full process is laid out in how to negotiate a debt settlement yourself. Settled debt can also carry a tax bill, because forgiven amounts are often reportable income; taxes on settled debt covers that, and a tax professional should confirm it for you.

What can you do if a default judgment has already been entered?

If a default judgment has already been entered against you, call a lawyer or legal aid immediately. Courts have procedures for asking that a default be set aside, but the CFPB warns that a judgment can be very difficult to change once the case is over, and the rules vary by state.

The difficulty comes from what a judgment is: a court order, not a bill. The Alameda County court's process chart still shows a defendant's motion to set aside a default as a step that exists after default judgment. Whether you qualify, and by when you must ask, is a question only someone who knows your state's rules can answer. Waiting reduces the options.

A judgment also changes what you're negotiating against. The balance may now include interest and costs, and the plaintiff holds collection tools it didn't have before. Federal and state law still protect some income and property from collection after a judgment, and the details are in the guide to wage garnishment for consumer debt.

For people with several debts and a lawsuit already pending, bankruptcy is one of the routes a lawyer may raise. According to the U.S. Courts' Chapter 7 overview, filing a bankruptcy petition "automatically stays" most collection actions, and while the stay is in effect, creditors generally may not initiate or continue lawsuits or wage garnishments. That is a serious legal step with long consequences, compared side by side with negotiation in bankruptcy vs. debt settlement, and it is a decision for a bankruptcy attorney.

Where does Felix fit if you've been sued over a debt?

Felix negotiates with creditors and collectors on unsecured accounts you enroll, by drafting letters you read and sign, and that work sits outside the courtroom. If you've been sued, the lawsuit comes first, and it belongs with a lawyer or legal aid office.

Felix is not a law firm. It can't give legal advice, file an answer, appear in court, raise a defense, or represent you in any way. Felix's guidance on court papers matches the CFPB's and the FTC's: don't let the date on your papers pass, and if you're concerned, talk to an attorney. Negotiation fits a debt that hasn't been sued on, and for an account still at the letter stage, responding to the collection letter before it becomes a lawsuit is the place to start. No creditor is ever required to negotiate, and no outcome is promised. The FAQ sets out what the service does and doesn't do, and pricing is a subscription, never a percentage of your debt, shown in full before you enroll anything.