There are Two Common Disputes with Credit Card Companies
The most common issues between credit card issuers and their consumers arises over disputed charges. The fact is, most credit card companies side with the vendor, and not the consumer. Usually, the credit card company fails to adequately and properly research a dispute and instead quickly sides with the vendor. The law requires that the credit card company do a satisfactory investigation. In fact, in one of our cases, the Court held that if the credit card company concluded that the charge was valid in light of clear evidence from the consumer otherwise, such determination would amount to consumer fraud. Credit card consumers must understand that if the credit card issuer and/or the vendor commits any Consumer Fraud, they are liable for Treble (triple) damages plus pay for your full attorneys fees!
The other common issue between credit card issuers and consumers arise out of lawsuits to recover unpaid credit card bills. Sometimes, unforeseen circumstances emerge and when bankruptcy is not the best option, it often makes sense to defend a credit card collections case. A skilled credit card defense attorney can be the difference between a judgment for the full amount and a debt that is wiped out entirely.
How Do Credit Card Lawsuits Occur?
Credit card debt has been a problem for decades. Many New Jersey residents are forced to resort to credit because of job loss or to cope with the high cost of living. The unfortunate reality is that when people become delinquent on their credit cards, lenders will typically respond by filing collection lawsuits. This is true even when they have not determined if the cardholder has the ability to pay the debt in the first place.
Sometimes these debts are quite old and the credit card company may not have contacted the cardholder about an outstanding balance until the pre-litigation demand letter or even the lawsuit. Another problem is that there is often poor documentation – and sometimes none at all – of what the balance was after payments during the collections process, or even full payments in some cases.
In a situation where there is a major problem with the documentation or even where the debt has been sold to a debt buyer, retaining a San Diego credit card lawsuit defense attorney is often a viable option.
Our knowledge of court procedure, the Evidence Code, and recent New Jersey cases can be the difference between winning your case and facing a court judgment.
If you are a New Jersey consumer facing a credit card lawsuit, do not hesitate to contact us for assistance.