If you have debt, you need to read this right now
Protect your finances with a strong debt litigation defense
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SCOTTSDALE, AZ (Wilkie Puchi LLP) – Finding yourself being sued by your creditor for failing to pay your debt is an all-too-common nightmare in America with potentially far-reaching consequences. It can be scary, especially when legal documents are served on you by a process server at your home. There’s a lot of information out there – often misinformation – and promises of debt relief directed towards you from all sides; it can be hard to know what to do and how to protect yourself or your business.
The first step is to take a deep breath and not panic. It’s going to be OK.
Why going to a debt settlement company may be a bad idea.
If you’re being sued for debt, your first instinct might be to contact a debt settlement company. Don’t. Chances are you’ll wind up doing yourself more harm than good, despite what the debt settlement company may promise you. These companies often promise the moon and the stars – such as settling your debt for pennies on the dollar -- an enticing, impossibly quick, and easy resolution that’s better than anything you could hope for; but don’t fall for it.
“Whenever a company is overpromising and it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” explains Adam Puchi, a Principal of the Scottsdale-based law firm Wilkie Puchi LLP.
Adam has spent his career working with commercial creditors and financers, including the growing sector of small and medium-sized business financing commonly referred to as merchant cash advances. With a solid understanding of creditor tactics and how to counter them, Adam knows the ins and outs of the industry.
“As a law firm, we are able to not only negotiate with your creditor, but we can actually defend you in the court case itself. That’s what makes the big difference.”
Adam Puchi, Wilkie Puchi LLP
He and his business partner, Blake Wilkie, who earned his law degree from Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, are dedicated to helping consumers and businesses like you fight to protect your future.
“What these companies don’t tell you is the payment structure that’s associated with it,” Adam explained. “They’ll tell you to stop paying your creditors up front and then divert whatever money you were paying your creditors to their escrow account.”
From there, the company makes sure it gets paid first, taking its fees, usually between 20% and 30% of your enrolled debt, before doing any negotiating on your behalf.
It’s important to remember that if you simply stop paying your credit card bills, you’re opening yourself up to legal action that creditors won’t hesitate to use.
“It just ends up leaving you in a worse position, more often than not,” Adam said.
That’s what happened to Lynnea, who asked that we not use her last name. She went to a well-known debt settlement company. And got burned.
“I trusted them and followed their instructions to the letter,” she said. “I did everything right, at least according to them. It got me nowhere. But I was scared, and I didn’t know what I was doing. I thought they were my only option to fix my financial mess. I wish I had known about firms like Wilkie Puchi.”
How Wilkie Puchi LLP can help you
Wilkie Puchi LLP is a unique legal practice specializing in “defending clients from aggressive creditors and unfair lending practices.” They can do things debt settlement companies can’t.
“As a law firm, we are able to not only negotiate with your creditor, but we can actually defend you in the court case itself,” Adam said. “That’s what makes the big difference.”
“When people find themselves in legal trouble, they’ll be served, usually out of the blue, with what’s called a complaint and summons,” Blake said, explaining how the process usually starts.
He says it’s extremely common for people to freeze and do nothing with respect to the lawsuit. That’s not a viable solution; it will only exacerbate the problem.
“If you do nothing, the lender will move for a default judgment against you,” Blake said. “At that point, your debt is a legal obligation that the lender can use any legal remedy to collect.” Some of these collection efforts include:
Garnishing your bank account
Garnishing a certain percentage of your wages
Placing liens on your real property
If you find yourself on the receiving end of a debt-related lawsuit, the first thing you should do is contact Wilkie Puchi LLP for a free consultation. They can explain your options and make some general recommendations.
“There are ways out of this, and it’s our job to figure that out,” Blake said.
The most important thing for you to know is that Adam and Blake are very good at their job.
How Wilkie Puchi LLP works
If you decide to move forward with representation from the firm, their team will work with you until your situation is fully resolved, and they’ll do it for a single flat fee. You’ll know exactly what you’re paying up-front. They won’t blindside you with hidden fees, percentages, or extra billable hours.
It might not be as fast as a debt settlement company may promise, but you’ll have the comfort of knowing somebody is working in your best interest. You’ll get a realistic timeline and “an active legal strategy designed to reduce financial pressure and resolve matters efficiently”.
In other words: Wilkie Puchi LLP won’t leave you hanging.
“There are ways out of this, and it’s our job to figure that out.”
Blake Wilkie, Wilkie Puchi LLP
While Adam, Blake, and their team work with consumers, one of their specialties is representing businesses that receive alternative financing from those merchant cash advance providers we mentioned earlier. These financing transactions are commonly referred to as MCAs, and these arrangements can be a minefield for businesses that cannot get traditional funding from the big banks.
MCAs: A slippery slope
MCAs have become an increasingly growing form of business financing, but they are nothing like standard business loans.
With an MCA, the funder is buying a percentage of your business’s future revenue. The catch is that there are very few rules governing MCAs, and where there is money to be made, you’ll no doubt find bad actors and predatory practices in the form of massive fees, hidden costs, and confusing contracts.
“Many business owners don’t realize how much they’ll end up paying until it’s too late,” explains an article on MCAs on www.WilkiePuchi.com.
While MCAs can be helpful in specific instances, there are three key points you need to understand before signing an agreement.
The fees are high, significantly more than you would pay for a traditional loan.
Daily or weekly remittances can wreak havoc on your cash flow. It can be easy to fall behind and difficult, at best, to catch up.
MCAs almost always require a personal guarantee.
Issues with MCAs can go from bad to worse quickly, often leading to harassment, threats, and aggressive tactics aimed at you, your business, or your customers.
Wilkie Puchi LLP can review your case , explain your rights, and provide the best path to move forward. They can also help you dispute unfair practices, fight for you in court, and deal with Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) liens directed towards your vendors and customers.
Bottom line
If you’re being sued for debt, whether it’s credit card debt, personal/business loans, debt buyers who purchased your debt from the original creditor, or an MCA, your first call -- before you do anything else -- should be to Wilkie Puchi LLP. Adam and Blake founded their firm specifically to help consumers and businesses like you. The sooner you take action, the more options you’ll have to protect yourself and your business. Wilkie Puchi LLP can help.