3 Factors that Will Make or Break Your Case Against Portfolio Recovery Associates

I dedicate almost all of my work week to fighting junk debt buyers like Portfolio Recovery Associates, Midland Funding, LLC, and Cavalry SPV I, LLC.  My extensive experience in handling these types of cases has put me in the unique position of breaking down the factors that can make or break your case.

In this article I will discuss the three factors that, in my experience, will most influence the outcome of your junk debt buyer case.

#1 – Your Judge 

Debt collection cases are typically heard by a judge, not a jury.  The person you draw as a judge to hear your case will greatly impact the final result.  In Arizona where I practice law you will either have superior court judge or a justice of the peace.

Whether it is a judge or justice of the peace the person who holds that position comes with their own experiences, skills, education, bias, and tendencies.  No matter how good you thing your case or even how good your attorney thinks your case is, at the end of the day the final decision is up to your judge.  And who that person is will make a huge impact on the outcome of your case.

#2 – If You Hire an Attorney to Represent You

I know this one is self-serving.  But, in my experience, those who represent themselves overwhelming lose their case.  Even if your case is good and you are doing a solid job of representing yourself if I were betting on the final outcome I would bet against you winning.

A couple of reasons play into this: first, having an attorney represent you has the obvious benefit of having someone in your corner who is knowledgeable in the Rules of Evidence, the Rules of Procedure, and can competently represent you at trial.  Second, I see judges will often give a defendant represented by an attorney the benefit of the doubt, while self-represented defendants often struggle to get the court to take their defenses serious.

While you will no doubt read accounts online of people who have represented themselves and won, my experience is that is more the exception than the rule.

#3 – Actively Participating in Your Case From Day One

The biggest reason people lose their case is because they don’t fight back.  In fact, they do very little at all when it comes to presenting a defense and end up with a default judgment against you.  Whether you hire an attorney or represent yourself it is vital to your success that you respond to the debt collection lawsuit with an Answer and actively participate in your case at all stages.

Your failure to act will result in a judgment against you.