If you don’t answer your credit card summons, collection agencies/junk debt buyers do not hesitate for one minute. They take advantage and act straight away.

If your summons states you have 20 days to answer and you fail to do so, they will get a default judgment against you the very next day. If you have 30 days to answer, the same thing is true.

This is exactly what they are hoping for. The perfect scenario for them would be: they serve you, you don’t answer, they file for their default judgment and get it. They then come after your bank account to garnish your wage check.

If your state allows a certain percentage of your check to be garnished, you will quite possibly receive an order from the court telling you to appear at a garnishment hearing. This is totally degrading. They will ask you where you work, how much you make and then proceed to dock your check at the highest percentage that your state allows.

With so much information to help you answer your summons, it’s difficult to understand why so many people allow the plaintiff to get an easy default judgment. Even if you know it is your debt, answer the summons. These companies probably do not have the actual proof to prove it.

Below is a time line of how fast these collection agencies act after you decide not to answer your summons and it is quite scary:

As noted above, these companies do not hesitate. They serve you and hope you default. Look again at how fast they go after that judgment and once they get that judgment, look again and see how fast they come after your wages and bank account.

So, what’s the lesson? Answer your summons!