What would you do if you’re a identity theft victim, who has been mistakenly treated as a serious debtor with a total $12,000 unpaid 6-year-old credit card debt, and dealing with debt collectors who keep calling for a debt you don’t really owe? Watch the clip above to find out what you can do about bad debt collections.

When you receive a notice from a debt collection agency:

• First, don’t ignore this notice and don’t do nothing about it, and fight back! - you should dispute this issue in writing to the debt collection agency and force them to tell you so that you can make a judgment about how serious that situation is.
• Basically, you cannot be sued on a credit card debt that is more than 6 years old – normally the statute of limitations for old debts is just 6 years. If you’re unclear about it – refer to a debt settlement lawyer at your state.

Source: via 7online.com

In general, when the creditors have taken collection action on their debtors and there is no response from them, the creditors have the right to file a lawsuit on them. Once the lawsuit is filed, the court will send you a writ of summons to inform the debtors to attend to the court on certain date at certain time.

If the debtors don’t want to take any action and just ignore their debt, they still need to bear the court fee. Furthermore, if the debtors lose in the lawsuit, they will be instructed to pay back their creditors in full amount. For people who are facing financial difficulties, it is not wise for them to “run away” from their debt. They should face it with courage.

Hence, they are advised to look for settlement lawyer to assist them. The lawyer will be representing the clients to negotiate their debt with their creditors. He or she will first evaluate the clients’ financial situation and find out how much they can afford to pay. The legal advisor will then proceed to make the payment arrangement for the debtors. This professional normally sets up a payment schedule which suits their clients’ budget. He or she will try the best to reduce as much debt as possible on the debtors’ behalf.

If you are facing the same problem, what are you supposed to do? Is there any lawyer who can assist you? Seriously speaking, if you are not familiar with the legal firm, it will be quite hard for you to look for the right person to help you.

Here are 4 tips you need to bear in mind when you are searching for a good attorney:

Tip 1: Search for lawyer through state’s bar association

In order to look for a legal assistant in a secured manner, you are advised to search for the debt lawyers in your area. Your state’s bar association is the safest place for you to get a settlement attorney. You will be able to get the licensed and reputable professional here.

Tip 2: Refer to the Better Business Bureau (BBB)

Besides the bar association, you can also refer to the Better Business Bureau to find out the background of the attorney. Check whether the legal firm has a lot of complaints or negative reporting.

Tip 3: Compare the service fees

After checking the background of the legal firm, the attorney fee is also your main concern. In general, the service fee ranges from $500 to $1000, depending on how complicated your debt issue is. Since you are knee deep in credit card debt, you need to compare the legal fee from one firm to another carefully so that you can get the lowest deal.

Tip No. 4: Find out how much debt can be reduced

You need to see how committed the lawyer is. A good lawyer is able to ensure you that he or she can reduce your total debt up to 40%. However, giving empty promise is useless. You need to get the lawyer to include this in the agreement before you appoint him or her.

An attorney can be a scam artist, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Hence, when you are getting professional assistance to get rid of your credit card debt, you are reminded to be extra careful so that you won’t be trapped by the unethical lawyer.