DISCLAIMER
Disclaimer: this is not legal advice
What this site is
FightBackStrong publishes educational material about debt collection lawsuits. It explains what a plaintiff has to prove, what deadlines apply, and what the law in a covered state says, with a citation to the statute or court rule behind every legal statement.
What it is not
This is not legal advice, and we are not attorneys. Reading this site, downloading anything from it, or writing to us does not create an attorney client relationship.
Nothing here is a prediction about your case. Two people with the same balance and different paperwork get different outcomes, and nobody who has not read your file can tell you what yours will be.
Why we say that plainly rather than in small print
Because it changes what you should do with the information.
General information about court procedure is genuinely useful, and in most of these cases nobody is coming to help, so knowing the rules is worth a great deal. But a rule is not a strategy for your file. Where your own facts matter, and they usually do, that is the point to talk to a lawyer.
When to get a lawyer rather than read another page
- A judgment has already been entered against you
- Your wages or your bank account are being taken
- The amount is large relative to what you have
- Something about the collector's conduct looks wrong, because in some states that carries remedies and attorney's fees
- You are overwhelmed, which is a real reason and not a weakness
Free help exists in every state
Start at LawHelp.org, which lists legal aid by state, or search for the legal aid organisation serving your county. In Oklahoma that is Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, 888-534-5243.
Call in the first week rather than the week of the hearing. The good ones have waiting lists.
About the citations
Every statute and court rule cited on this site was read from the official text, recorded in a registry with the source and the date it was read, and the site refuses to build if a page cites anything that is not in that registry.
Law changes. A citation that was accurate when it was read may not be current when you read it. Check the rule for the court named on your papers, and ask the clerk, who answers that question all day.