Companies Filing More Lawsuits Over Credit Card Debt in South Florida

As with so many things in life (couture, melanoma cases, implants) South Florida could be leading the way to a new avenue of collections: straight-up suing.

According to an article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel,  many credit card companies aren’t bothering to go the collection company route. Instead, they’re heading right to court – though most times with a quick stop at mediation.

Credit card debt is an issue that can easily get clouded with emotion. Take, for instance, Arly Jean, quoted in the Sun-Sentinel story, who was summoned to small claims court over $2,550 in past-due charges — $900 of that in interest alone. We learn that Arly was laid off from a previous job, and relocated to Orlando for a lower paying one. “I have to pay my rent and my children have to eat,” Jean tells the Sun-Sentinel. And while yes, those are true statements, it’s also a true statement to say that racking up additional debt while one isn’t in a position to repay it might not be the best Plan B.

The article, though, is quick to point out that, of course, most of the defendants aren’t “chronic spenders.” Un- and under-employment are the bad guys; the credit card debt is, instead, a symptom of Poor Joes just trying to stay afloat.
These cases brought before small claims courts and mediators are, for the most part, pretty cut-and-dry: the credit card holder is almost always the undisputed holder of the debt. It’s the poignancy of each story, though, that each debtor hopes will mitigate his responsibility.

Broward county, the article tells us, saw a 275 percent increase in credit card suits filed between 2007 and 2010 – a figure that’s likely to start echoing through other states as the economy continues to erratically improve and devolve.