Dealing with debt is stressful but ignoring it—especially in Florida—can lead to serious financial and legal consequences. Florida has good debtor protections, but also clear pathways creditors can use to obtain judgments, garnish your wages, and freeze your bank accounts. Knowing what creditors can and cannot do under Florida law is essential to protecting yourself. Understanding what happens if you take no action is also important to understanding how your assets may be affected.
Ignoring Debt in Florida Debt Collections: The Real Risks
When Debt Collection starts – the best thing you can do is not be an ostrich and stick your head in the sand. When you stop responding to creditors, the situation does not just go away. Rather, creditors can use your lack of response to fast track their case and their collection activity. This means you may see an increase in their collection attempts, which can include phone calls, letters, third‑party debt collectors (collection agencies), and even filing a lawsuit.
If you continue to ignore the debt and any legal notices, these 3 things really could happen to you:
- Your credit score will decrease. Any time you miss a payment for a creditor, your credit score will be impacted.
- As you fall behind in payments, your score will also fall. This can also affect your ability to get new credit (for example, for a new car) or to use the current credit you have (for example, you will lose access to using the credit card you are not making payments on, even if you have not used all available credit).
- Additionally, some jobs may require a background check for employment. This may also include a credit report. Bad credit could affect your ability to get a good job. Florida is still a state where your employment can be determined solely on your credit score. To learn more about getting a job with bad credit, click here: Can You Get a Job With Bad Credit? | Chase
- The Court could enter a Default Judgment against you. A Default Judgment confirms your lack of participation in the lawsuit and allows the Creditor to start collecting against you.
- Collection actions could start. Collection actions include freezing your bank account (and taking the monies in that account), asset turnover, and wage garnishment. All of these actions have very real consequences, especially if you are living paycheck to paycheck.
- If you have savings in a bank account, that money could be in jeopardy.
- If you have assets which are considered non-exempt in Florida debt collections, those could be taken, sold, and the monies used to pay your debts.
- The Florida Statutes provide more clarification about what assets are exempt and non-exempt in Chapter 222, found here: Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine
In some instances, you may be exempt from Florida Debt Collections. Each county in Florida has a form where you can claim exemptions and request a hearing to have funds returned to you, accounts unfrozen, etc. The Pinellas County form can be found HERE. The reality is that if your bank account is frozen and you file your Claim of Exemptions the same day, you most likely will not see those funds returned for thirty (30) days. That could cause additional financial problems for you, making other debt payments late, not having access to a bank account to deposit your funds into, and it will continue to snowball from there.
The longer you ignore the Florida Debt Collections, the more options you give a creditor —and the fewer options you will have.
Can Creditors Sue You in Florida?
Yes. Absolutely. Most creditors are required to wait four (4) months since your last payment before filing a lawsuit against you. Secured creditors, such as your mortgage company or auto loan creditor only have to wait two (2) months before filing. When Florida debt collections become a lawsuit, you will have certain time deadlines that you need to follow in order to participate in your case. If you do not participate, you could end up with a Default Judgment against you.
In order for the lawsuit to “start”, a Creditor will have to file a lawsuit against you. This will most likely be in the county in which you reside. Once the lawsuit is filed, then the paperwork must be served to you. This means the Creditor will hire a process server to hand you the paperwork. The process server then provides an affidavit to the Court as to the date, time, and location of where you were served with the paperwork. You have twenty (20) days from the date the process server hands you the paperwork to respond.
What happens if I ignore the process server? This is never a good option. If a process server believes you are avoiding them, they may file an affidavit with the Court describing their attempts to serve you and your attempts to avoid them (also known as “ducking” or “ducking service”). Then, you would have twenty (20) days from the date of the process server’s affidavit of your ducking (which you won’t know when that took place because you were avoiding them) to respond to the complaint.
This actually makes timing more difficult to know. For those reasons, I do not advise you to avoid a process server. Having the complaint available, being able to provide it to an attorney, and knowing the timing is very important to understanding your next best steps.
Can Creditors Garnish Wages in Florida debt collections?
Yes. Absolutely. If a creditor cannot seize or freeze a bank account, their next best step is to garnish your wages until their judgment amount is paid in full. If your wages are being garnished or if you fear that they will be, it is important to understand if you are exempt from wage garnishment. The Pinellas County form is found HERE.
Although there are limits to how much a creditor can garnish from your paycheck, any amount is often a big problem. Your claim of exemptions may be successful if you are the head of your family, if you receive Social Security income as your only form of income, or if you receive Veteran’s or disability benefits as your income.
However, sometimes the type of debt you have allow your garnishment to proceed. Debts for child support, federal income tax amounts due to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), or delinquencies for student loans could still garnish your wages – even if you have a valid Claim of Exemptions.
Can Creditors Levy Bank Accounts in Florida debt collections?
Creditors prefer to levy bank accounts as their first option for collecting judgments. To “levy” your bank account means to freeze your access to the bank account and allow them to take the funds in that account to pay off (aka “satisfy”) their judgment amount. In many cases, if there is not enough money in your account to pay the entire debt off, the creditor will leave the freeze on the account in hopes that more money will be deposited into the account. That money will then also be taken by creditors. This can happen when you have your paystub deposited into a bank account through direct deposit. The paycheck keeps getting deposited and taken by the creditor until they are paid in full.
Even though your income may be exempt, see exemptions HERE, the difficulty is getting those funds back. While the creditor will take your money immediately, it often takes thirty (30) to sixty (60) days to get the money back! If you are living on Social Security, Disability, or Veteran’s benefits’ income, that time without those funds is stressful and harmful.
Can Creditors hide their process in Florida debt collections?
No. Because creditors must obtain judgments from the courts before taking most debt collection actions, they must follow the legal procedure to do so.
- The Creditor must file a lawsuit against you.
- The Creditor must serve you (through a process server) with the lawsuit.
- The Creditor must obtain a judgment (whether or not you participate in the lawsuit).
- The Creditor must then request the collection action they want to pursue – garnish wages, levy a bank account, etc.
These require steps are available for you to see and follow along if you participate in the lawsuit. If you participate in the lawsuit, you will receive a copy of all documents filed in your case, so you know what is happening. If you provide your email to the Court, they will email you copies (which you will receive faster than if you receive documents by mail).
What if I don’t want to ignore Florida debt collections? What are my options?
Ignoring the situation is never a good idea. If you want to be proactive against Florida debt collection practices, here are some things you should do:
- Accept service of any lawsuits filed against you.
- Decide if you are going to fight the lawsuit or consider other options – quickly – remember, you only have twenty (20) days to respond to the lawsuit.
- If you want to fight the lawsuit, find a consumer rights attorney or someone who handles small claims matters in your area
- If you want to consider other options, meet with a bankruptcy attorney (quickly) and decide if bankruptcy is right for you.
- Participate in the lawsuit (even if you are not going to fight) – so you can follow along with the procedure and the timing.
- Review the Claim of Exemption form to see if you will be able to avoid Florida debt collection practices. If you are, consider filing it in your case early to head off any garnishments or levies.
It is important that you take action before a creditor can use the Florida Debt Collection practices. If you take action first by being proactive, you can save yourself money (that would otherwise be garnished or levied) and the stress of having to deal with the Florida debt collection practices after the fact. If you choose to ignore the debt, you increase your risk of being sued, having your paycheck garnished, or having your bank accounts levied/frozen.
By staying informed, participating in your case, and meeting with an attorney (consumer protection, small claims, or bankruptcy), and doing so early, you can protect your income, your assets, and your financial future.