I have received a court summons for a credit card debt of approx $8k with
interest.  I have recently begun to get all of my finances in order,
except this one.  Is it too late to contact the lawyer directly,
request a payment plan and avoid court altogether?  Also, it says I
was served with an arbitration notice, but I was not.

Hello sgut-ga,

First of all, I am not not a lawyer, so I can not offer legal advice.
I STRONGLY suggest that with a question about something like this, you
contact a lawyer in your area who handles these types of cases.

http://public.findlaw.com/changezip.html
http://www.lawyers.com/index.php?site=466&CMP=KA20068

Let's start with the notice of arbitration. You say you didn't recieve
it. Can they give you a copy of the notice? How was it served? Was it
served where it needed your signature? Has it been returned? I would
ask these questions, or ones that pertain to your suit and send a copy
to your lawyer, their lawyer, and the court. Remeber, lying about
something like this can be perjury, which is a crime in and of itself.

As far as contacting the lawyer directly to request a payment plan,
why not? The worst you can get is a no and you have to proceed with
the case? I would just make sure every question you ask you do in
writing, with a copy to the lawyers involved, the company holding the
debt, and the court handling the case to keep a good documented
history.

Most lawyers will do a free initial consultation, so call around to
find one in your area who can advise you on your state specific laws.

If this answer requires further explanation, please request
clarification before rating it, and I'll be happy to look into this
further.
Nenna-GA
Google Answers Researcher

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Clarification of Answer by nenna-ga on 05 Jun 2005 13:56 PDT

Some more information you might want to be aware of:

"That's because many merchants, finance companies, health-care
providers, and even employers are using the fine print in agreements
to state that you will settle any disputes that may occur by
arbitration instead of in the court system. This practice is called
"mandatory" because the arbitration process becomes the consumer's
only option for resolving a dispute, and "predispute" because the
consumer agrees to arbitration before a problem arises."

"Rossman says companies that require mandatory, predispute arbitration
know that few consumers read the printed notices stuffed into
envelopes along with their bills. That's why some companies send
notices of arbitration requirements with a monthly statement, instead
of providing the information up front. In most cases, mandatory
arbitration notices sent with bills automatically take effect unless
consumers write or call to opt out."

http://hffo.cuna.org/story.html?doc_id=689&sub_id=12433



Google Searches used:

://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=find%20a%20lawyer&btnG=Google+Search
://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=arbitration+notices+and+your+rights&btnG=Search

Going to court will definitely be a costly avenue for your credit card
company, specially for 8,000$.  I would no doubt get in contact with
the lawyer and arrange for the payment.  Try offering 7,000$ to the
lawyer, if will cost at least 2,000$ to your credit card company to
bring your to court and exercise the verdict, they might be
interesting in a 7,000$ settlement to save 2,000$ in legal fees.

you can try a debt settlement program and have the company negotiate
with the lawyer or creditor, but honestly it might be a little to
late. They will give you free profesional advice, it worked for me,
try:

www.debtquotes.info
www.careonecredit.us
www.dmbfinancial.info

Its worth a try and good luck!