Sued by a debt collector in Connecticut

Your deadline to answer in Connecticut

Time to answer

Small claims: file the Answer form by the answer date printed on it. Regular civil cases: the deadline is on your summons (an appearance is due by the return date).

Court self-help

Connecticut court self-help (official)

Elsewhere the time to answer runs about 14–30 days; in Connecticut, the summons and the rule above decide.

In nearby states

• New York: 20 days
• Massachusetts: 20 days
• Rhode Island: 20 days

If you don't answer in Connecticut

If you do not answer by the answer date, the magistrate can decide the case without a trial and enter a judgment against you.

Good to know before court in Connecticut

• Collection agencies must warn you in writing when a debt is too old to sue on (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 36a-805(a)(13)).
• A debt buyer that sues you must file proof that it owns the debt, with the full chain of owners, before the court can enter judgment (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 36a-813).
• Collection agencies and debt buyers that collect from Connecticut residents must hold a license from the Department of Banking (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 36a-801).
• If a debt is too old to sue on, the collection agency's first message to you must say so in set wording, and say whether it can still report the debt to credit bureaus (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 36a-805(a)(13)).
• Original creditors, and anyone the debt was assigned to, cannot use abusive, harassing, deceptive or misleading practices to collect (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 36a-646).

Old debts as a defense in Connecticut

Connecticut's time limit to sue is 6 years (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-576 (6 years: accounts, simple or implied contracts, written contracts); § 52-581 (3 years: certain oral contracts); sales of goods follow Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42a-2-725). Be careful before you pay on an old debt in Connecticut: Usually yes. Connecticut courts have held that a clear acknowledgment of the debt, or a payment on the account made or authorized by you, can restart the clock (court decisions noted under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-576). Under federal law, a collector must not sue or threaten to sue you on a debt that is too old to sue on (12 CFR 1006.26(b)).

Check Connecticut's statute of limitations

What can be taken if you lose in Connecticut

• Wage limit: Stricter than federal: a creditor can take no more than 25% of your disposable earnings, or the amount above 40 times the higher of the federal or Connecticut minimum wage per week, whichever is less.
• Bank account: Up to $1,000: the bank leaves up to $1,000 of wages deposited in the last 2 months, or the lesser of your balance or $1,000.
• Property: Home: up to $250,000 of equity (market value minus mortgages and liens).

Connecticut's garnishment rules

If the collector broke the law in Connecticut

Against creditors: if a creditor (including one the debt was assigned to) uses abusive, harassing or deceptive practices, you can sue within 1 year for your actual damages, up to $1,000 more, plus court costs and attorney's fees (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 36a-648).

Responding to a debt lawsuit in Connecticut

1. Check that the case is real

   Find the case through the court's own website or clerk.

2. Mark your deadline

   In Connecticut: Small claims: file the Answer form by the answer date printed on it. Regular civil cases: the deadline is on your summons (an appearance is due by the return date).

3. Send in your answer

   Give the answer to the clerk and send a copy to the other side's lawyer. Start with Connecticut court self-help (official).

4. List your defenses

   Is it yours, is the amount right, did you pay, is it older than Connecticut's 6 years for written contracts?

5. Show up in court

   Bring your papers. Meanwhile you can still send a dispute letter to make the collector prove the debt.

Free legal and consumer help in Connecticut

• Connecticut Department of Banking consumer help · 1-800-831-7225
• CTLawHelp (legal aid, LawHelp network)
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (federal complaint portal) · (855) 411-2372

Questions about debt lawsuits in Connecticut

Related Connecticut pages

• All debt collection rights in Connecticut
• Statute of limitations in Connecticut: 6 years
• Wage garnishment in Connecticut: up to 25%
• Debt collector laws in Connecticut: license required
• “Is my debt too old?” checker for Connecticut
• Dispute a debt and ask for proof (validation letter)
• Tell a collector to stop or limit contact
• Guide: sued by a debt collector
• Debt statute of limitations by state