Received a court summons over credit card debt and cannot pay

This page is for borrowers who have just received a court summons from a bank, a card company or an asset management company that bought the debt, and who worry they will be arrested or have property seized straight away.

Credit card and personal loan debts are civil matters. Being unable to pay under a contract does not send anyone to prison, courts usually set mediation on the first hearing date, and the borrower can still contest the amount, the interest and the limitation period. But the court will not raise limitation by itself if the defendant does not. The first step is to note the hearing date on the summons, then collect the most recent statements showing payments you were still making.

Where are you now?

You have a summons and the hearing date has not come yet

Write down the date and time exactly. Check when you made your last payment, which helps with a first look at limitation. Photograph the summons and every page of the complaint for a lawyer.

The plaintiff is a debt management company, not the original bank

Keep the notice of assignment of the claim and every collection letter. These help check whether the plaintiff really holds the right to sue and how the amount was carried forward.

You already have a judgment because you did not attend court

Look at the date you received the enforcement notice, or the date you learned enforcement had begun, because the period to ask for a retrial is short. Take the judgment and the papers you received to a lawyer before that period runs out. The exact period should be confirmed by the lawyer from the provisions that apply to your case.

You have several creditors at once

Make a simple table: who each creditor is, how much is claimed, whether there is a summons and the hearing date. This keeps hearing dates from clashing or being missed.

What not to do

Do not stay away from court because you think you will lose anyway. If you do not attend and have not filed an answer, the court treats it as a default on the answer and can go ahead, even though the amount, the interest or the limitation period may be worth contesting.
Do not make part payments or sign an acknowledgment of debt before checking limitation. A part payment or a written acknowledgment may interrupt the limitation period so that it starts again, and a payment made after the period has run cannot be reclaimed.
Do not trust messages or calls claiming to be from the court or a lawyer and asking you to transfer money to "withdraw the case". Check the case number with the court directly, and check that the summons you hold is genuine.

Legal steps

The creditor demands payment and, if unpaid, sues in a court with jurisdiction, usually as a consumer case. Whether it is the Magistrate Court or the Provincial Court depends on the amount and the residence of the parties, and a lawyer will check this.
The court summons the defendant to the hearing date for mediation, the answer and witnesses on the same day. The defendant may also file a written answer before the hearing date.
On the hearing date the court first tries mediation. If there is no settlement and the defendant has not yet answered, the court takes the answer, which may be written or spoken, and then hears the evidence.
The court gives judgment, or the parties sign a compromise agreement, which may set instalments.
If the judgment or the compromise is not paid, the creditor may apply for enforcement, for example by attaching money or seizing property as the law allows.

The timings worth knowing are the hearing date on the summons, the period for asking for a retrial after a default, and the limitation period of the debt. A lawyer must check the last two against your facts.

Documents a lawyer needs to see before assessing your case

The summons and every page of the complaint
The credit card agreement or loan contract, if you still have it
Statements from the last months before default, roughly six to twelve
Proof of your last payment
Collection letters and any notice that the debt was transferred
Payslips or other proof of income, if you want to negotiate instalments
A list of all other debts and the hearing date for each case

Relevant laws

Consumer Case Procedure Act B.E. 2551 (2008), sections 24 to 27: the hearing date, mediation, a spoken or written answer, and the effect of not attending.
Civil and Commercial Code, section 193/29: a court cannot raise prescription by itself; the defendant must raise it in the answer.
Civil and Commercial Code, section 193/14: acknowledging a debt interrupts the limitation period.
Civil and Commercial Code, sections 193/30, 193/33 and 193/34: general and special limitation periods; section 193/28: effect of paying a time-barred debt.
Civil and Commercial Code, sections 7 and 224: interest rates and default interest, amended by an emergency decree in force from April 2021.
Civil Procedure Code: default, retrial, compromise agreements and enforcement.

Frequently asked questions

Will I go to prison if I cannot pay my credit card debt?
No, not for being unable to pay a debt under a contract. It is civil liability, unless there is a separate criminal act such as forging documents to obtain credit, which is a different matter.

What is the limitation period for credit card debt?
Sources generally give two years under section 193/34 (7), counted from default or the last payment. An instalment loan may fall under the five-year period in section 193/33 (2), and some debts carry ten years. It depends on what kind of debt yours is and when you last paid or acknowledged it, so a lawyer should check this against the actual contract and complaint.

If the debt is time-barred, will the court dismiss the case itself?
No. The defendant must raise limitation in the answer. If it is not raised, the court will not consider it on its own.

Do I have to file my answer within 15 days?
In a consumer case the court summons the defendant to a hearing date for mediation, the answer and witnesses on the same day, so the 15-day rule of ordinary civil cases does not apply. The defendant may answer orally on the hearing date or file a written answer before it. Read the summons carefully for what the court has ordered. If the summons states a deadline for the answer, follow the summons.

What happens if I do not go to court?
If the defendant does not attend on the hearing date and has not filed an answer, the law treats it as a default on the answer and the court may proceed without you. A retrial can be requested within a set period, but it is not a route to choose from the start.

Can I pay in instalments after mediation?
A compromise agreement can be made before the court with payment by instalments. The result depends on what both sides agree. If the compromise is breached, the creditor can enforce the judgment on those terms, so agree only to what you can really pay.

Are the interest and charges being claimed correct?
Interest ceilings for credit cards and personal loans are set by Bank of Thailand notifications in force at the relevant time, and they change. A lawyer must check the version that applies to your contract. Default interest under the Civil Code was also amended by an emergency decree in 2021, so a default period straddling that date may need to be calculated in two parts.

Summary

A credit card debt that has gone to court is still a civil case with room to contest and to negotiate, from checking the amount and the plaintiff's right to sue to limitation and instalment terms. It depends on the documents and facts in each case. If you have the summons, the complaint and the payment records listed above, bringing them to a lawyer will show which stage your case has reached and which points are worth considering. A guarantor who is also sued is covered on a separate page.

Court Summons Over Credit Card Debt and Cannot Pay: What to Do