Georgiou Law, PLLC Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Title: Joint Accounts, Authorized Users, and Cosigners: Who's Actually on the Hook? Show Notes: Divorced but still getting collection calls about your ex's credit card? Added as an authorized user and now a debt collector says you owe the balance? A debt collector is calling your adult kids about your old accounts? In this episode, Efstathios Georgiou breaks down the leg...

Send us Fan Mail Old debt doesn't always stay buried. In this episode of Clear Your Debt, Claim Your Future , attorney Efstathios Georgiou of Georgiou Law explains "zombie debt" — old credit card and personal loan accounts that resurface in collection activity long after New York's statute of limitations has run. You'll learn what makes a debt time-barred, why debt buyers...

Send us Fan Mail Debt collection has always been a volume business — but automation and AI have supercharged it. Predictive dialers can place thousands of calls an hour, bulk text and email campaigns run without a human ever touching send, and in 2025–2026 some collectors are piloting AI-generated voices designed to sound like a live representative. In this episode of Clear Your Debt, Claim Your F...

Send us Fan Mail Buried in almost every credit card agreement is a mandatory arbitration clause — and most people never think about it until they're facing a collection lawsuit. In this episode, attorney Efstathios Georgiou breaks down what arbitration actually is, why the cost structure can work in a consumer's favor against debt buyers, and why the class action waiver matters more than...

Send us Fan Mail Wage Garnishment in New York: What a Creditor Can Actually Take From Your Paycheck Got a debt judgment against you? The first question almost everyone asks is: "Can they take money from my paycheck?" The honest answer is sometimes —but New York's rules are far more protective than most collectors let on. In this episode, attorney Efstathios Georgiou of Georgiou Law...

Send us Fan Mail The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been significantly scaled back over the past eighteen months — reduced enforcement staff, paused investigations, and withdrawn rules. Many consumers hear that and assume their protections are gone. They are not. In this episode, attorney Efstathios Georgiou explains what actually changed at the federal level and, more importantly, what...

Send us Fan Mail Buy Now, Pay Later — Get Sued Later? It barely existed five years ago. Now it's one of the fastest-growing sources of consumer financial distress in America. Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay made it easy to split a purchase into four payments — no interest, no hard credit check, approved in seconds. What they didn't make easy is what happens when you fall behind. In this epi...

Send us Fan Mail When a debt buyer or creditor sues you over a credit card or personal loan, the complaint is only a set of allegations — not evidence. Discovery is the pre-trial phase where the plaintiff has to put up or shut up. In this episode of Clear Your Debt, Claim Your Future , attorney Efstathios Georgiou of Georgiou Law walks through how discovery works in New York debt litigation under...

Send us Fan Mail Episode Summary: Most people in debt believe they have no rights when creditors and collectors come calling. They're wrong. In this episode of Clear Your Debt, Claim Your Future , attorney Efstathios Georgiou of Georgiou Law breaks down the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) — the federal law that protects consumers from abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection....

Send us Fan Mail Sewer Service: The Hidden Judgment You Never Knew Existed If a judgment has been entered against you and you were never served with a lawsuit, New York law may give you a powerful remedy — with no time limit to assert it. In this episode, attorney Efstathios Georgiou breaks down one of the most pervasive and least understood problems in New York consumer debt litigation: sewer ser...

Send us Fan Mail Clear Your Debt, Claim Your Future — Episode Summary Presented by Georgiou Law, PLLC What We Covered Your credit report is a document — and documents can contain errors. In this episode, we walked through how debt settlement and lawsuit resolution affect your credit file, what creditors are legally required to report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and how to dispute errors t...

Send us Fan Mail Episode Summary One of the most powerful — and most misunderstood — defenses in credit card debt lawsuits is the statute of limitations. In this episode, attorney Efstathios Georgiou breaks down how long creditors and debt buyers actually have to sue you in New York, when that clock starts, how it can be restarted, and what happens if you don't raise the defense. If you'...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Clear Your Debt Claim, Your Future , we break down what happens after a court judgment is entered against you—and why it’s not the end of the road. A judgment means the court has legally determined you owe a debt, giving creditors powerful tools to collect. In New York, judgments last 20 years and accrue 9% annual interest , so ignoring them can quickly make thi...

Send us Fan Mail This episode explains the critical difference between original creditors and debt buyers —a distinction that can significantly impact how you defend a debt collection lawsuit. Original creditors (like banks or credit card companies) typically have strong documentation and direct relationships with the account. In contrast, debt buyers purchase charged-off debts in bulk for a fract...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, we break down one of the most important decisions anyone facing debt can make: should you settle your debt or defend a lawsuit? While settlement may offer a path to resolving debt for less than what is owed—especially for those experiencing financial hardship—defending a lawsuit can protect your rights, challenge weak claims, and potentially avoid devastating c...

Send us Fan Mail This episode explains a critical but often misunderstood aspect of debt litigation: how judges actually think. It emphasizes that judges are not motivated by sympathy or frustration over debt, but by strict adherence to the law, procedure, and evidence. They view cases as part of recurring patterns, not personal stories, and focus on whether each side meets legal standards. The po...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Clear Your Debt, Claim Your Future , we break down the psychology behind collection law firms and how pressure is deliberately engineered to influence consumer behavior. Debt collection is not just a legal process—it is a psychological one, designed to trigger fear, urgency, and silence. We explain how tactics like shame, vague threats, overwhelming paperwork, a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Clear Your Debt Claim, Your Future , Georgiou Law explains a surprising reality about many credit card debt lawsuits: they are often built backwards . Most consumers assume that before a lawsuit is filed, the creditor has already verified the balance, confirmed ownership of the debt, and gathered all supporting documents. In reality, the debt collection system o...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Clear Your Debt, Claim Your Future , Efstathios Georgiou explains that in credit card debt lawsuits, more paperwork does not necessarily mean stronger evidence . Many consumers panic when they receive thick packets of documents, assuming the creditor has already proven its case. In reality, courts focus on legal requirements—not the volume of documents. Judges f...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Clear Your Debt, Claim Your Future , Efstathios Georgiou breaks down what a judgment in New York really means — and what it does not. Many consumers believe that once a creditor obtains a judgment, their financial life is over. This episode challenges that assumption. The discussion explains the three primary post-judgment enforcement tools used in New York: ban...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Efstathios Georgiou of Georgiou Law, PLLC breaks down a difficult but critical reality: the cheapest debt help can often become the most expensive mistake. Many consumers facing credit card lawsuits are drawn to low-cost solutions, DIY filings, and template-based answers that promise speed and savings. While affordability matters, litigation is not an area where “...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, the focus is on one of the most stressful parts of a debt lawsuit—the time between being served and the possibility of a judgment. It’s the period where fear tends to take over, largely because most people don’t understand how the timeline actually works. The episode breaks down the process in clear, practical terms: Filing is not the same as being served. A case...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Clear Your Debt, Claim Your Future , we break down one of the most damaging misconceptions in consumer debt law: the belief that owing money automatically means you lose your case. It does not. This discussion separates financial responsibility from legal liability and explains why debt lawsuits are not moral judgments—they are rule-based legal proceedings. Even...

Send us Fan Mail The first mistake most people make after being served with a lawsuit isn’t ignoring the papers — it’s picking up the phone too fast. In the first 24 hours, fear and urgency take over. People call the creditor’s law firm, thinking they’re being responsible, just “getting information,” or trying to calm the situation. In reality, that call is not neutral. It’s the moment leverage qu...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Clear Your Debt, Claim Your Future , Attorney Efstathios Georgiou explains how interest—not spending—is often the real engine behind credit card lawsuits . Interest does not arrive with a summons, but it quietly transforms manageable balances into unpayable debt. Credit card interest is daily compounded , not simple, and once an account becomes delinquent, penal...