In 2015, 98 percent of the 67,510 debt collection cases involved one party with an attorney and one party without an attorney. Debt collectors have representation 100 percent of the time; it is the debtors who go unrepresented. In fact, debt collection cases have the highest percentage of self-representation in Utah. Only two percent of cases in 2015 involved attorneys on both sides.
In other words, debtors are mostly trying to represent themselves in debt collection legal proceedings. It is a recipe for disaster; at least it has been.
The problem for a debtor facing a debt collection case is that if he doesn’t respond in time, his small debt of $100 or $200 could easily balloon to $1000 or more when the court system adds costs and attorney’s fees.