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Well, what is the alternative? If you have a bad case in arbitration, you also have a bad case in court. There are advantages to arb even with an OC. First, it raises their costs. With a small debt, some OCs might prefer to dismiss and sell the debt off to a JDB rather than bleed money in arb fees. I beat an OC in court over a small debt (about $2K) just by being aggressive with discovery. This is before arb was a viable option. Second, arb is unfamiliar territory for most debt collection attorneys. They are used to filing cases in friendly courts, where they show up all the time,

The primary reason to bypass Magistrate Court in GA is not clogged courts. Magistrate moves VERY fast. Once you answer they set a trial date within 30 days. The biggest reason they go to State Court is because Magistrate Court does not allow motions in advance or discovery. It is trial by ambush. Another reason is Magistrate Court is very informal and does give a pro-se a decent chance to defend. State Court follows ALL the rules of civil procedure and they can easily over whelm an unprepared consumer.

Also was in the hardship program and defaulted. I'm going to submit my first offer to them today then update this post. UPDATE: Offered them 30% they countered with 60%. I think I'll hold out a little longer and see if they come down a bit.