michael asked:
What steps are taken by creditors and collection agencies, to collect on a bad $35,000 credit card account? Debtor is unemployed and has a total of $85,000 in credit card debt. Debtor has no real estate and only $5,000 in bank account?
What steps are taken by creditors and collection agencies, to collect on a bad $35,000 credit card account? Debtor is unemployed and has a total of $85,000 in credit card debt. Debtor has no real estate and only $5,000 in bank account?
They will serve a summons and take the person to court to try to get a judgment. They might just send the account to a debt collector, but I seriously doubt that they would do this for this much debt. I think it’s a safe assumption that they’d pursue legal action. Of course as long as the person is not working they can’t garnish wages, but they can freeze his/her checking accounts.
This person needs to file for Chapter 7 with this much debt.
Step 1 – collection agency harasses person owing debt. When this doesn’t work or the debtor says don’t contact me anymore, then
Step 2 – collection agency goes to court to get a court order that says the court requires the debtor to pay. Collection agency attempts to work out a payment schedule with the debtor. Debtor either refuses to pay or misses payments on the schedule, so we go to step three:
Step 3 – Collection agency returns to court and asks court to 1) attach assets; 2) attach (garnish) wages, or 3) a combination of both.
If there are no assets, the collection agency will ask for a garnishment which follows the person until the debts are paid off.
If a collection agency is working for the card company, or has bought the debt from them, they will hassle you like mad for the money, but ultimately they have no powers beyond asking you to pay up.
The most likely outcome for that amount of debt is that the company will sue and a court judgement will be made against you, ordering you to pay the money back to an agreed schedule. They can’t order anyone to pay back what they clearly do not have, so the repayments are meant to be realistic and based on the debtors current situation.
If you default on the court judgement, that is when the situation can begin to get a bit heavier, with further court action being possible for things like securing the debt to your home.
By far the best solution is to try to negotiate with the card company for new repayment terms. Be honest with them, tell them you want to repay it, but explain why you can’t right now. You will need to give them evidence of your circumsstances by producing a Personal Financial Statement to show why you can’t pay them. If they can see that you really do not have the money, they may also see that suing you will not help them get their money either.