Comments on: What happens when you don’t pay off credit card debt?

By: Cindy

Cindy — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:58:40 +0000

Truthfully. They report to your credit and threaten you with litigation, but I have literally pulled thousands of credit reports. I have never saw one instance of legal action on a credit card.

By: kaffegeek

kaffegeek — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:49:05 +0000

after my recent divorce i had to default on all of my credit cards. about 4-6 months after telling them all, that i was unable to pay and would probably do a bankruptcy, they ALL offered to accept one third of the balance just prior to charging off. I borrowed from a relative and all my debt was GONE! for 1/3 . this is very common. I started to recieve new credit card offers in the mail, and throwing them away, almost immediatly.

remember they cannot garnish, wages if you dont have them so if you are self employed , well…

By: CHRIS V

CHRIS V — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 08:24:32 +0000

Yes, you can be sued if you don’t pay them. If they obtain a judgment, they can garnish your wages and seize money from your checking account, if that doesn’t work, in most instances they can put a lien against any real property. If you do nothing, charged off accounts will drop off of your credit report 7 years after the fact, but….In most states the statute of limitations is much longer. For example, in the state of Ohio, the statute of limitations is 15 years. So…You forget about it, the debt has fallen off of your credit report, then 14 years later, you can get sued.

By: Rony

Rony — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:18:39 +0000

April it goes to collections in which they will take legal action against you and your property. I found interesting information about your answer & options here. luck!

By: wenfri

wenfri — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:35:36 +0000

a community property state, the rules change. Any debts incurred during the marriage are considered JOINT debts – just like property. So, even if your spouse is NOT on any of the accounts specifically, the spouse is still vulnerable to creditors. The only exception I know of is if all the debt was incurred PRIOR to the marriage, then it is separate.

Well, they can’t put you in prison.

But they can make your life a living heck [this board bans the full H word? Odd] for the next 7 years–and prevent you from doing many things you want to do by making credit totally unavailable to you at a reasonable interest rate.

And you will lose the respect of others and your self-respect…unless, of course, you’re talking about some unavoidable hardship that prevents you from paying, in which case bankruptcy is the clean way out.

creditors can report the delinquent account to the credit reporting agency that can show on the report up to 7 years.

They can turn the account over to a collection agency which also would have a right to report a 2nd account listing to the credit reoprt within the 7 years of the original listing.

They could file law suit and obtain judgment against you, yet another tradeline listing that can show on the credit report 7 years from the file date… and if you live in a state that allows for judgments being re-newed, that can be another judgment listing for 7 years from file date.

By: altonbi

altonbi — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:33:57 +0000

Credit card companies will eventually turn you over to a credit agency who will hound you for months to come. Eventually you might get away without paying but it does go on your credit report and effect your rating making it hard to get new cards, buy cars, and a home.

Don’t be a deadbeat, pay your bills.

By: Beth

Beth — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 07:15:07 +0000

The company can keep charging fees and interest, which adds up really fast. You can end up paying thousands more than the original balance. Also, they can sue you or send the bill to collections, which looks AWFUL on a credit report. You won’t be able to get a loan or an apartment with bad credit. My advice is to get a debt consolidator (if you qualify) to lower or stop the interest and put you on a payment plan you can afford.

By: shelynn102002

shelynn102002 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:24:16 +0000

It’s unsecured debt so there isn’t much the credit card company can do. They can damage your credit. You will receive phone calls. It will probably end up in collection.

By: GinaValentina

GinaValentina — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:15:59 +0000

You’ll be really screwed, so pay up!

By: Demona M

Demona M — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:53:34 +0000

usually you go to a collection agency. If you still don’t pay then yes you can be sued. The debt does not go away, but your credit goes straight to h…