What is going to happen if I

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by Bru, Mar 15, 2001.

  1. Bru

    Bru Guest

    What is going to happen if I decide not to pay the credit card debt?

    I have almost $20,000.00 credit card debt from 6 credit cards. I would like to know if I stop payment, what is going to happen to me? Court?? or only collection agency? I don't have house I have only car and job with low income.

    Thanks in advance.

    Bru
     
  2. Reshod

    Reshod Well-Known Member

    Re: What is going to happen if

    Bru,
    I really do not know your credit situation and I will not judge you. However, we are people trying to get out of credit card debt to better our lifestyles. Your situation is not as bad as it may seem. But your sitaution, if you decide not to pay it, will be paid by us the consumers, in terms of higher interest rates, annual fees, and worst of all, harder to file bankruptcy. So hang in there and you will make it.

    Reshod
     
  3. Think

    Think Guest

    Re: What is going to happen if

    Are you behind in any of them yet??

    Alot can happen:

    1. You are going to ruin your credit for a long time.
    2. These banks may seek judegments against you and depending on what state you are in they can garnish your wages.
    3. Your phone willl be ringing off the hook from debt collectors.

    I am not sure of your financial situation, but bad credit is very hard to recover from. Can you atleast make your min payments and if so you can pay min on all your cards except one, pay a little more to this one and then when that is paid off start with the next.

    Sorry I don't mean to sound harsh, but unless your have a serious medical problems, I suggest either trying to up your income (part time job etc) frankly you charged your cards you should feel some sense of responsiblity to pay them back.
     
  4. AnnMarie

    AnnMarie Well-Known Member

    Re: What is going to happen if

    Well have you seriously considered credit counseling like CCCS? I mean, it may not be for those still out there charging, etc but it MIGHT help you. I think it definitely has it's place and if you honestly want to pay your bills and not ruin your life--at least credit-wise I think it's an option, there's lots of info on it out there. It worked for my sister it just wasn't what I needed.
    But it IS a way to see thru to the end of the tunnel isn't it?
     
  5. Momof3

    Momof3 Well-Known Member

    Re: What is going to happen if

    As they other poster mentioned:

    You will destroy your credit for quite some time and many banks will seek judgements and can garnish wages in some states. Also the credit card companies can report this the the IRS and you will get a 1099 form and the 20K will be considered income and you will have to pay taxes on this.

    If you are not too far behind you may want to seek credit counseling services as Annmarie mentioned. It is not so easy to just let your debts go and hope they go away, you will be hurting your credit for many years to come. I don't mean to sound judgemental but have you thought of every option you have, second job etc.
     
  6. R1

    R1 Guest

    Re: What is going to happen if

    $20,000 only? This is not an amount really large enough for you to give up your future. By that I mean, seven years of hell to come if you just give up.

    With a destroyed credit, you will face serious consequence in many household matters. Do you know that many people, including employers, insurance companies, landlords... check your credit for decision making? So you will face problems not only getting credit products, but also many obstacles in other things.

    If the debt is $200,000, then it's another story... but for only $20,000?
     
  7. GEORGE

    GEORGE Well-Known Member

    Re: What is going to happen if

    SOME PEOPLE HAVE HAD >$100,000 IN CREDIT CARD DEBT THAT HAS ALMOST BEEN PAID OFF...

    $20,000 IS NOTHING.
     
  8. R1

    R1 Guest

    Re: What is going to happen if

    This just shows that people these days do not take their obligation seriously. As indicated in my previous posts, people blame their lack of spending control to the greedy banks. Often the excuse given is that "this would have never happened if my credit limit was not raised by the bank." or ... "It's not my fault that I have more loan to spend, etc."

    My opinion is that KNOWLEGE is power so it's beneficial we learn as much as possible in fiance. At the same time, CONTROL is also a strong power that one should not omit.

    It's really not too late for a mere $20,000 loan especially when you still have a job. There is still room for come back so don't give up at this point.

    Previous posts in this thread gave good ways to continue your journey. Try CCCS... any attempt to recover still look much better than a BK on your credit profile.
     
  9. Nave

    Nave Well-Known Member

    Re: What is going to happen if

    Bru,
    It is good advice to try CCCS...reading this board is a great start. Here you can find out how you can minimize your payments, reduce your collection hassles, and all-in-all decrease the detriment from your accummulated $20,000 burden. Don't give up, get informed!!

    Keep in contact with your creditors...don't blow them off because you don't have the cash right now to make payments, most times they will work with you if they know you are in trouble. It is far easier (and cheaper) to work things out in your situation than in some of ours (mine especially).

    Keep posting questions and there are those who can help.
    ---
    R1,
    It is far better to counsel than to blame. To that end, I agree with the end of your post more than the beginning...either way your advice is good.
    ---

    -Dave
     
  10. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    Re: What is going to happen if

    everyone needs to remember this person said she has low income if you only earn 30,000 a year then in your frame of mind 20,000 is a whole lot of money. and it may not be so easy to make the minimum payments. I would suggest cccs because they will at least try to make the minimum payments affordable.
     
  11. Bru

    Bru Guest

    Re: What is going to happen if

    Thanks you all. I really appreciate your input. I've been paying mininum payment for almost 2 years with interest about 300-500 a month. I did cash advance a lot also. I will consider CCCS. I live in CA, Where I can find CCCS anyway.

    I love this board.

    Thanks again.
     
  12. Chris

    Chris Well-Known Member

    Re: What is going to happen if

    "SOME PEOPLE HAVE HAD > $100,000 IN CREDIT CARD DEBT THAT HAS ALMOST BEEN PAID OFF..."

    Are you kidding me? On what kind of fantasy island were they living? Talk about living beyond your means...
     
  13. R1 credit

    R1 credit Guest

    Re: What is going to happen if

    Bru,

    The first step in managing debt is to stop getting more. Budgeting usually help if you don't do that regularly. A good computer program like Quicken or MS Money is quite easy to use and will show you where your money went. A simple rule of thumb is one will never get out of debts if spending is more than income. Try not to buy consumables on credit.. these include car, vacation, etc. There are good and bad debts. Good debts are encouraged such as mortgage and investment loan but bad debts on the other hand... are to avoided at all cost.

    The second step... if you still have a good credit record at this point. The best thing to do is to get a low APR card or loan to consolidate your debts. As you mentionned that you did a lot of cash advances... the rate usually runs around 20% for an average card.

    Assuming you paid the creditor on time in the past, you might still have good credit score. You can then either switch your debt to a low APR card (often with an additional annual fee) or get a line of credit from your credit union to consolidate at a rate around 8% or less.

    If this is not an option, then you can call the creditors to negotiate terms. Keep in mind that once you do this, they might freeze your credit line until enough payments are made. So if you require your credit card for living expense... this might be a trouble.

    However, living on credit card is already a trouble so you want to get out of the vicious cycle at some point.
     
  14. R1 credit

    R1 credit Guest

    Re: What is going to happen if

    Chris...

    Many professional students (eg, law and medicine) had heavy spending in their earlier years... and becaue of their job prospect. Banks extend UNSECURED loans to them without co-signer... often to a limit of $100,000. No credit check, no income requirement.

    Most of time these people pay back. On few occasions that these students try to declare bankruptcy and judges will not let them. I remember seeing an Orthopedic surgeon making $200,000 a year trying to declare bankruptcy for $200,000 loan... what a joke. Obviously the judge refused to let him do it.
     
  15. mother2

    mother2 Well-Known Member

    Start now

    I was $20k in debt after my divorce. But I paid off everything. I have multiple "paid charge-off" recorded on my credit report. And I'm living in....as someone once said here on this board....."primie-HELL". I'm still being kicked in the *&#( for it and I had NO CONTROL over my credit issues. I was forced into it. But things are much better for me now and even greater thanks to this board.

    My point is that YES, you can recover. It's a slow process but you should start now. Call information and ask for the number to CCCS. Contact your local bank or CU and see if they have a debt mgmt program. Stop obtaining credit. Call your Creditors and explain your situation, maybe they'll help you by not charging intrest. You may need to work part-time just so you can keep on top of your primary finances.

    Good luck and hope this helps.
     
  16. Erik

    Erik Well-Known Member

    Re: Start now

    Talk to a bankruptcy attorney to find out your options. CCCS will probably screw up your credit worse than Bankruptcy anyway. Treat it as a business decision and don't listen to all the "I'm not trying to judge you but [judgemental BS]..."

    Nobody here knows what your income or expenses are. Low income could mean that you are makind $25,000 or less and plus you might have kids to feed. Do what you have to do to take control of your life and find happiness. Good luck.
     
  17. lbrown59

    lbrown59 Well-Known Member

    Re: Start now

    Re: What is going to happen if
    Author: AnnMarie (---.ctaz.com)
    Date: 03-15-01 18:40

    Well have you seriously considered credit counseling like CCCS? I mean, it may not be for those still out there charging, etc but it MIGHT help you. I think it definitely has it's place and if you honestly want to pay your bills and not ruin your life--at least credit-wise I think it's an option, there's lots of info on it out there. It worked for my sister it just wasn't what I needed.
    But it IS a way to see thru to the end of the tunnel isn't it?
    Reply To Message = = = =I Think cccs is a collection Agency!
     
  18. lbrown59

    lbrown59 Well-Known Member

    Re: Start now

    Is CCCS your friend?
    Check out www.budhibbs.com
     

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