What happens if you don’t pay your credit card-besides bad credit?
Can the credit card companies garnish your wages? My husband and I are in a financial struggle these days (I am sure we aren’t the only ones) and we are trying to rework our credit cards. What would happen if we didn’t pay them, besides getting bad credit?
Cherries** posted: 26 Oct at 2:21 pm
You will have creditors calling your house repetitively trying to get you to pay the bills…but that’s all. I know some people that were struggling financially… they couldn’t pay the bills. Now they have bad credit and have people calling them.
talismb posted: 26 Oct at 2:55 pm
You’d start with bad credit and lots of harrassment from the CC company…then they would turn you over to a collection agency (which makes your bad credit get worse) then they would call you non-stop at home, work, cell, etc…depending on the debt they could eventually go to court and put a garnishment onto your wages.
Smiling JW™ posted: 26 Oct at 3:10 pm
Your credit card issuer will pass full the debt you owe to a debt collections agency this company buys the credit card’s debt from from your credit card issuer so takes over from them. These people are in the business to handle bad debtors and then they will chase you for the money. First you will get a letter stating you have to pay within so many days else they will take legal proceedings and if you refuse to pay or make some arrangement for repayments they can take you to court. There the judge can do what ever is necessary to reclaim the money you owe either garnish your wages or send bailiffs to seize your property and demand any remaining money still owed.
You borrowed the money it is in your interest and honesty to repay it back and move on in life. That is what I am doing with my debts and it is far easier to repay than go to court and you will feel better. Even small payments arranged are better than no payments.
Get Cameron out posted: 26 Oct at 4:00 pm
The legal remedies available to the lender will vary according to local laws, but typical things they can do include:
Adding late fees which make your bill bigger,
Adding interest to the bill, including on late fees,
Suing for monies owed, and court remedies could include disposal of your goods to clear debts, and attachment of earnings, legal proceedings are added to the bill.
Remedies available to you may include, depending where you live, self-declared bankruptcy to take the heat off, or some lesser degree of bankruptcy like an IVA, or simply a negotiation with the lender to freeze interest and pay a lesser, fixed sum to reduce the debt, or even a reduced payment in full and final settlement.
bdancer222 posted: 26 Oct at 4:05 pm
Besides collectors hounding you for payment, the credit card company can sue you. Some credit card companies like Capital One have in-house collection depts and are very aggressive. They take no prisoners and will sue for amounts as small as $200. Some collection agencies are also likely to sue.
If they sue, they will win a judgment which will further damage your credit. The judgment can then be used to garnish wages, attach bank accounts, and lien property. Judgments are good for a long time and can be renewed.
If you are having problems keeping up with the credit cards, consider a NFCC credit counseling service: http://www.nfcc.org/. These are legit, non-profit companies that offer debt management programs for a nominal fee. They negotiate lower interest and payments so you can pay off your debt. When you complete the program, you will have decent credit.
dawsonshan posted: 26 Oct at 4:24 pm
If the balance is large enough they will sue you for a judgment. Once they have the judgment they can garnish your wages with the exception of the following states: TX, PA, FL, NC, and SC. I would focus on the larger balances first. It cost companies money to sue you so most will not sue on cards with smaller balances.
My Take on It posted: 26 Oct at 4:39 pm
Bad credit
Sent to collections and hounded daily about the debt
Sued
Garnish wages or levy bank accounts
Prevent you from getting any new credit for years
George posted: 24 Nov at 8:56 pm
What if you move out of US