Wow! I just discovered we owe $13K! HELP!?

Question

Hey, I need a little advice from soneone who has been in a similar situation.
I recently discovered we had an old credit card that had not been paid off, and the account has been adding interest for 5 years. When the account went delinquent, it had a balalnce of $5,000, and has now grown to $13,000.
I guess that's what happens when youdon't check your credit report!
Anyway, the card is in my wife's name only, and I am looking at calling the collection agency and settling the debt, probably for around 6 or 7K I would imagine.
My question, however, is what happens if I don't pay it at all? I mean, I know it would fall off my wife's credit report, but that doesn't stop collection actions and or garnishment, does it?
I realize it would continue to kill my wife's credit, but does it do anything to mine? Can they garnish MY wages, as her husband?
Any help in answering this question would be greatly appreciated. I will likely call and settle the debt, but want to know if this is d best approa

Answer 1

if you have a house or any joint property the creditor can place a lien, the best thing to do is what you said contact the collection agency and offer them a cash settlement some take as little as 15% as a cash settlement MAKE SURE YOU KEEP PROOF OF PAYMENT collection agency don't like reporting to credit bureaus so a lot of times that debt will still show up years after you have already paid it

Answer 2

The first thing you should do is check the statute of limitations (SOL) for the state you live in. For example, in NY the SOL is 6 yrs. That means a company has 6 yrs to bring suit and collect on a debt. If they don't, by law they can't collect. If this debt is 5 years old, it's very close to the SOL being up and all you would have to do is wait until it falls off your credit report in 7 yrs and you would be home free.

If I were you, I would let sleeping dogs lie. Do not contact the collection agency. If they bring suit in the next year, get a lawyer and negotiate with them at that time. They can't garnish wages without serving you first, and even then they have to get a writ of garnishment. With this debt so close to SOL, I would wait and see what happens. Paying it now won't make any difference to your credit rating - a paid charge off is still a charge off. With it being 5 yrs old, it's not affecting your credit as much as you think anyway.

Answer 3

Okay, only if your SSN is on the card along with her's, it will not hurt your credit. But settling the debt at over half will most likely be reported to the IRS as a tax. This is happening to my sister. She had a card that she owes $650 on and refuses to pay it. The company sent her a letter saying that if she didn't want to settle the debt at half the payment, it would be reported to the IRS and she would have to pay it during tax season. Try to settle the debt in full, if you can't, contact a lawyer and find out what your options are.
My one question is that, what happened to the monthly statements? If you still had a balance why didn't you receive monthly statements so you could pay on it?

Answer 4

Lots of poor answers here, especially Starry Eyes. Not surprising that a collection agent would recommend that you settle this debt. Wonder why she didn't mention the Statute of Limitations???

OK, lets start all over.

Start by reading the link below. It describes the statute of limitations and credit reporting time limits. The SOL is the legal time frame a creditor has to sue you for a debt. That time begins from the date of the last transaction or payment.

Once that date is past, they can not sue you. If they do, you file a simple motion with the judge to dismiss based on the expiration of the SOL.

So your first task is to find out if you still owe this debt. If not, send the collection agent a letter to cease and desist from further collection activities so he will quit bothering you.

If you are not past the SOL, you have to decide if you want to gamble on them suing you. From my observations, they may go after you for this much debt.

Whether they can go after your wages or bank accounts will depend on the state you live in. There are seven "community property" states that consider the spouses income to be combined. They are:

Arizona
California
Idaho
Louisiana
Nevada
New Mexico
Texas
Washington
Wisconsin

If you live in one of these states, they can garnish the spouses wages.

If not, they have to figure out how to collect from the wife only. If she doesn't work that's going to be hard. If all the property is in your name or joint, that's gonna make it rough also. So put all these factors together when you decide if you decide to gamble and ignore the collection agent.

Note that the time allowed to report this on her credit history is 7 years, starting from the date of the last delinquency. After that it will automatically drop off.

One more comment about Starry Eyes's answer....I've been warning people about this for months now, and she just confirms it!

When you pay off a past due debt, it does NOT get it removed from your credit history. It will now show it's been paid, but it will still show it was in collections. It's still a negative item on your report!

Would you rather be kicked in the head or the groin? Neither! It still hurts!

So why would anyone pay off a debt but still have it hurt their credit history? It's not fair. So if you plan to pay this off, make sure you DEMAND IN WRITING that all negative information be removed from your credit report. Yes, they can legally do it (may say they can't). I will be happy to point out where in the law it gives them this right.

Good luck.

Answer 5

I'm sorry...but your wife made the debt...and you guys should pay every cent. Not only does it hurt your credit.....it hurts everyone else wanting to use that same card...as in...that makes the rate go up..and we ALL have to suffer the consequences. Pay off every cent! Even if you have to get on a payment plan. I hope you have cut up that card!!
And yes...it still hurts YOUR credit. Just bite the bullet....and do the right thing. If you or she are not responsible enough to wisely use a credit card...then neither of you have any business using one.
I know this is NOT what you want to hear.....but this is the best way. I learned this from experience(hubby's EX-WIFE)! But we now have excellent credit rating. Good luck!

Answer 6

The Statute of Limitations is just about out - some states 4 yrs the most is 6 yrs.....

She legally won't owe the debt in 12 months or less......Paying it off won't positively affect her credit - it'll just "activate" a bad debt....

The law is there - use it .

WHATEVER YOU DO - DON'T contact the creditor/credit collector or else you will start the Clock ALL OVER and then it becomes a new 13K debt!!!!!!

Answer 7

If you don't pay then your wife will get an R9 on her credit rating. not a good thing to have. if you make a settlement, then she will get an R5. when you call up the company, they will want you to settle as close to the current balance(13,000)but stick to what you are wanting to settle for. in this case i would recommend a settlement just to get it over and done with. an R5 isn't that bad, it basically just shows that there was a settlement made. avoid the R9 at all costs. they can't touch anything in your name, like wages or anything. it won't ruin your credit either, b/c your name is not on the card. go ahead and make the settlement. and dont' forget to ask for a confimation #.

Answer 8

Pay your wife Credit card debt right off don,t wait it ruins your credit rating, and you need something you want

Answer 9

In authentic marxist variety, Obama means that purely extra government is the answer to too plenty government. it particularly is the over regulation and taxation that has brought about the large recession, and Obama and the left choose to characteristic extra "shovel waiting" failed government spending plans. you realize the definition of insanity, impressive? Doing a similar factor many times yet looking forward to a distinctive effect each time. that's what the yank left is doing impressive now (different than people who're purposely attempting to crash our financial device, it particularly is a distinctive tale).

Answer 10

Don't worry the can not garnish your wages. It won't necessarily effect your credit, if it is not a joint account. I would call and settle.