i can no longer make the mimnimum payments on my credit cards, if i can only make a payment of $100.00 to the card company and the minimum payment is around $200.00 on 5 seperate cards, can they sue me in a court of law, garnish my job wages, or can i be imprisoned for not making the minimum payment??
2007-05-20 14:16:58 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
Contact your creditors and come to some agreement with them re the payments - as long as you make an effort they will most probably accommodate you - then dispose of the cards and don't use them again. Alternatively organise a consolidation loan which will work out as a cheaper payment. Pay the cards out and dispose of them.
Try to live by the motto If I don't have the cash then I don't need it and apply it to anything you want to buy.
2007-05-20 14:23:21 · answer #1 · answered by zappafan 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
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2016-05-22 12:11:48 · answer #2 · answered by vernice 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can contact each creditor and explain your new financial situation. Most of them will work with you on a new payment plan. Please don't just stop paying or pay under what the payment is without talking with them first. Most are willing to work with you and are quite happy that you made them aware rather than ran and hid with no explanation as they will get their money rather than having to write it off as a bad debt to a collection agency.
They cannot imprison you for not making the payment but they can take you to court for the amount you owe plus interest plus court costs in some counties. Then they can have your wages garnished for the monies due and they can take up to 50% of your check!
You can also contact a credit counseling office - they contact all of your creditors for you and get your payments and/or balances reduced. They do charge for this so this may or may not be best for you unless the creditors flat refuse to work with your new situation.
Best of luck to you!
2007-05-20 14:25:34 · answer #3 · answered by phxmilitarymom 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well your credit is going to take a hit either way but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
1) Call all the credit card companies and explain this to them. THey would rather work WITH you then against you.
2) DESTROY YOUR CARDS.. get rid of that temptation right now.
3) Pick the card with the lowest interest rate and try to transfer as much debt to it as possible.
4) Focus paying off the highest interest rate cards as much as possible.
Can NEVER get it paid.. ok.. you can either go to one of the credit card repair places or do the process yourself (they charge). For this you try to get the c.card agency to forgive a portion of your debt. (Yep.. they do that BUT your credit tanks when you get the 'settled for less then the amount due' note on your score. Its like a mini kiss of death for about 6 to 7 years.
THe other possible option is bankruptcy.
Lastly... yes they can:
a) Hound you with debt collection agencies (no real threat since you have no assets it appears)
b) Sue you for a judgement in court which will allow them to:
c) Garnish your wages.. up to 50% per check.
But.. there is no debtors prison in the US (except for the IRS).
good luck...
.
2007-05-20 14:26:12 · answer #4 · answered by ca_surveyor 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I don't know about all that but they will seriously seriously screw up your credit. If I were you I would go to a non profit debt consolidation place and get some help. But be very careful to make sure they are non profit becasue there are some out there that charge a fee and they sometimes make a worse mess of your credit than before they "helped" you. If you mess up your credit it will take at least 7years to clear itself and in that time you will not be able to get credit for ANYTHING. Another alternative is if you own a home go to your bank and try and get a debt consolidation loan using your house as collateral. Me and my husband have had credit card debt problems and it is hard to get out from underneath it but you can. Good luck with everything!
2007-05-20 14:23:54 · answer #5 · answered by elis_mommy 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If you can't make the minimum payment they can charge you late fees plus increase your interest rate really high and all the other creditors can raise your rate with them due to the default on the 1st credit card. My best advice is to contact credit counseling and work with them to find the best way to consolidate this debt. Look at your values toward your money to avoid ever getting into this situation again.
2007-05-20 14:22:01 · answer #6 · answered by angelfish 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Been there done that, Yes they can, depending on how much you owe them. Some like Capital One, HSBC for example in my case they charged off the account and never even bothered to send me to collections. But some like CHASE...BEWARE...they will go after you for $100, with them it doesn't matter. If you can't make payments on your Credit Cards anymore take these steps which I took in order to resolve my problem.
1.) Call them and see if you can workout a payment plan with them, normally if you tell them you can’t afford to pay them anymore they will try to work with you rather than them loose all the money you owe them they will try to come up with a figure.
2.) If that doesn’t work you might want to try to speak with a Bankruptcy lawyer to determine if you can do a Chapter 7(straight Bankruptcy) or 13(reorganization). They are both bankruptcy cases but 7 Eliminates all your debt (except IRS-Child Support-Alimony-Student Loans)13 The court determines how much of your actual debt you can settle on and you can pay over a period of time. Example you owe in total $20000 you file for Chapter 13 and the court determines you can pay $7000 over a 3 yr period (interest free) making it $194 a month as an example anything can happen so you will need to talk to a lawyer. Even though On October 17, 2005 the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) went into effect. It doesn’t mean you can’t file for it, it just means it’s not as easy as it was before. Before this went into effect anybody can file for bankruptcy and they would just give it to you. Now they are really looking to see if you really can’t pay your debt before they wipe your debt out completely. On a final note, rumor has it that once you file for bankruptcy you will never get a credit card or car or house because it stays on your credit report for 7 years...ooooooh. In some cases it doesn’t even matter, me and about 3 other ppl I am close to filed for bankruptcy not too long ago and now we are establishing our credit with credit cards. Yes it is a higher interest rate than before but put it this way, this is a learning experience. Now with interest at 17% compared at what it was 6% it makes me a more responsible credit holder so its better this way I can manage my credit better. Hope this long answer helps you out. Good Luck
2007-05-20 14:36:55 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Some people say you should pay off cards from lowest to highest balance, others say from highest interest to lowest interest.
Something I would suggest is to limit your expenses, hard. You need to live as minimal of an existance as you can so you can maximize the money you have to correct your problem.
And I agree with everyone else. Credit companies would rather you pay them off at less interest than have you file for bankrupt protection.
2007-05-20 14:27:04 · answer #8 · answered by James_Stormwind 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Call them. I have heard that some of them are very cooperative. If you do not speak well under pressure, call a credit counselor
2007-05-20 14:20:27 · answer #9 · answered by mel s 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋