Bad credit?

Question

Hi! I have a friend who lives in California who lost his job three years ago. He stopped paying his credit cards coz he lost his job and now he has bad credit. Creditors have been calling him since. Can he go to jail for having bad credit on his credit cards? What should he do to fix this and get good credit again? His had good credit for 14 years. Thanks (Would love to hear from any lawyer out there who can answer me this questions)

Answer 1

There are no debtors' prisons in the US. Debts are civil matters. The debts will remain on his credit reports for 7 years from the date that he stopped paying on them. There is also something called the Statute of Limitation (SOL). After the SOL has run out, he no longer has a legal obligation to pay. Check the link below for the SOL in your State. Credit card debts are always open accounts.
http://www.cardreport.com/laws/statute-of-limitations.html
Usually, credit card companies sell delinquent debts for pennies on the dollar to Junk Debt Buyers (JDBs) after the account has been delinquent for about six months. They will aggressively start to harass debtors just before the SOL is about to run out. They cannot legally collect any monies without first getting a civil judgment against the debtor. Some JDBs will file suit in hope of winning a default judgment. If your friend is ever served with court papers, he must answer the summons. If the SOL has run out, he has an affirmative defense and the lawsuit should be dropped. If they file suit within the SOL, JDBs will often accept a settlement of a fraction of the original debt. If they do not accept the settlement offer, a good consumer law attorney could easily get the case dismissed.
Good Luck.

Answer 2

No. Your friend won't go to jail for not paying his debt. In order to fix the problem, I would suggest he start something like this. First get a copy of his credit report, then go through the whole thing and find out who he owes and if all the information is accurate. He is likely to find some inaccuracies and should dispute those items. As far as the collection calls go, he should gather their information when he speaks to the collector and then send them a letter to cease and desist. This will at least stop them from calling you. He will have to be real diligent with the credit bureaus and the collectors. Keep copies of everything you send them and what they send you. You should be able to negotiate with the creditors to pay them back. They know they may never see a dime from you, so they may reduce the debt to practically nothing. But don't just settle for this, because the listing on your credit report will likely say something like settled or payment plan, which is still viewed as bad by lenders. You want to negotiate with them on how this listing in your credit report will look. You want paid, paid as agreed...etc. If some of this was not clear, there is a resource I use and it is by far the most comprehensive guide to cleaning up your credit. visit the link below to download a FREE copy of this guide.

Answer 3

The only thing that they can do is continue harrassing him. The absolute worst case scenario would be that they take what ever money he does have in terms of money that he may have coming in by garrnishing wages. That means that if he does have a job they can take a certain percentage from his checks until they are satisfied. They can also do something which is called a collection agency. Which collects money for the card companies. If there is no payments on it then he might be sued for the money. Possibly. But their will not be jail for him. Just will live the rest of his life in fear that one of these days they will come back to get their money. Wish good luck for him. Sorry to hear that!

Answer 4

Have seen lots of people asking info on bad credits. Well, if you need to get your problem solved onarrange loans or other finance, and usually means you will pay more interest on any loan you take out.

Answer 5

It's only in the dark ages people were thrown in jail for non-payment. Nevertheless his situation sounds serious. Visit http://www.cheap-credit-cards.org for a free credit repair tutorial. Bankruptcy should be the last resort as it stays on your history for up to 10 years. wish him luck

Answer 6

low credit is worse. you in all risk have a low score now in view which you have no credit yet there are all forms of credit enjoying cards for college young toddlers which will restoration that. as quickly as you have one your score will upward thrust rather immediately. in case you have low credit it takes incredibly a together as on your score to upward thrust.

Answer 7

In America there are only two types of debts that you can go to jail for not paying....child support and taxes.

Answer 8

not jail
maybe he wants to file for bankruptcy