If you end up in court for non payment of credit cards, can they attach your wages?

Question

GREAT HELPFUL ANSWERS.
can I please add these details. I don't know if I am a 'card' holder or 'user' .....my 'spouse' left me over 2 years ago. I paid for 1 yr on my own then stopped for lots of reasons. my concerns now are for small savings I now hold for 'my' future. can they take it?

Answer 1

It depends on your state.

I looked through some of your past Q&A's to see if you might have mentioned your state.
If you live in NH, the following laws are:

WAGE GARNISHMENT EXEMPTION: 50 times the federal minimum hourly wage (all future wages are exempt)


MAXIMUM INTEREST RATE: Judgment: 7.6%


STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON ENFORCEMENT:

Open Account (credit card): 3 years

Oral Contract: 3 years

Written Contract: 6 years

Domestic Judgment: 20 years
Foreign Judgment: 20 years


382-A:3-118 Statute of Limitations
(iii) to enforce an obligation, duty, or right arising under this Article and not governed by this section must be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrues.


If it has been 3 years or longer since your last payment or charge on the account, you would be past the legal collecting SOL. Though it is up to you to inform the collector of that fact before they sue or to include it in your summons answer if they have already filed suit.

Answer 2

Yes. If the lender wins the judgement, they will have the right to collect, including garnishments to your salary, attachments against your banking and investment accounts and liens against your vehicles and owned property.

Although, no matter what a previous poster said, there is no debtor's prison in the US. As long as you did not do something fraudulent with the credit cards, you cannot be sent to jail. In Britain, maybe. If it is merely you did not pay for what you spent, then they can only collect money from you.

Answer 3

Yes, but it depends on which state you are in how this actually ends up happening. Once you get served with a lawsuit, I suggest you call the cc's atty & work a pymt arrangement. They are usually slightly smarter than the collectors you have likely dealt with before this.

Check out Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" book for more help dealing w/ credit cards. It has really helped us over the last few years.

Answer 4

Yes. I work in a bank and i have seen many people go to jail for this. best bet would be to make a chart of your bills, and show the judge your plan to pay them off!

Answer 5

Yes.

Answer 6

yes

Answer 7

Indeed they can, and have done so in the past.

Answer 8

oh yes they can and they will garnish garnish and then garnish some more.