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What happens if I don't pay my credit cards?

6.4K views 12 replies 10 participants last post by  Nibsie  
#1 ·
With it being unsecured debt, other than ruining my credit, what can they do?
 
#2 ·
They can sue you. Make your life heck for not paying. Better to pay it off and make arrangements to settle the debt then not to pay off your debt.

Also having a bad credit score can effect other areas of your life. Some employers look at credit scores as do some ins companies.
 
#3 ·
They can sue you plus sue you for their legal fees too, I think. Also it can trash your credit and make it hard for you get get utilities in your name if you ever have to move, or to get credit for a car loan, etc. It is better to make a payment plan than to let that happen, I think.
 
#4 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ~*Jaime View Post
They can sue you plus sue you for their legal fees too, I think. Also it can trash your credit and make it hard for you get get utilities in your name if you ever have to move, or to get credit for a car loan, etc. It is better to make a payment plan than to let that happen, I think.
yea they will take u to court and if the judge finds in their favor u will have to pay their legal fees. -- my dad just got sued by capital one... a 500 dollar credit card sure ended up costing him over a couple of grand......
 
#7 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by laoxinat View Post
You are much better off going to credit counseling. PM me if you'd like the one I used. They have been great and have lots of resources for getting your credit back on track. HTHs!

credit counseling wrecks your credit the same exact way a bankruptcy does.
 
#10 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by MamaHen2J&J View Post
Credit consolidation is just slightly better than bankruptcy, but remember the laws have changed...its not as "easy" as it was 2 years ago.

I also wanted to mention that cc companies will stop at nothing. They'll call your family and friends...they'll have your neighbors dropping off phone messages.

So true... I get annoying collection phone calls for my brother-in-law! And they are rude to me too!
 
#12 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by mum4boys View Post
credit counseling wrecks your credit the same exact way a bankruptcy does.
Before I begin, let me say that we've made some truly stupid financial decisions in the past, and we know it. Credit counseling was not one of the stupid decisions though.

We started credit counseling about ten years ago with about $20K in unsecured credit card debt.

Within 12 months of starting the program, we leased a brand new $28K SUV at a very good interest rate.

Within 24 months, we started accumulating MORE unsecured credit card debt (while still paying on the orginal $20K through credit counseling).

4 years into it, we'd paid off the original $20K. BUT we'd added another $50K to it. It was way too easy to add credit cards to the program. We'd max out one card and then go online to add it to consumer credit counseling. Then we'd start on another card. (See, I told you we weren't bright.)

Oh, and at about that point, we bought a brand new $40K SUV at the best interest rate available at the time.

We had *just* (like within 60 days) paid off all of our unsecured credit card debt when we closed on our house. Got the best interest rate available at the time, no money down, fixed rate mortgage. All of the notations that we'd been on CCCS were still showing...but nobody really cared. All they cared about was that our debt to income ratio was ok (it was great) AND that we'd been paying CCCS on time every month. And boy could we show great payment history on that one! 8 years worth of one time drafts, never missed a payment, and they actually liked that since we were first time home buyers.

Point is, CCCS doesn't always 'ruin your credit'. Truth is, most people's credit is already 'ruined' by the time they get to CCCS with tons of late payments and such showing that are just going to take time to age off of your credit report.

Simply being on CCCS doesn't affect your credit score at all. The only place it even shows up is in the 'comments' section under each account if the creditor chooses to make note of it. It's the late payments, maxed out accounts, etc that will tank your score.
 
#13 ·
So far, we've never been late on payments and usually pay double the minimum payments. Our credit scores are great, mine is in the 820's and DH's is in the 830's. We can make the payments, I was looking for another way to get out of them, short of not paying them
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I would like to be able to pay them off sooner, rather than later and was just being silly and wondering what they could do, just to know. Thank you for the info!
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