Unfortunately, I got laid off last August and I still have no job:( And yes, Im another tech worker:( A Java programmer to be specific.

I was making 6 figures a year and gladly paying down my credit card debt. Of course when I got laid off the credit card bills were the first to go unpaid. I now have creditors ringing my phone off the hook. Thanks to caller id I never have to actually talk to them.

I am wondering if the credit card companies will actually try to sue me? I have nothing of value and in the state of Texas your home is safe from creditors so they cant take that away. Im hoping it will cost creditors more to sue me than its worth so they wont try.

Anyone ever been in this position? Do you think I will end up in court? What should I do? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

squidload....In the state of Texas you are relatively safe and there isn't a lot they can do to you. I've got a friend that is a bill collector and you should hear some of the stuff he tells people, like "The police were supposed to arrest you at work last week but there was a clerical error. So here is your last chance" and "We will contact the State AG and your wages will be garnished". Both of which are bullshit.

Most likely they will keep harassing you until they finally decide they aren't going to get any money and then they'll write the debt off and if it's enough they'll report it to the Feds and you'll have to claim the forgiven debt as income, so I hear.

The best thing to do in your circumstance would be to call them and try to work out some kind of payment plan and try to stick to it. Or to call one of the debt management companies and have them consolidate all of the CCs so you only have one payment. You can also retain a lawyer and they can usually negotiate down the balance to X on the dollar and you can pay it off that way.

Well, I have no experiance in this.  And I hope I don't.... (sorry).  But, I do know one thing, don't ignor the companies.  I personally think that going silent is bad.  Tell them you have been laid off; your situation.  That's just my opinion (well, ya asked).

I agree with Kaliburz. I filed for Chapter 13
back in 93, I learned it was the WORST thing
I could have done. The credit card companies will work with you. They want their money back.
If you don't call them & don't pay, they won't sue you. They'll give it to a collections agency who will bug you to death and may even try small claims court.

Just call them, they will work with you.

Depends,I really do not think they can/would realisticly(sue) screw you except to black ball your credit.Then again these days you need a CC for way to much,air,rentals'n'such.

I don't know if they'll sue you but they will do what they can to get their money back because a credit card company is a business.

Don't file for bankruptcy unless its your last recourse...if I recall correctly it screws you in the eyes of many people for 7 or 10 years.


I'm hoping you someday want to pay them back so if you do have to do the bankrupcy thing at least do the I'll give you your money back when I can option...

However, if you call your cc company, I believe if you tell them your story they can and/or will work something out, a sort of low low interest plan or no interest plan.  They'll usually do this because they want their money and if they can't get it one way they'll get it another...theres also those credit helper places.  I think their free or at least low fee.  I believe they'll work with you and your cc company as well.

Squid...

Don't sweat it..

Credit card company will not sue you...  the cant afford to go around suing everyone that owes them..

6 months later, they charge it off..  that does not mean the debt is forgiven. collection firms will call you forever. normally selling the paper every 6 months to another firm

The debt is not considered forgiven until you agree to a settles amount they will be offering you.  At which time the unpaid balance is now considered income in which The IRS will come for.

After 7 years, the banks or collection firms cant report to credit bureau..

Bankruptcy stand s for 10 years...  


Best thing is to stonewall... never talk to these guys. if they get a promise from you to pay then the debt date starts all over.. if you are walking out of a bankruptcy court free and clear from all debt and a bank rep approaches you, RUN !!  they will try to get you to say you might try to pay them a little something in the future. in which time you have now reactivated any debt you own them, even though you were just cleared through bankruptcy  [rolleyes]  

Well...... after reading...... had to add this....

Have this friend.... during college he ran up a CC bill (happens).  Any how, he wasn't working and his 'stipend' from his parents wasn't enough to keep up w/ living and the bills.  To keep it short.... he missed a few payments.... then stopped.  No word to them, nada.  CC's went to collections, and then to court.  In the end, he got stuck w/ the original bill, the collection fee and the court fees.  

Granted, his parents bailed him out.  It was only 5K... but that's what happens when you don't do anything.  I guess you can say it varries on the laws of the state you are in and the state which you have your CC's bank.

beware those debt managment companys. most are a form of bankruptcy you can forget getting loans, ect for some time. one or two arent so do your research carefully and fully.

DAMN! That sucks! They didn't do any of that to me.
I guess it might of been due to the fact I tried Consumer Credit Counciling before I ended
up doing Chapter 13. They never tried to sue me.
I can't believe they said that to you, what bastards!

While not all CC companies are the same, here is a high level overview of what happens.

Thirty days past due(one payment late), a friendly reminder letter, but probably no call-unless they have previously deemed you high risk by previous payment history or FICO score.

Sixty days past due, more letters, and they will throw you in a dialer and make calls.

Ninety days past due, more letters, account cancelation, and an increased level of collection calls-your really on their radar now..

120 days through 179 days past due...more letters, more calls, and your account has probably been assigned to a specific collector to work.  That is when you really start running into insensitive, uncaring representatives of the bank.

180 days past due-charge off-Credit card company officially posts the account as a loss.

From here it really varies bank to bank, but in summary, your account is either turned over to an outside collection agency(sold), or to "in house" legal.  They will continue to try to collect for a while.  If they can't collect,then they will serve you, and get a judgement against you.

If you think you will be able to avoid bankruptcy, then see if they will work with you.  If bankruptcy is on the horizon, then ignore them.

Just an opinion...

Do I as A State Constable really do SAles of execution on people who were were sued due to non payment of credit debt? The answer is Yes to your question and Mine!

Budget, Dollar and Alamo rent a car accept debit cards w/the Visa/MC logo.  More are soon to follow as the debit/credit trend picks up.

I once cancelled a CC and the CS rep asked me why.  I told him I don't need them to rent car's anymore because my debit/credit card allows me that.  That jerk told me it's better to rent with a CC because you don't have to have funds in your checking account as you would with a debit/credit card.  I told him, ya I think that's better no?[rolleyes]  And if my CC were maxed out I could still rent a car?[rolleyes]

Dumbass CSrep.

And don't talk to those collection agency aholes.  They hassled me over a medical bill which my insurance was to cover.  The hospital fvcked up as to whom to send the bill.

I called the collection bitch back while I was at Uno's Pizza parlor.  She started talking shit and pissed me off so I screamed at her in the restaurant and hung up on her beotch ass.  Last I heard from them.

These people are morons.  But I do know someone that works in collections and he makes six figures.  So they could be well-off morons at best.

Before filing for bankruptcy, call these guys....[url]www.unionfinancialservices.com[/url] I did and they were able to work things out with my creditors.

Credit card companies will write off the debt and pass it on to a collection agency. They will then ding your credit and begin to harrass you. Most loans are sold over and over to other collection agencies. Everytime it gets sold, it gets refreshed on your credit report, therefore reporting last for more than 7years. I would suggest going the debt consolidation route first and work out a repayment plan. If that does not work, then go the re-structure bankruptcy route.

I am in the same position as you. I was making close to six figures. Took a pay cut to come here. Then became unemployed for 5 mos. And now trying to survive and catch up.

Ponyboy the only question I have is why are you friends with vermin such as these?  I've always thought of you as a cool guy.  I personally couldn't stomach being around such as this...

The other thing I wonder is why you people answer the door to be served?

A local paper did an investigation of a local public hospital that was selling mostly bogus invoices to collection agencies.  Most (like >75% in some cases) were either uncollectible due to overbilling, were double-billed, were cases where an insurance company was supposed to pay it, or the state or federal government was supposed to pay it.  The local hospital was then not paying the collection agencies when they collected money much later.  The hospital was holding invoices, in some cases, for over six months, so that they would collect from the patient or insurance company after the invoice was already sold to a collection agency.  So, the poor collection agency got ripped-off, and the poor patients had to deal with the collection agencies.  One idiot that works for the county, that is a former BellSouth exec, claimed that there is nothing wrong with selling bogus invoices to collection agencies, because the selling price reflects that you won't collect all of the money, and that his former employer did it all of the time.  That doesn't make it right.  Over the past few years, my wife has received almost 40 different invoices from the local public hospital or directly from doctors for work performed there.  Most of the larger ones that came from the hospital were postmarked a date [i]after[/i] we had already heard from a collection agency.  Last week, we received one that was nearly two years old.  The hospital then collected from our insurance after the account was already sold since they intentionally held the invoice before mailing a copy to them.  Again, you can call the collection agencies names, but often, they are getting ripped-off too.  They are also wasting their time and money to try and collect on bogus info that the hospital gave to them.

Back to squidload's problem.  Definitely tell them something (anything!) and send what you can afford.  As other have said, they much prefer an answer they don't like to someone hiding from them.  They also prefer collecting a portion rather than having to sell the account to a collection agency.z

squidload, to answer your question, yes they will sue. During my first lay-off years ago I was sued by Amex. Now I'm laid off again and will expect to be sued. Yes, they also find the most inopportune (sp?) time to serve you.
Usually before a holiday or on a weekend.
What I've been thru was even worse, I had my assets frozen from a judgement against me.
It was not a good feeling and don't get me started on Collection agencies.
BTW, this is my first msg, long time lurker,
learned a lot.