What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

Ok....people with actual experience, people who are lawyers and people who are collection agents.....
I "own" a house...its worth less than I owe, I have $40,000 in credit card debt.
I live in Illinois and according to the only lawyer I consulted, I do not qualify for bankruptcy.
If I quit paying the credit cards and just pay the mortgage....can they take the house? I do not care if they place liens on the home as I have no heirs and will have to work until I am dead. I just want to retain the residence. Also, I have no savings or retirement if this info is needed for proper advice.

Please, only folks with "legit" answers.

Thanks so much in advance for your expertise!

Francie Jones
Joliet, IL.

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

You will get many phone calls. And your credit report may go down. If you unplug the phone, that will help ease the anxiety. They will close your accounts and may add interest where your balance may get larger. However, there is nothing they can really do accept threaten you with letters and phone calls.

I would be interested to see if these credit card companies collapse, then it wouldn't matter anyway.

You will not lose the house if you keep up the payments. And it can take up to a year for your house to go into foreclosure with the bank that handles your loan if you stop making the payments on your house.

I know many people that are in the same situation. Good luck on finding a solution.

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

you could likely consolidate the $40,000
so, that, the interest stops
through things called credit counciling services

and, you could likely settle it for about $25,000 (& maybe less)
and, pay $700/mo for 36 months
and, get rid of that debt
and, probably NOT damage your credit

when you spent the $40,000 - did you spend it on stuff
that you could sell, in order, to raise back, that $40,000
back into cash ???

or, is it, that $40,000- that has kept you paying your mortgage

it is obvious, that home ownership is important to you
and, you love the home you are in, and, don't want to leave it
so, that might be your best option

it likely takes collectors, a long time, to get to you

have you ever sat down
and, figured out, what you earn,
vs. what you pay out monthly

many people never chart,
or, detail that, sort of stuff

ie; if your monthly expenses for living are $3500/mo
for everything -- do, you earn more than $3500/mo
(and, if you don't, is it possible to figure out a part-time way,
to earn money)
i've seen people who were barely breaking even,
start a home based go-green type of business,
and, earn an extra $1000-$2000/mo,
in a very short period of time

you might, with all your energy,
try to figure out, how to RAISE your ENERGY
to the tune of $40,000
and, then, see that amount flow to you,
real quickly

do NOT give up ...see yourself with the money in your hands
to pay the bills, and, see yourself earning what you need and desire

tear up your list of wants -- discard them immediately

with the eXception of writing down -- GOOD RETURNS $40,000.00
and, paste that on the wall,
behind your computer screen -- right at the top --where you see it, all the time !!!

focus on what you desire,
along with what you really need,
to escape the trap...you can do it,
i know you can !!!

GOOD RETURNS $40,000.00

(it works)

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

Thanks exchanger, but I am looking for advice for the question I asked...not alternatives...just answers to the question I posed.

Thanks Surial...is this info due to experience or profession?

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

Make sure you got some sold or silver, because it wil go up major after the crash.
Then you can set your self free!. I've got gold, but also dept and waiting for the gold price going thru the roof.

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

i have recently offered my credit card company a settlement of about 35% of the total. they accepted it. this shows that suriel is correct.
why would they have accepted 35 cents on the dollar if they had the power to collect it all?

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

I mean Gold not "Sold"

lol

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

I filed bankruptcy. So I went through a long period of time dealing with collection agencies. But this was before Bush changed the bankruptcy laws.

I wouldn't answer the phone. But it is quite annoying to hear the phone ringing off the hook.

My mom's boyfriend lost his job and he is also in the same situation as you. He was a pharmacist that made 120,000 a year and now he is 4 months behind on his mortgage payment which is 1700.00 a month. And he is still living in his 500,000 house.

So, I think there is some flexibility there. He also has many credit cards. So from my own experience and watching others - this was my observation.

The credit card companies have no authority over your home. They are are pretty much powerless if you don't pay. But they do have the power to leave nasty reports on your credit report. But if your credit is bad anyway, it won't make much difference. I believe food and shelter comes first, credit cards come last. You would be doing the right thing if you had no other alternative. I feel for you. I hope things get better.

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

i think, you should re_read, what i wrote

credit counciling is one service,
who can reduce your amount owned

THE ""GOOD RETURNS $40,000.00"" thing, it works

since, it puts an order into the universe to give that to you

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

sorry exchanger.....I have just the question of Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards? I only want to know what is in the question I posed with the information I gave for my situation.

That is all...plus I have a hard time reading your posts to begin with...sorry

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

i know one person,
who consolidated their loans,
made 1 payment,
then closed the bank account, that went to where they pulled it,
from once, a month...
they changed their telephone number,
to an unlisted one, and, didn't bother to open the mail,
they returned it, marked MOVED/new address NOT known
and, it didn't affect their credit, maybe because it was consolidated ?
until approx 7 years later,
when a myriad of collection companies,
tried to collect on them,
at that point, they had equity in their home,
remortgaged their home, and, paid off the debt,
at approx 40 cents on the dollar

so, pagan, is probably quite right
that, the 35 cent offer, just might work

the trick to money, is often raising your energy,
and, you, certainly seem to have a lot of that ;)

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

hmmm....i've often found,
when, i have been reluctant to reading things,
it is eXactly what it is, that, i need to read

remember, whatever it is, that floats the boat, can also sink it !!!

i was merely spending my energy,
to try to assist you, next time, i will utilise that energy
for something else

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

I did not mean to offend....I am just trying to clarify that I need practical answers...if the whole vibration thing you mentioned REALLY worked...no one on the planet would have financial problems.....see my dilemma? Vibrating does not keep a roof over my family's head...if it did, I would have vibrated my problems away eons ago. If you are upset that I disregard you answer...I apologize, but I am looking for brass tacks answers to the result of the action of just not paying the credit cards any longer...nothing else, nothing frilly. Please understand, I do not wish to offend. just trying to meet a goal here

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

It might pay to look over your contract(s) with the credit card company(s), and look over any security they had you provide. And it also might make a difference if you received your credit card from your mortgage provider.

Clif High said on one of his talks with Rebecca Journigan that the time would come where people would just stop getting bills as these companies go broke.

The printing presses would wear out long before they could print enough money to fix what's wrong in the credit markets. It WILL collapse.

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

Francie,

Some of the answers here may be of interest (answers.yahoo.com):

What happens when you stop paying your credit cards?

I googled "stop paying credit cards" and found lots of hits - many people in the same boat with the same question.

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

No they cannot take your house if you stop paying the credit cards!
There is also a statute of limitations of 10 years,in otherwards after 10 years of trying to collect from you, they can't do a thing after that.

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

That reminds of a news article I saw yesterday about how credit card companies are offering gift cards to close high balance accounts. People that are only paying minimum payments are encouraged to close their credit card accounts because they are putting a strain on the credit card companies.

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

First thing is no money has ever changed hands here you never recieved any money from the credit card company you recieved credits . Second you do not have to put up with those phone calls you simply send them a letter telling them to cease and desist all phone calls and all correspondence be made by mail I recently viewed a web site where a girl just went thru this she had 4 cards and quit paying on all of them all 4 tried to go the legal route and all 4 failed based on her knowledge of the card holder agreemment which no one ever reads . I`m at work but will post this info later tonite.

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

Excellent. I agree and thank you for your help :) I did "read" the contracts and feel a you need a law degree to understand bits of it...most is easy to get, but those "bits" are what I am worried about!!! :sweatdrop:


I look forward to this help and thank you so much!

Very interesting...thanks. I have not heard tell of this as of yet. I will google this. :)

Thanks! That was my major concern. Now I need to find out about wage garnishment

Thanks Jnana...I should have done that :sweatdrop:....but I do tend to rely on my Avalon friends for info as I am never sure of who places what internet content and from where :)


Thanks so much and if anyone who is a lawyer OR a collection agent reads this (god I hope there are some enlightened ones on this forum) please do let me and others know the loopholes we can use!

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

The only way that they can garnish your wages,is you file bankruptcy and agree to pay a portion of the bills.

A certain amount will be taken and distributed by the courts.This is only if you agree to pay and not file full bankruptcy.:original:

Speaking from experience, the credit card company can only make it hard for you to get more credit, :mad3:which you don't care about any way.:original: My brother has been intimidating :wall:people out of payments for over 20 years,and its just that intimidation.:mad3:

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

777 The Great Work- Thanks so much. I was curious if they could take me to court and garnish as I will not file bankruptcy hopefully they will just threaten me and do no worse than that.

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

There's a reason credit card debt is called "unsecured debt." They usually can't touch your assets. I know people who figure they'll just hold out until the economy fails and the credit card companies fail, etc. However, what I've seen is that if a bank gets close to failing, it's either bought by another bank or "nationalized." I would love it if Clif were right and this does snowball to the point where even the credit cards go under, but this is something I'll have to see to believe. LOL

Good luck, Francie!

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

I learned everything I needed to stop paying on credit cards here:
http://www.budhibbs.com/
(I had to make several attempts for the page to load.)

After 90 days (if I remember that number correctly) by law the credit card companies must charge it off as a bad debt and the letters and calls from them will stop.

Then and I don't think this part ever stops ... your debt on each card will periodically be bought by junk debt buyers and it will start all over again - the calls and the letters looking like they are from an attorney's office. Do not talk to them except to ask for their mailing address, the account numbers for the original debt and the collection agency account numbers, and current amount they they say is due. They will want to know why you want that. Tell them they will find out when they get the letter. If they are too difficult then hang up, call back and get the info from the person who answers the phone. Then simply send them a registered/return receipt "cease communication letter"
http://www.budhibbs.com/ceaseletter.htm and *most will quietly ride off into the sunset to go harass someone else. Then the next junk debt collector will buy your debt ... and the next ... but that might only happened 1-2 times a year for each card.

Here it is step by step with this little intro:
http://www.budhibbs.com/First.htm
"The collectors, bottom feeders, and junk debt buyers below likely purchased your account for pennies on the dollar. The law holds they must be able to provide legal validation if you are sued. When you don’t show up in court, or fail to respond to a summons you give them FREE money via a default judgment. My opinion, based on thousands of cases: the vast majority of these collectors NEVER have the legal documents meeting most court requirements. That fact will only help you if you challenge them and the papers they use to file court cases. If you are contacted by anyone on this list, get in touch with me for advice and referral to a local consumer law professional who may be able to assist you in beating these bogus claims and save you a LOT of money."

Statute of limitations varies by state. See the above link for a lookup on your state. Oregon is 6 years.

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

Wow Karen! What an excellent source of information. Thank you very much for you help, links and information

Re: What will happen if I quit paying my credit cards?
 

Here I hope this uploads and helps. i have a pdf file on secrets to Credit card Debt Termination if you wish to have it send me your email as it wont upload