There seems to be a perception among many individuals that a credit card company can’t really do anything to harm someone (other than ruin their credit) if their debt to the credit card company goes unpaid. This is a myth. Allow me to take you through the process that most credit card companies go through when their debt becomes delinquent.
First come the phone calls and threatening letters. They will call from sunup to sundown, often five or six times per day. They will also sometimes attempt to contact you at work. They will even call friends and family members if they can get a hold of their information. There are various rules for collection calls, which are sometimes followed and sometimes ignored. One thing is certain: you will get collection calls, a lot of collection calls.
Next, you will be sued. This doesn’t happen overnight. Most of the time a debt will be delinquent for a year or more before they decide to sue. Make no mistake, though – it will come. At this point, if the law suit is ignored or if you decide to try to defend against it and ultimately lose, the credit card company now has a judgment against you. A judgment is just a piece of paper, though, so what good does that do them? Well, for starters, a judgment acts as a lien against all pieces of real estate owned by the defendant in the county in which they got the judgment. This means that they can foreclose against your real estate if they so choose.
So what if I don’t own any real estate? What else can they do? The next thing that will happen is that the credit card company will get what is called a “writ of execution” against any asset of yours that they can find. Often times, they will execute against your bank account. This means that they will freeze and ultimately take any money that is in your account up to the amount that they are owed. They can also execute against and take furniture and vehicles.
There are a few things that the credit card companies cannot do even after they sue you and get a judgment. First, they cannot put you in jail, which is something the debt collectors will often threaten when they call. Have no fear. Debtor’s prisons were abolished long ago. In Pennsylvania, the credit card companies cannot attach your wages. However, most people now have direct deposit, and their wages are put into their bank account automatically. Now the wages are just money in the bank and those funds can be taken. So, at that point, what good is it that they can’t attach your wages directly from the source?!
So, as you can see, there are actually a great many things that a credit card company can do if you don’t pay them. Most of these things are very unpleasant. So, don’t let it get to that point! And if you are being sued, don’t ignore it!
Finally, what can you do about the credit card debt so you don’t reach the point of being sued or having your assets taken? One option you may have is to file for bankruptcy protection. A bankruptcy filing instantly halts all collections, no matter where they are in the process. Even if they have already sued you and won, a bankruptcy will halt them from taking it any further. This is where Steidl and Steinberg comes in. We have been stopping credit card lawsuits and collections for over 30 years. If you are facing this situation, call us at 800-360-9392 to find out if we can help!