What if you are unemployed and can't pay your credit card?

Answer 1

Answer

The credit card company will report the incident to the credit bureaus and you cost of credit will go up. You will be referred to a collections agency if the amount is large enough. This is a very bad path to start down.

You may be able to negotiate with the credit card company for a settlement if you can come up with the cash before they start the collections process so you can buy your debt at 1/2 price or so.

Original creditors do not negotiate debt settlements, that is always done by the third party collector that purchases the debt or by authorization the original creditor to the contracted collection agency to do so.

The reality is creditors do not care what the debtor's personal circumstances might be, they simply want their money.

Be that as it may, you can contact the customer service department to learn if the creditor has options available for such situations. Bt choose carefully.... If you do tell your credit card company you have lost your income they will likely reduce your available credit to next to nothing, which harms your credit score.

Some creditors will allow the debtor to make "interest only" payments or freeze interest rates and waive penalties for a specified period of time (usually 6 months) and so forth, to prevent the account from being defaulted.

The debtor might wish to inform themselves about the laws of their state relating to debt collection and personal and real property protection in case of a lawsuit.

*THEY WILL SUE YOU!!!!!!!!!! There are no options. They do not care if you are unemployed, if there are no jobs in or area and even a single mom to boot. These Banks that CAUSED our economic failure WILL take you to court and win. The judge then decides whether to put a lien on your house or garnish your wages leaving you unable to EVER have a decent life again. The unemployed in our country don't have a prayer. I wish people would stop sugar coating things.

Answer 2

Try renegotiating with the company to lower your interest rate, eliminate or refund finance charges. With the credit situation the way it is these days, they are probably very motivated more so than usual, to help you pay them in whatever way/amount you can. You can also negotiate for a reduction of the balance and payment amount. Bargain like a pawn broker--don't give up, keep asking for what you want, go up the management chain, document calls, write letters if necessary. If nothing works, oh well: you don't pay it and in a few months your mailbox will be full of credit card offers and you can do what they want you to do: be in constant debt you will never be able to pay off, which they roll over as a business loss and deduct from their taxes and the whole world economy operates the same way!

Answer 3

There is not much that credit card companies can do to collect the money owed to them by people who are unemployed. In the event that you get a job, if you were not making payment voluntarily, the credit card company could arrange to garnish part of your wages. But if you're unemployed, they are out of luck. The worst they can do is to cancel your card and give you a bad credit rating.

True, there is not much a credit card can do if you are unemployed. Furthermore, credit cards or collections agencies cannot garnish unemployment, child support, social security and many others ( check with your states legal aid clinic) for unsecured debt. Become your own best advocate, Download a phone script to deal with malicious debt collectors. Become familiar with the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. Always send your letters certified when dealing with debt collectors. Find out when unsecured debt becomes time-barred or uncollectable in your state. For example, NV =4 years. DO NOT let yourself be duped into paying an expired debt no matter how hateful a debt collector threatens you. There is no debtors prison. You will not be arrested for bad debt. This is not our fault our jobs disappeared. The banks got bailed out, and all we got is lies. lies. lies. no jobs, foreclosures, food stamps ( if were lucky) no health insurance and most of all no voice and no compassion. Be educated...be your own best advocate, and never, Ever let anyone make you feel like you have failed...