Credit Card Bills And Collections…How Are They Related?

Credit card bills and collections go hand in hand when you are behind on your credit card bills. What happens after you are late on several months’ payments varies somewhat from company to company, but there is enough commonality in the process to get a general idea of what will happen.

How Did I Get Into This Mess?

Credit cards are great things for emergencies, to book a hotel room or a car, etc. But if you are finding that you can only pay the minimum payments each month, and are having trouble even doing that, credit cards become the worst kind of stress producers. If you find yourself in this situation, the first thing you must do is to cease using the cards immediately! You will never get out of debt while continuing to use your cards. Ok, end of sermon. What can you expect to happen if you are unable to pay?

What Is The Sequence Of Events If I Can’t Pay?

First off, the issuer of the credit card will be polite about trying to help you get caught up, sending fairly nice toned letters, maybe a phone call or two. The further behind you get though, the more threatening and frequent the letters and phone calls will become. Eventually your account will be closed and the debt will most likely be sold to a junk debt collector.

The debt collectors will use every means at their disposal – within the law – to collect the money you owe. They will call nonstop morning till night. By law they can only call between 8am and 8pm. They will fit as many calls in that time frame as they can! Also on weekends expect to get calls. They may start calling friends and neighbors, as well as family members. This can be very stressful.

Finally, if you don’t pay, settle, or get into a debt counseling program, expect to be sued. There are things you can do to stop garnishments and bank account seizing, but just be aware that they are very real possibilities.

Of course the best thing you can do is to avoid using credit cards at all. You can avoid credit card bills and collections altogether that way. But if you find yourself in a bad situation, consider debt settlement, debt counseling or bankruptcy as a way out.