You can expect your:
So here's what you can expect if you don't pay your debts:
There are no longer any debtor's prisons in the United States – you can't go to jail for simply failing to make payment on a civil debt (credit cards and loans). ... If you miss a payment, you can simply contact the debt collector to work out when you'll be able to make it up without fear of an arrest warrant being issued.
Dear JYS, Yes, settling a debt instead of paying the full amount can affect your credit scores. When you settle an account, its balance is brought to zero, but your credit report will show the account was settled for less than the full amount.
If you don't pay your credit card bill, expect to pay late fees, receive increased interest rates and incur damages to your credit score. If you continue to miss payments, your card can be frozen, your debt could be sold to a collection agency and the collector of your debt could sue you and have your wages garnished.
Even though debts still exist after seven years, having them fall off your credit report can be beneficial to your credit score. ... Note that only negative information disappears from your credit report after seven years. Open positive accounts will stay on your credit report indefinitely.
If the creditor reported you to the credit bureaus, your strategy has to be different. Ignoring the collection will make it hurt your score less over the years, but it will take seven years for it to fully fall off your report. Even paying it will do some damage—especially if the collection is from a year or two ago.
Credit card companies sue for non-payment in about 15% of collection cases. Usually debt holders only have to worry about lawsuits if their accounts become 180-days past due and charge off, or default.
Ask for assistance: Contact your lenders and creditors and ask about lowering your monthly payment, interest rate or both. For student loans, you might qualify for temporary relief with forbearance or deferment. For other types of debt, see what your lender or credit card issuer offers for hardship assistance.
If you fail to pay then the Card provider will lodge a case against you under Section 25 of the Payment and Settlement Act 2007. Under both these proceedings, the cardholder may face a jail term of up to 2 years and a fine that can go up to twice the dishonoured amount.
If you have a poor and/or thin credit history, it could take 12 to 24 months from the time you settled your last debt for your credit score to recover. Either way, you'll benefit from debt settlement if that means you're no longer missing payments.
It is always better to pay off your debt in full if possible. While settling an account won't damage your credit as much as not paying at all, a status of "settled" on your credit report is still considered negative.
Credit scores can be affected by outstanding debt, even if it no longer exists. Navigating debt negotiations can be tricky, especially if you settled with a company for less than you owe. But a company can and will remove a settled debt from your credit history, if you know how to ask.
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