There is hardly a person who, at one time or another, hasn’t at least thought about not paying a credit card bill. Mortgages and other secured loans are tougher to not pay, as that particular creditor has the means to repossess what is technically theirs. What would credit card company do, come and get the purchase back? What if you went out to dinner on the card, how would they get restitution for then? Sometimes, the will is there to pay, but the means are unfortunately not.
An unsecured creditor cannot force itself into your home to get back the purchases made, but they can file a judgment against you. Many credit experts feel that such a mark on your record can be just as black as a tax lien and urge world-be payment dodgers to find a means to pay the bill. If it is found to be on your credit history when it’s too late, it’s better to deal with it immediately than to ignore it, for it will not go away on its own. Judgment liens are not the end of the world; it just means that you can’t sell your house without paying off the bill. Fortunately for the majority of us, judgment liens are not placed on your record at the precise moment your bill is late, so if you’re suffering from a temporary setback, you have a bit of breathing time. Judgment liens require court hearings and such, so your creditors don’t really want to do this; they’d rather have you pay. So we’ve come up with 3 tips to assist you in keeping your creditors happy, even when you can’t pay.
- Call Your Creditors and Explain your Situation By explaining to your creditors that you want to pay your bill, but are simply in a difficult situation right now and unable to pay on their terms, they will be very willing to work with you. They will realize, even if not immediately, that you’re trying and that it’s better to get the money owed on your terms than not at all.
- Ask Your Creditor to Send You A Verification of Debt This will really do nothing more than buy you some time if the collection calls are coming in daily. A credit card payment usually isn’t very much comparatively to other bills, so scraping up that payment will be much easier than others.
- Send a Partial Payment - Even as Little as $5 As long as you are trying to pay them, they will work with you as long as they are aware of the situation. Sending a measly $5 won’t buy you even 2 gallons of gas, but will keep the phone calls at bay while you regroup your efforts.
You won’t be able to keep your creditors off of your back for very long, but it should be just long enough to allow you enough time for reorganizing and prioritizing your bills. If you have no intentions of every paying them back, bankruptcy is a legal option that deserves your consideration.
