What happens if I don't pay my credit card debt? What are the credit
card companies allowed to do in order to collect an unsecured debt?

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Request for Question Clarification by answerfinder-ga on 25 Mar 2004 08:51 PST

In which country are you located?

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Clarification of Question by joelmb-ga on 25 Mar 2004 09:07 PST

United States.

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Clarification of Question by joelmb-ga on 25 Mar 2004 09:25 PST

Also how much debt is needed to make the companies go to drastic measures?

Your credit will be ruined for at least seven years.  Credit will be
either unavailable to you or will come with astronomical interest
rates.  This includes credit cards, mortgages and car loans.

Many landlords also look at credit reports (or use the services of a
credit verification company) when deciding who to rent to; so, if you
destroy your credit rating by not paying your credit card debt, you
will also impact your ability to rent a home.

Whoah!  Hang on there nelson and aht!  

Joel, the answer to your question is not quite as simple as "your
credit will be ruined," or "you won't be able to rent an apartment." 
The answer depends wholly on your current financial situation and your
short- and long-term personal plans.

If you are considering or have decided to NEVER pay your debt, then
certainly the consequences will be dire in many situations.  However,
if you are simply late by more than 30 or 60 days this will affect
your credit score and in turn your ability to qualify at the best
rates for various loans.  It will NOT ruin your credit outright.

Assuming that you simply do not have the money to pay your debt in a
timely manner (not even the minimun payment), the ABSOLUTE BEST course
of action is to contact the credit card company.  They would much
rather work with you to negotiate a lower rate and set a payment plan
than have you gone off to Columbia, never to be seen again.   Think
about it--if you loan a friend some cash, would you rather know the
repayment will be late than not hear anything at all?

Bottom line: contact your creditors!!

finalanswer:

You're right, it all depends how you interpret the part of the
question that says "if I don't pay". If the questioner is simply late
or delayed in paying, then that's not a problem because that's a
fundamental of most credit cards, the ability to carry a balance.
However, if the questioner chooses not to pay, period, then indeed the
scenarios described by nelson and I above can occur.