Credit card Default - Does it matter?

[Scamp]

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haulingthescoreup wrote:
+1

I have all sorts of respect/ sympathy/ empathy/ you name it for people who struggle to stay on top of their credit. Some might have gotten in trouble due to financial disaster; some might have just plain screwed up. When they're determined to repay, and they get rate-jacked, I am indignant with them.

But if you think you're going to find a lot of sympathy here when you announce that you're going to welsh on legitimate debts (my apologies to any who trace their roots to the ancient kingdom of Wales), which you are perfectly capable of paying, you're probably on the wrong forums.

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No worries, HTSU!

And +2 on the other stuff.

(edited to remove a wayward smiley)

Message Edited by Scamp on 11-03-2009 04:47 PM

[Anonymous]

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uk1981 wrote:
Just to clarify my original post given the responses. I really do not care about whether it is 5 or 7 or 7.5 years for bad reporting to get off my record.  FICO is only valuable to get credit - I don't.  Here is second clarification:  I can pay my 39k in credit cards over 10 years at 1k a month.  THat is 120k to keep the credit card managers happy (interpret it as their bonus arrives) over ten years.  Or, I can take that 1k a month to pay cash for 120 cruises in those ten years.    In the year 2019 (ten years), I would have the same financial result. That would leave a clean FICO score once again and either have no cruises or 120 of them.  It seems an easy choice but I am doing my homework - PLEASE - what are the financial or legal recourses the credit card companies would have against me since the cards are all unsecured by anything. I am a home owner (three of them rented with position cashflow), have two paid off trucks, and have cash in the bank.  Thank you for your inputs on the credit card recourse questions. Cheers!  (By the way, I think so many of us got screwed so badly from the credit card and bank companies that I have absolutely zero compassion for them.  I feel terrible for the many of us that were ruined by them.)

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To the contrary, in the year 2019, if you go forward with your plan of default, you're likely to still have judgments on your credit reports (they may decide to wait a few years to file suit), and you're likely to be out of far more money than you would have paid, had you just paid your debts in the first place. After all, collection costs, court costs, and legal and adminstrative fees will be added onto the original debt plus the default interest. You'll pay, one way or the other, and your attempt to stick it to the banks will not nearly be worth your efforts.

You may not have any compassion for the banks, but you might definitely want to spare yourself a lot of pain.

[Anonymous]

I appreciate the 12 (to date) replys on the questions concerning credit card company recourse on deliberate credit card default.  I did not ask for nor receive any 'warm fuzzys' but I did conclude that I may be on the right track.  The best reply was that the credit card companies may sue me in a couple of years after running up the default interest charges so that would therefore cause me much pain later on.  I'll take that chance...  Any one credit card company would have to be nuts (in my opinion) to sue someone (for say 10k) when it costs them multiples of that in lawyer and associated legal fees.  I could see a law suit for say 100k but not 10k.  Also, what does an unsecured debt mean to you?  It means to me there is nothing behind it except fear of higher fees.  Enforcement is thru fear like forums such as MyFico.   The operative word is unsecured.  And my objective is gaming - what is the financial impact if I take pathway number 1 or take pathway number 2.   I wanted to reduce risk which I define as the product of the probabilty of something happening and the consequence if I lost after it happened.    It appears, after 12 replys to the orignal question, that only one person brought it up as something I should really consider.  And I am doing just that - I need to find a lawyer to determine the legal meaning of unsecured debt as it pertains to the issues here.      I am thinking it is a paper tiger (looks bad but credit card companies can doing nothing but pound sand).   If my thoughts prove correct then a phone number changeout as unlisted and buying a secured credit card are the remaining requirements before calling Carnival and Holland Cruiselines.    I am looking at the entire issue as a business decision - whether it fits someones idea of right and wrong is not relevant to me.  As far as personal ethics are concerned - I think if it is legal then it is ethical.  [Removed]   Cheers!  And I do appreciate the replys given.  They have influenced my thoughts on the actual value of this Forum in general. 

I again apreciate the following comment made earlier: .... "if you go forward with your plan of default, you're likely to still have judgments on your credit reports ... You'll pay, one way or the other, and your attempt to stick it to the banks will not nearly be worth your efforts. "  I just do not see it that way and that is why I will pay for an expert legal opinion (in cash that I would have paid to a credit card, if confirmed).    Thanks all! 

Message edited to remove political commentary. Please read "5 Things We Don't Talk About" before posting again. ~LilMirth

Message Edited by LilMirth on 11-04-2009 12:49 PM

[Anonymous]

you are incorrect about how much a ccc will be willing to sue you over.  it's far less than $100,000.  you cannot possibly owe someone $39,000 and expect them to say, whatevs....

also, you claim to be a landlord and i'd imagine you expect your tenants to pay and when they don't you evict them or do you just let them stay until they owe you $100,000?  your logic is flawed all over the place.

maybe it doesn't matter to you, but i'd consider the spiritual ramifications as well as the legal ones.  imagine the single mom working her tail off to pay her her bills while you think you get a free ride?  who's the better human?

i'm assuming you're quite young and don't understand yet that nothing, absolutely nothing, not even gov't healthcare, is free.

[marty56]

FICO scores are not just people looking for credit.  Opening a new bank account, rent apartment, cable TV, cell phone, utlities, auto insurance and even jobs all look at your credit report.  I also suspect in the future that hospitals will also look at credit if you need their service. 

[Anonymous]

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uk1981 wrote:

I appreciate the 12 (to date) replys on the questions concerning credit card company recourse on deliberate credit card default.  I did not ask for nor receive any 'warm fuzzys' but I did conclude that I may be on the right track.  The best reply was that the credit card companies may sue me in a couple of years after running up the default interest charges so that would therefore cause me much pain later on.  I'll take that chance...  Any one credit card company would have to be nuts (in my opinion) to sue someone (for say 10k) when it costs them multiples of that in lawyer and associated legal fees.  I could see a law suit for say 100k but not 10k.  Also, what does an unsecured debt mean to you?  It means to me there is nothing behind it except fear of higher fees.  Enforcement is thru fear like forums such as MyFico.   The operative word is unsecured.  And my objective is gaming - what is the financial impact if I take pathway number 1 or take pathway number 2.   I wanted to reduce risk which I define as the product of the probabilty of something happening and the consequence if I lost after it happened.    It appears, after 12 replys to the orignal question, that only one person brought it up as something I should really consider.  And I am doing just that - I need to find a lawyer to determine the legal meaning of unsecured debt as it pertains to the issues here.      I am thinking it is a paper tiger (looks bad but credit card companies can doing nothing but pound sand).   If my thoughts prove correct then a phone number changeout as unlisted and buying a secured credit card are the remaining requirements before calling Carnival and Holland Cruiselines.    I am looking at the entire issue as a business decision - whether it fits someones idea of right and wrong is not relevant to me.  As far as personal ethics are concerned - I think if it is legal then it is ethical.  [Removed]   Cheers!  And I do appreciate the replys given.  They have influenced my thoughts on the actual value of this Forum in general. 

I again apreciate the following comment made earlier: .... "if you go forward with your plan of default, you're likely to still have judgments on your credit reports ... You'll pay, one way or the other, and your attempt to stick it to the banks will not nearly be worth your efforts. "  I just do not see it that way and that is why I will pay for an expert legal opinion (in cash that I would have paid to a credit card, if confirmed).    Thanks all! 

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I think that you've probalby misunderstood (perhaps even willfully) the explanations of the potential consequences of your actions that have been offered so far. Sometimes, the two most difficult things to accept can be 1) responsibility and 2) the truth. In light of this, I think that seeking the competent advice of a lawyer is your best bet. And, because it appears that you've gotten the advice that you've sought, or at least extrapolated the advice that you desired, I'm locking this thread.