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Defaulting on credit cards.?*

How high does the balance have to be before a credit card company will take the trouble and expense to take you to court to seek a judgement?

Answers:

1) default on credit cards depends how much, min at least 3 mth for the bank to take action.

2) i think the best way to answer this question is to rephrase it. the question should be: "do banks really give a damn to run after you and file an actual case in court?" answer: hell no! this is but a mere strategy (sending you demand letters coming from unknown law firms asking you to pay up or else legal actions will be filed) used by banks to frighten delinquent cardholders and to force them to pay their dues. logic will tell you that banks will not spend their money filing actual cases. you see, more money will be spent in filing one than from recovering your actual debt/dues. so in reality no bank.. as in no bank will ever waste its time, effort and most of all money to file a case. it's just a matter of balancing risk-and-rewards kind of thing. why would they bother to file and ran after you if doing so would entail them more expense. furthermore, banks have what you call "buffer" for bad debts. they have alloted a portion of their capital to answer for all the delinquent accounts they will encounter in eventually.

3) Credit card default is considered a matter of civil law rather than criminal law, unless fraud was involved. There is a process before they will take you on courts, like raising interest rates on an account, making calls, etc. Then, the company is entitled to seek a judgment against credit card holders in default, which can have adverse affects on credit reports for up to 10 years.

4) When you debt is at 210 days, it will be considered charge off or default. I used to do collections. The amount has nothing to do with the deliquency. It will ruin your credit report and it will hurt you on applications for a new card, house or car loan. You would be bbest to talk it over and pay it down.

5) Credit card companies keep their attorney's on a retainer. They want ALL their money from every one who owes them. They will attempt to get you to pay over a 3 to maybe 9 month period, during which time they will, rightfully, trash your credit rating, and then likely send you a ITS letter. (Intent to sue) It's so much easier to just pay your bill.

6) The truth is somewhere between the Ian & Mo responses. Basically it comes down to a cost benefit analysis: if it would cost more for the them to sue than they think they'll win, they probably won't do it. Some companies take a harder stance on filing suit than others.

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