Can a credit card company take someone to court for not paying their bill?

Question

Can a credit card company take someone to court for not paying their bill?

Answer 1

Credit card companies generally sue people who they think that they can force to pay.  Also, they tend to sue in states where wage garnishment is legal (and it is allowed in all the states except NC, TX and FL).  

If you are sued by a credit card company, your chances of winning a suit are very slim.  If it comes down to this, bankruptcy can protect you from a judgment and their law suit as the automatic stay stops all legal proceedings.

If you owe a lot of money or they suspect that you are charging up your cards and not making payments, they are more likely to file a law suit.  I have never heard of them suing someone making their payments -- only people who have stopped making regular payments.

If you are having trouble paying, call the credit card company and ask for a hardship agreement.  Tell them why you can't pay and ask them to give you a break for a few months until you can get yourself working again.

Interest will still accrue, and you generally won't be allowed to use your cards anymore.  Make sure that you follow the rules of the hardship agreement.  Some require even minimum payments of even just $5.00, and if you are even a day late, the agreement will be voided.

If you are late 3 months or more, then the credit card companies are allowed the sell your debt to a collection agency, and then they take a loss on their taxes. Once you are dealing with a collection agency, you rights expand somewhat, but take note that collection agenices sue, as well, probably more so than credit card companies.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Absolutely!!!  

They take you to court in their own state and if you dont show up they automatically win a judgment....Once they get a judgement they can do different things to collect.

Obvioulsy it depends how delinquent you are --- They will try a variety of collection tactics before it goes legal.

Answer 3

You bet.  They do it all the time.