According to recent studies by the American Institute of CPAs, more than half of American adults (51%) say they delayed at least one important life decision, like having kids or retiring, because of financial reasons. In this article I will talk about the negative effects of credit card debt and I will go over debt relief options.
Lawsuits and Garnished Wages
There are more than one way that a credit card issuer can get their money, one of the most common being lawsuits. Very often they file a civil suit; If a creditor obtains a judgment against you they can place a lien on your assets to recover the money or even worse: garnish your wages by sending the required documentation to your employer, which is required to comply by law. A good way of preventing these problems is to seek help from a professional credit card debt settlement company.
It will make it harder to find a new job
If it wasn't hard enough to find a job with all the competition out there, staying in debt can make it a bit more difficult for you. This is because employers in many states can check the credit reports of job applicants, and a record filled with late payments and court proceedings may not let you be seen as a reliable candidate. Employers are able to do this because of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Companies must have your permission to view your credit reports.
However, this usually only affects people who are searching for a upper management financial position. The reason is because your potential employer may view you as a person who cannot make responsible financial decisions because of your own financial problems. Before applying, check any accounts that may have debt. If you see anything that may cost you from getting hired, quickly work on repairing the problem.
Mortgage, Rental and loan rejections
In addition to your debt issues, reports indicating nonpayment of credit card debt not only decrease your chances of securing a mortgage, you are also less attractive as a rental candidate, since in many cases landlords often check the applicant's credit before agreeing to hand over the keys. Likewise, if you are trying to apply for a loan at the bank, by having active debt somewhere else your chances of getting approved for a loan are between probably not and absolutely not.
Your debt can increase
In some cases people find themselves in a tight situation financially and they may chose to default on one high-interest card to keep the lower-interest ones to make purchases. What many people are not aware of are the penalties that come with not paying and/or paying late.
The reason that strategy will not work is because many credit accounts have "universal default" clauses in their agreement, which state that if you're more than 30 days late on
any one account, they're allowed to raise your interest rates based on the increased risk, hence increasing the debt balance.
Potentially losing a job promotion
Again, this only affects for people that are in line for a promotion to a position where they have to handle money, credit checks, or make financial decisions. If you believe you may receive a job promotion in the future make sure to settle any debt you have because it could keep you from getting promoted.
Debt Collectors
One of the things that major credit card companies do is that they often sell your delinquent credit card debt to debt collectors. Debt collectors buy the debt for a fraction of what you actually owe, they then try to collect the debt by getting you to make voluntary payments over the phone, internet or through the mail. The debt collector can also sue you in court just like the credit card company can. If a judgment is awarded to the debt collector, it too can garnish your wages.
How to Protect Your Wages From Credit Card Issuers
Wanting to pay a debt is great, but limiting your resources is not. Before making any decisions make sure that you are aware of the various debt relief programs available to you.
If you are in danger of having your wages garnished by a credit card company or debt collector and you know that you need this money to eat or pay other important bills such as medical bills, there are steps you can take to avoid garnishment of your paycheck.
Very often credit card companies are willing to accept a settlement in lieu of going through the courts to garnish your wages, this allows you to avoid a lawsuit and wage garnishment, you can negotiate a settlement of credit card debt with the bank or credit card issuer.
Settle the debt
Millions of American struggle under a load of high credit card debt, if you are having trouble paying your credit card bills or are worried about high credit card balances, don't hide. Instead, learn what you can do to better manage your credit card debt, sometimes, with strict budgeting and strategically closing some credit card accounts, you can start paying off your debt.
If the balances are very high and the stress unbearable make sure to talk to a reputable debt settlement consultant. You will be surprised how one simple phone consultation can help you see the light at the end of the tunnel.
State exemptions
In some circumstances, states allow you to protect a portion of your wages, these are called exemptions. When you receive the wage garnishment notice, you need to find out if your state's laws allow you protect a portion of your wages. If they do then you can file a document in state court claiming the exemption and the judge will decide whether it is valid or not.
File for bankruptcy
If you are really in over your head, bankruptcy might be your best option, bankruptcy immediately stops garnishment of your wages for a credit card debt, however, filing for bankruptcy affects many aspects of your life and should not be taken lightly. In many cases, you should not file solely to stop a garnishment.
The Bottom Line
It is important to point out that during the first three months of 2015, consumers paid down $34.7 billion in debt owed to credit card companies, that is about 7 percent above the average of the past two years, this means that people are educating themselves about all the possible solutions. There are many ways to fix your credit card debt problem, now it is just a matter of you choosing to make it happen.
0 comments :
Post a Comment