VERY unethical question

[stinkynuts]

I have three credit cards with a total credit limit of 40,000 dollars. What would happen if I cashed out the entire amount (cash advances, credit card checks to myself) and never payed them back?

I am only asking this as a hypothetical question.

 

[MuffinMuncher]

You'd still owe the money. Eventually you would be hounded by credit collection agents, interest and penalties would accumulate, the companies would sue you, it would go to court and you'd be held liable. You can refuse to pay and declare bankruptcy, but kiss your credit goodbye.

Is it really worth the hassle?

 

[stinkynuts]

I can hide the cash at home and declare bankruptcy, wait 7 years, and get new credit. Then I can use the cash for myself. Hypothetically, of course. I am not planning to buy a house in the near future anyway.

 

[tboy]

You'd still owe the money. Eventually you would be hounded by credit collection agents, interest and penalties would accumulate, the companies would sue you, it would go to court and you'd be held liable. You can refuse to pay and declare bankruptcy, but kiss your credit goodbye.

Is it really worth the hassle?

It can be, because after ummm 4 yrs? you're back to square one....I've known people who have declared bankruptcy 3 times and each time they end up having to pay back like 10 cents on every dollar owed. A way around starting from zero is to amass wealth then hide it (by giving it to a spouse, trusted friend or offshore account).

For eg: You have 40K in combined credit. You could purchase jewelry or investment diamonds then 'give' it to someone or simply hide them. Or buy a car, then sell it to someone for 10% of it's value then buy it back after bankruptcy for the same amount.

 

[raven@mirage]

You owe them money because they are on credit cards, you need to read back the user agreement you got before you signed the back of those cards. your credit card companies if they have websites which most of them will have the user agreement on the website

If you do not pay it back its consider stealing and of course those collection calls will pile up, and then of course you know how they send out those letters legal action will be taken.

It's pretty simple. its credit short for borrowed money. money that does not legally belong to you because you did not work for it. you just sent in application and based on your credit history and FICO score at that time that is why you got a loan saying you can use this money as long as you pay it back withing a certain amout of time and if you don't these steps will follow.

 

[elmufdvr]

hell i have more credit than that...but i like to have my house and cars and bikes..so I could not do that... but you could... I have read about people doing that with more money.. hell some are still working at city hall and in the house of commons... hahahah think about what you really want in your future and remember that it will come back and bite you in the ass one day....

 

[stinkynuts]

Right, but they can't force me to pay back their money. I heard they never sue, since it's not worth the legal costs. As long as I don't make it seem outright fraud (do it gradually), I hypothetically could get away with it. As for the phone calls, I could just change numbers or get a new number under a friend's name.

 

[stinkynuts]

I have 0 assets, and the 40k would be of great benefit for me right now.

 

[tboy]

Right, but they can't force me to pay back their money. I heard they never sue, since it's not worth the legal costs. As long as I don't make it seem outright fraud (do it gradually), I hypothetically could get away with it. As for the phone calls, I could just change numbers or get a new number under a friend's name.

They can TRY and force you to pay back the money by suing you and winning (and yes they do sue depending on the amount owed). If they sue you and win they can garnish your wages. Even if you declare bankruptcy any income you earn will be attached.

With 40K I'd say you can count on them suing.

How it works is:
First will come the notices saying you missed your minimum payment
Then will come the phone calls
Then will come a registered letter
Then a notification that you are being sued
Then come the baliff or sherrif.

If the amount was small enough they might stop with a black mark on your credit rating but for 40K you can guarantee they will pursue you until the situation is addressed.

Do you have a full time job? If so your wages are an asset and will be attached/granished unless you address the debt.

 

[stinkynuts]

I guess it's not worth the risk then. I wasn't actually going to do it anyway.

 

[The Bandit]

Just a different version of trying to milk the system, just like some people on welfare, or Workers Compensation. (Note I said "some".)

 

[David Beckham 23]

Wait until you turn 95, then go wild!

 

[stinkynuts]

I agree. But somehow it's different when it's not your country you're scamming, but a corporation making billions and charging people 29% interest per year.

 

[lamwi]

If you have a job and paying taxes to the government then they might take court action to garnish your wage. If you don't have a job or you are working a cash job then they won't be able to do much.

 

[fuji]

I have 0 assets, and the 40k would be of great benefit for me right now.

The catch is if you took the $40k in cash they'd likely launch an audit to find out where the money left and "I lost it on the bus" wouldn't convince the judge. If you piss the judge off enough he might order you to hand over the cash/assets and then hold you in jail on contempt until you do.

However, sure, if you pulled it off you'd be out of bankruptcy after a few years. They'd garnishee your wages in the meantime to pay back some % of it. They'd reduce your wage to a minimal living wage that you could survive on and take the rest directly from any paycheck. That would continue for four years or whatever the limit is and then you'd be clear.

If you can cope with that, and you can manage it in a way that doesn't make a judge ask where it went, then sure, give it a shot.

 

[Hard Idle]

Banks are definitely willing to go to court over smaller amounts if they feel the debtor has enough earning potential in his/her lifetime for them to get back a decent percentage.

If their analisys shows the person to be a professional deadbeat who's circumstances are unlikely to ever change, they might settle for the 20% or 30% they'll get selling the debt to a third party (collection agency) and leaving them to get blood from a stone.

Being "Judgement-proof" deters civil action by individuals who can't afford to wait 20 years just to recover thir legal bills. But it may not deter a big corporation from seeking a judgement - they are encouraged by the fact that you can't afford the legal muscle to bog the matter down in the courts - and they need to do go to court some of the time to maintain credibility.

I think the trend is more and more to go for the judgement in case the debtor has a winfall or gets sloppy in hiding assets. My guess is they'd go to court if it's $10K or over.

 

[skypilot]

I have a good friend in the collection business. He says they get a lot of creditors who rack up super amounts on their cards. When they find them they will try to intimidate them with a lawsuit, but unless fraud is evident they will just try to collect as much as they can. Often they will offer a settlement amount that is half of the amount owed.
One of the biggest problems is that the card companies will issue cards to non north americans who are temporarily over here. Often these are people from the middle east. They will max out several cards before they return to their home country. They are virtually untracible even if they return because they often have several varients of their name and use different social security or social insurance numbers.
If I catch any fatal disease I intend to max out all my cards end enjoy the money before I go.

 

[Fabulous]

been there, done that, not intentionally but fU&$ life happend; 1 credit card cut my credit card after i missed a payment 45 days, 6 grand on it, I decided not to pay them off and on they called for a while, via different collection agencies, then they stopped I thought they went away, couple of more years passed by..... nothing, all of the sudden a different collection agency took up the debth and filed a small claims law suit (I don't know how or if this is even possible, but at the time of the small claims filing I happend to have several grand in the bank and I don't know if they could see it or know it that I had the money?, if somebody has the answer I'd like to know) I didn't bother filing a defense cause I knew I was guilty lol, no sense wasting more money lol, anyway now they have a judement against me. Needless to say I can't keep any substantial amount of money in the bank anymore. Cause I don't know if they are gonna grab it. Other credit cards I fucked up along the way, as my credit rating was getting messed up from the first one and then I just didn't care and maxed everything out. Despairingly, I let all the credit go into collections and now the phone calls don't stop....

It's not worth it, don't do it, these fuckers have computers dial your number all day long, it's not funny, don't do it, they'll hunt your ass down and make your life misreable...all I need is a little less than 20 grand to make them all go away, anybody got any spare change laying around...tboy????

 

[skypilot]

been there, done that, not intentionally but fU&$ life happend; 1 credit card cut my credit card after i missed a payment 45 days, 6 grand on it, I decided not to pay them off and on they called for a while, via different collection agencies, then they stopped I thought they went away, couple of more years passed by..... nothing, all of the sudden a different collection agency took up the debth and filed a small claims law suit (I don't know how or if this is even possible, but at the time of the small claims filing I happend to have several grand in the bank and I don't know if they could see it or know it that I had the money?, if somebody has the answer I'd like to know) I didn't bother filing a defense cause I knew I was guilty lol, no sense wasting more money lol, anyway now they have a judement against me. Needless to say I can't keep any substantial amount of money in the bank anymore. Cause I don't know if they are gonna grab it. Other credit cards I fucked up along the way, as my credit rating was getting messed up from the first one and then I just didn't care and maxed everything out. Despairingly, I let all the credit go into collections and now the phone calls don't stop....

It's not worth it, don't do it, these fuckers have computers dial your number all day long, it's not funny, don't do it, they'll hunt your ass down and make your life misreable...all I need is a little less than 20 grand to make them all go away, anybody got any spare change laying around...tboy????

If you can scrounge up about a grand, go to an attorney who deals with collections. He will get the credit agencies off your back. He can also negotiate settlements.
The search programs these collection agencies use are scary, they can see what you have in the bank, how much you owe on your mortgage, even people who lived next door to you years ago.

 

[ig-88]

Question: What if you have absolutely nothing? No assets, no income, nothing? What can they do?