How to Legally Stop Paying Credit Cards – Golden Financial Tells What You Need To Know
October 3, 2017 – How to legally stop paying your credit cards, is it possible? According to Golden Financial Services; “thousands of consumers ask this question every single day as they grow more and more frustrated with the credit companies refusing to reduce their payments and work with them directly.”
The good news is that; there are multiple credit card debt solutions available for folks that need to stop paying their credit cards due to lack of income, financial hardship and for various other reasons.
In this article; Golden Financial Services, an industry-leading national unsecured debt relief company, reveals the newest and most effective credit card debt solutions for people to turn to if they can’t afford to continue paying their credit card payments. But first — let’s take a look at some interesting predictions and statistics that help to explain why so many consumers are struggling to pay their credit cards in 2017.
Transunion predicts the average credit card-balance per borrower to hit a 7-year-high by the end of 2017, hitting $5,509.
Since 2013, the average credit card balance per borrower has continued to go up, year after year. Marielena Ortiz, a Credit Specialist at Golden Financial Services said; “Credit card debt balances are only going to continue going up, especially now that President Trump plans to deregulate all of the strict banking rules that currently prohibit banks from lending to unqualified borrowers. Once these regulations loosen up, banks will loan to anyone who applies no matter if they are qualified or not, leading to astronomical high debt balances across the nation.”
Transunion also predicts; by the end of 2017, 1.82% of credit card borrowers will be more than 90-days delinquent on their payments and this would be a (6-Year-High).
So as more and more folks fall behind on their credit card payments, what legal solutions are available?
The big question is:
Can I legally stop paying my credit card bills?
Paul J Paquin, the CEO at Golden Financial Services — explains that if a person stops paying on their credit cards, the end result will be numerous negative consequences including:
Credit scores go down.
Late fees and interest continue to accumulate as the debt becomes more and more delinquent.
Within 4-6 months the account will get charged-off (the bank’s way of getting reimbursed) and sold to a third-party debt collection company. Since debt collection agencies purchase the debt for pennies on the dollar, they will start sending the debtor settlement offers to pay off the debt for less than the full balance owed. (later in this article it’s discussed why consumers shouldn’t settle right away, and to first use debt validation as it can be a less expensive route to dealing with the debt and a way to get it off a person’s credit profile)
Creditor harassment – including relentless phone calls and collection letters being sent – leading to embarrassment and stress. Creditors may even use illegal debt collection practices; it happens every single day in the United States.
Credit scores will continue to go down until the debt is resolved or removed from a person’s credit report.
Debt collection companies can continue to sell the debt over and over again.
The original creditor and debt collection company may sue, but they cannot garnish wages unless they first win at court and get a “default judgment”. (Golden Financial Services advises consumers “not to skip the court date, often the creditor won’t show up at court and the case gets dismissed)
The New York Post recently reported on a story about a man and his wife who committed suicide over debt. “A broke Manhattan chiropractor and his wife jumped to their deaths from an office building Friday – leaving suicide notes describing how they ‘can not live with’ their ‘financial reality,’ law-enforcement sources said.”
Mr. Paquin sends a message to the public; “never let debt bring you down, there are outstanding solutions available to make debt affordable to resolve, no matter how bad your situation is. If this couple only knew about how debt relief programs work, their lives would have been saved. Unscrupulous debt collection companies break the law every day and get away with it.”
Best case scenario when a person stops paying their credit card bills:
The debt collection company harasses someone over the debt for a while and then gives up trying to collect on the debt.
Typically, if they don’t believe the debtor has a job or income, the debt collection company may cease collection activity for a while. Don’t get fooled, though; they will be back!
After seven years in most states, the statute of limitations will be reached, and the debt will no longer be legally collectible – and will fall off a person’s credit report.
Worst case scenario when a person stops paying their credit card payments:
They can get sued.
A default judgment can be issued.
Judgement issued and wages garnished.
Mr. Paquin provides the following debt advice; “The last thing you want to do is stop paying on your credit card payments.
If you’re struggling with high-interest credit cards and your balances aren’t going down, get a low-interest debt consolidation loan to pay off the debt. You can even get a home equity line of credit, and use that to pay off the high-interest credit card debt since a home equity line of credit carries the lowest interest rate compared to any other type of loan. The second best debt consolidation loan option would be a low-interest credit union bank loan — use that to pay off your high-interest credit card debt. On average, credit unions offer a lower interest rate on their loans compared to standard commercial banks.
For folks that had to stop paying their credit card bills due to insufficient income — first use debt validation to make sure the debt collection company can validate the debt and prove that it’s legally collectible, often they can’t. If they can’t, a legally uncollectible debt is one that doesn’t have to be paid and it can then be removed from your credit report. If the debt is validated and verified as a legally collectible debt, then your second best option would be to use debt settlement to settle the debt for less than the full amount owed, but the negative marks will remain on your credit report.”
Wesley Hendrickson, a Senior Account Manager at Golden Financial Services, said; “if a person can’t afford to stay current on their credit card payments due to financial hardship, there are fantastic credit card debt relief programs available as Paul just explained,[/url] that can reduce credit card debt balances, get a large fraction of the balance forgiven and in some cases debt can even get dismissed if the original creditor violates laws such as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Credit Card Act of 2009. I always recommend that consumers contact one of our IAPDA Certified Debt Experts here at Golden Financial Services as a starting point. We can then pull their credit report and thoroughly review their entire situation. After careful analysis, we can then detail a feasible plan for each person to take to become debt free in the fastest time-frame and achieve their goals. When it comes to debt relief options, each person has their own unique circumstances and goals, one program doesn’t fit all, so each case needs to be carefully examined and then personalized to fit each individual’s needs.”
Debt Validation Programs to Assist Consumers with Bad Credit Card Debt
Debt validation is a consumer’s legal right to dispute or challenge a debt. After a debt is disputed — now the debt collection company must take action before they can continue collecting on the debt.
Debt validation can be the least expensive option to dealing with bad credit card debts.
The debt validation program offered by Golden Financial Services, includes four stages:
Stage One: Credit reports need to illustrate accurate and verifiable information. There is an analytics department that reviews, identifies and addresses all erroneous and derogatory marks negatively affecting each client’s credit score – ensuring mistakes are corrected. This stage of the program is more of a bonus for clients, as it’s not directly disputing the debts.
Stage Two: After the initial credit report analysis – a case manager will start challenging and disputing each debt enrolled into the program.
The debt collection company must now provide an extensive list of items being requested, and — if they can’t provide even one of these documents and accurate and verifiable information — they must stop collection on the debt and can no longer report the information to the credit reporting agencies.
Here are a few examples of what’s being requested on a debt validation program:
The debt collection company must produce accurate information and billing records including a breakdown of each monthly payment and verifying there weren’t any unauthorized services added in over the years. (The date, source, and amount of the debtor’s last payment and the dates of default and amount owed.)
They must produce the original agreement that was signed and proving there weren’t any breaches in the original credit card agreement. A copy of the signed contract or other documents that provide evidence of the relevant consumer’s liability for the debt in question.
They must produce their license to collect on a debt in a particular state.
They must prove they’re abiding by the different laws such as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA).
Stage Three: Clients’ get assigned to a “Violation’s Team”. Their purpose is to provide training and education to clients regarding consumer rights, federal laws, and statutes. Clients learn how to defend themselves by using consumer debt protection laws.
Stage Four: RESULTS: This is the final stage in a debt validation program. After the validation process is completed an account manager will work with the client on identifying and fixing any remaining items still negatively affecting their credit score.
Debt validation does have its downsides, like any debt relief program. Creditors can issue a summons and try to sue an individual while they are enrolled in a debt validation program. The debt collection company can send the debt back to the original creditor, where the original creditor can continue coming after the alleged debtor, and harassment starts all over again. It is important to note that the debt validation program offered by Golden Financial Services comes with a money back guarantee to ensure clients’ get results or don’t pay. For a debt validation program to work, accounts must be with a third-party debt collection company.
What if the debt is proven to be valid?
A debt settlement program can be a second alternative for consumers to turn to.
Debt settlement programs can reduce the balances on unsecured debts, making them affordable for the consumer to pay off.
Consumers can contact Golden Financial Services to assist them with resolving unpaid credit card debts. At Golden Financial Services, the company has been providing debt relief services since 2004 and is A+ Rated by the Better Business Bureau.
Golden Financial Services provides free debt relief program information at 1-(866)-376-9846. (their Debt Relief Experts are Certified with the IAPDA and the AFSLR.
Sources:
Transunion, 09/25/2017
New York Post, 09/15/2017
The Debt Help Blog, 09/15/2017
Wikipedia, 09/15/2017
NoMoreCreditCards.com, 09/15/2017
GET IN TOUCH
Tarry Sandler
Golden Financial Services
858-605-6196
https://goldenfs.org
Release ID: 257747
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