I quit paying my unsecured credit when I got back together with my girl.. why?
Me.. $20,000 in CC debt.. not real responsible but did what I had to do at the time.
Wife.. $120,000 in total debt including CC's her ex husband racked up in her name (without her knowledge), but mostly medical debt from some major surgery she went through during a time she had no insurance.
It's so rediculous it's not even worth trying to pay. Creditors are just now starting to sue me (almost 4 years later).. I'm sure it won't be long before hers does too.
I'm fighting my first lawsuit pro se (no lawyer)... the Collection Agency doesn't have much in the way of proof so we'll see how that pans out in court. There will be others afterward.
The way I see it.. worst case scenario? They garnish 25% of my wages. If it gets to that point we'll just file chapter 7 bankruptcy. Our credit is already screwed anyway. Can't go to jail for not paying bills (except income tax). Best case? I fight the collectors and get the lawsuits dismissed.
Here's how it works.. original credit charges off the debt (tax write off), then hires a collection agency.. Collection agency does their thing for awhile then sells the debt to a 3rd party JDB (Junk Debt Buyer) for 5 to 10 cents on the dollar (if not less).
3rd party JDB harasses, then sues the person.. sometimes they have proof of the debt and sometimes not. In either case if you don't fight the lawsuit, you lose. They hope for a default judgement, then go for garnishment. They actually make lots of money on collecting money that doesn't even really belong to them. On top of that they add lawyers/court fees to the total amount they charge you, so it really doesn't cost them a dime to pursue you (if they win).
Personally, I'd make more of an effort to pay off my debts if I thought for one second the original creditor would get paid back.. but none of it goes to them. The whole system is a joke. Doesn't even seem like it should be legal....
