Here is my experience.....
Ch 1.
Thats what I thought "c
redit card is gift from the wel come america haha" and one day..................
I had not had any money to pay them back.
Ch 2
Credit card companies sold my account to the collection companies.
I started getting served.
To avoid the people who serve, I had to run from house to house when they came.
Finally, one of them got me.
Ch3
I never went to the court
It proved that the debt was valid
They started adding interest on the sum
One day I found that my small debt had become so big that I would never be able to pay it off.
Ch 4.
They kept calling me and I kept on finding new ways of hiding from them.
They went for garnishment and I shoved state laws up their A**.
They garnished my bank one day, and I was prepared to fight back ....I got everything back..
Ch 4 B.
I found that you could think "credit card is gift from the wel come america haha" if you make=< 40 times the federal minimum wage (for my state at that time). If you made a dime more, they could take it away.
Second, if they took it away with a court order then you could call and threaten them (like I did).
Third, you cannot have a house which they can auction to settle the debt and your car cannot be more expensive then $3500 (for my last state).
On the other hand, if you choose to go to the court then you could tell the judge that you make very less and plea that you would pay it off in small installments. This would save you from harassing calls, but you would have to pay them with interest. Moreover, if you are convincing then the judge could make you pay as low as $10 a month for...what ever time it takes.
Ch 5.
Years passed by and I was not able to get out of school. No credit also means no car on credit. No money cushion to go to a bigger city and look for jobs. In short, you live hand to mouth.
Ch 6.
Finally after years, I had to leave school. It was very hard. I had to save quite a lot to cover for a few months till I found something more stable in a bigger city. Though I tried my best, everything I had ran out. I was looking for people who could borrow me some. Life was hard. I was eating one meal a day and smoking USA gold.
Final Chapter....
Its been seven years, and most of those bad records have disappeared. However, some remain. Those companies sell records in such a way that the date of debt changes so that the span of seven years extends to about 9 in action. Now, I am getting another change. I am getting credit cards again. I am back on track now. BUT I don't need it anymore. I make enough.
Moral.
If you think "credit card is gift from the wel come america haha" then make sure that you have enough credit limit that it makes sense. I would say 100 K from 10 diff banks so that each loses about 10 K. Second, make sure that you disappear. May be change your state and don't lease anything. No agreement should have your name. Do not keep anything in bank because it will be garnished. In short run back to Nepal.
