Many people have fear that they may end up in prison for not paying their credit card debt. Many collection agencies are intimidating debtors with threats provided by agents such as
“if you don’t pay off your debt, then be ready to go to jail.”
I will attempt to organize and present the information, which I have analyzed, which would help you understand and choose what best suits your case.
This article and the comments below it are full of useful information about penalty of non-payment of your creditors. So take your time to review this post and feel free leave questions or comments.
Non-payments on debt is not considered a crime in the U.S. The U.S. hasn’t make use of a debtor’s prison since the 50’s. Some countries have strict policy against default and can place a debtor in prison for failing to make payments. However, the U.S. government has a vested interest in making debt a desirable fact, therefore debt is not criminalized. In order to go to prison you must be proven guilty of criminal behavior. Different states have different Laws regarding these issues.
If you are defaulting, then the following would be your options:
- Pay/Settle your debt (If you already have some cash).
- File bankruptcy (an often nightmare).
- Ignore and possibly end up in jail for contempt of court order (Happens rarely).
- Start payment of full amount.
- Exit U.S.
What will probably happen?
According to my knowledge and expertise, your creditor can take you to civil court and obtain judgment against you claiming that you owe him debt. Through the judgment the collector can then get liens against your property and/or garnish your wages. But getting to this point of wage payment or holding your property is time consuming and usually never occurs. This is because the collector has to go through a process that is explained later in this article.
Going to jail for contempt wasn’t something that I thought could occur, but then recently I’ve read some articles, which have made me realize that in some rare cases an arrest warrant can be issued for (in cases where there is contempt of court). I think that is related to your not showing up in court, but from what I’ve read; these arrest warrants are very uncommon.
