Credit Card Debt in Renton

Credit card debt is a leading cause of bankruptcy. That is not surprising because credit card companies entice people into using the cards with promotions, cash back, airline miles, cunning TV ads, introductory rates and balance transfers. Once you start relying on credit cards, it is easy to miscalculate what it will take to pay them off or be too optimistic about how much your income will increase in the future. It only takes one loss of a job or unexpected expense to really throw your plans off.

Credit card debt can be totally wiped out in bankruptcy. Nobody wants to file bankruptcy and most people put off bankruptcy longer than is wise or necessary. If you are using credit cards for necessities and using your income to make the payments you are probably insolvent, meaning you can not keep up with your debt. Making only minimum payments will not pay down your principal for decades. Missing a payment or accidentally going over your credit limit will result in your interest rate spinning out of control. You may find that, just as you rely on credit cards for “just one more month until things improve”, the rug is pulled out from under you. That is because creditors are well aware of the warning signs and know when to pull the plug, leaving you in a disparage situation.

Credit card companies can you sue in bankruptcy if they think you committed fraud. However, this is hard to prove and they may be ordered to pay your attorneys fees if they do not win. Usually they will only file a fraud case when someone loads up on massive luxuries and cash advances right before bankruptcy. If they do win the fraud case, you will have to pay back the fraudulent debt regardless of the discharge wiping out the rest of your debt. To be safe, if you make a big charge on a credit card you should wait a while before you file your case.

Once credit card debt starts becoming unmanageable, you have months to prepare for filing bankruptcy before the credit card company starts really playing hardball and garnishes your wages. You can stop credit card collectors immediately at any step of the way but, of course, it’s best that you not wait until they are garnishing 25% of your take home pay. If your situation is keeping you up at night, you might as well talk to a bankruptcy attorney to learn how a bankruptcy will affect you overall. You could find your stress eliminated after years of struggle and your best efforts leading to credit card companies suddenly turning nasty on you. You may find out how simple bankruptcy is in your situation and that you can stop making credit card payments immediately in preparation for filing bankruptcy to wipe out credit card debt once and for all.