Bad Credit Card Debt

B

BadDebt

Registered User
Messages
8
Hi all,

I was hoping I could get some advice and facts about my situation as I am extremely worried and I have been very wreckless with credit card debt.

I'll try to keep this as brief and to the point as I can.

I had a few loans over the years, all under 10k, which were paid off with no problem, all with one of the major banks. I have a credit card for a couple of years and was making payments on that the whole time too...

Anyway, I moved to another country and have been out of touch from the bank for about 7 months. The problem is, my debt spiraled on my card, and I have not made a payment for about 6 or 7 months.

My credit card limit was c.4k, and in the 6 or 7 months I didn't make a payment the card was never cancelled by the bank and I was allowed to withdraw money from it (and work over here wasn't going much better, so I had no choice) and I kept taking money out....so the bank allowed me to wrack up debt well above my "agreed" amount or credit limit of 4k, up to about 200% above that amount before it was cancelled and I could no longer take money out on it.

Now, I don't suggest I'm not completely responsable for this debt and my own stupidity got me here, but my first question is, is there some sort of irresponsible lending and / or illegality of the bank giving me acsess to so much cash, so above my limit, for half a year when it was abundantly clear that they had no way of contacting me, I was not going to make contact, I was abroad, (could have been stolen?), and they allowed the amount to grow until it exceeded the c. 6k mark so that they could look for a judgement in the circuit court as apposed to the district court?

Ok, secondly, I have made no contact in all this time, not to make any arrangement, and the bank has been unable to contact me. Should I come clean and contact them now? I still have little or no payback power at present and my income is very staggered.

Also, once they get this judgement, if I was NEVER to get in touch with them, could this become a criminal issue where my arrest back home could be warrented or even be given a criminal record in my absence?

I'm really really worried about this and know how stupid I've been, but I've been trying to sort everything out and I'm just way in over my head now and don't know what to do..

Thanks for any help and any advice would be massivley appreciated.

Thank you.
 
Hi there,
If I were you I would make some contact with the bank, and organise to start paying off the debt.
 
Bad debt

BadDebt said:
Hi all,


Now, I don't suggest I'm not completely responsable for this debt and my own stupidity got me here, but my first question is, is there some sort of irresponsible lending and / or illegality of the bank giving me acsess to so much cash, so above my limit, for half a year when it was abundantly clear that they had no way of contacting me, I was not going to make contact, I was abroad, (could have been stolen?), and they allowed the amount to grow until it exceeded the c. 6k mark so that they could look for a judgement in the circuit court as apposed to the district court?

.
Click to expand...

Do you mean, a bit like an alcoholic trying to blame a Brewry for letting him spend all his money on drink ?. Worth a try.
 
My advise is to contact the credit card company by letter. Offer them a repayment plan based on what you can manage to pay each month. Also ask them to stop the interest charges. I am in your situation, they will take any reasonable amount. By the way I wish I only owed 6K. There is a standard letter on www.mabs.ie which I used
 
Sidetracker said:
Do you mean, a bit like an alcoholic trying to blame a Brewry for letting him spend all his money on drink ?. Worth a try.
Click to expand...
Why dont you refrain from posting if you're not going to try to help. you've just read the post of someone who is clearly very worried, and you decide to post something that is not at all helpful. Or funny, for that matter. Just stupid.

I think you should contact the CC company. It's obviously bothering you hugely, that will only change when you do something about it.
 
have to agree with the comments above, it is imperative that you contact the credit card company and come to some arrangement. This should stop any legal proceedings. The amount in question is not insurmountable over a number of years so get in touch asap and as JEON50 suggested ask them to freeze the interest on the balance.
 
David Dublin

Hi David. At age 68, I could write a book about money trubles, but I accepted what I did and took it on the chin. I didnt take financial institutions to court for allowing me to be stupid. I have every sympathy for everyone in trouble, but take it on the chin and moove on.
 
What a stoic person you are Sidetracker. But what was the point of post? Did it make you feel better about your age, or your ability to write a book, or your history of taking on the chin and facing up to things?

Asking for advice is a first step towards doing something about it, and he may indeed end up taking it on the chin and moving on.
 
Could not agree more with David Dublin, if you can not offer advise based on our own experience, or know how, do not make silly comments, to pass the time. We are dealing with real people in trouble
 
Bad debt

Whilst you are at it, give them some good advice on how not to be so stupid again when the problem is sorted. Forget about court action against people who played no part in your misfortune and just tackle the problem.
 
What are you on about, what court action. If you have nothing constructive to add , do not bother making any replies
 
JEON50 said:
What are you on about, what court action. If you have nothing constructive to add , do not bother making any replies
Click to expand...

Sidetracker was been constructive - he was basically saying face up to your debt and stop trying to blame the institution that lent you the money.

Of course it's not a nice situation to be in - but it's manageable and the OP will most probably learn a few valuable lessons.
 
The only options are to face up to the debt and either pay it all off, or try to make some sort of deal to only pay back some of it.

You'll eventually come round to doing this, so you may as well do it now.
 
I actually see where sidetracker is coming from on this one.

OP is obviously worried about their position and it is great to get constructive advice, the very first step of which is to take responsibility for themselves and not try to blame anyone else.

In reality, it is not a huge amount of debt and is "fixable" so the OP will hopefully get back on their feet.

OP, you did not post much about your own circumstances, apart from saying your income is staggered - do you have the capacity to draw up some kind of repayment schedule however small at the minute?
 
I am not saying sidetracker is wrong, but when you are at your lowest, its is nice to hear positive solutions. Sidetracker is right, you got to learn by your mistakes, and take responsibily for you own mistakes. In fact the banks and CC companies are more forthcoming if you arrange a proposal
 
I think it is vital the OP makes some form of contact with the credit card company because eventually they will catch up with him/her.

That aside, it is staggering the amount of people caught up with credit card debt, maybe if some form of money/financial education was a compulsory subject in the final years off school, it would go some way towards preventing people getting into debt with these cards, there are lethal if not used properly.
 
Yep I agree, however the lastest generation seen it as easy to get credit. I am the fool, I remember the 1980's and I fell into the trap again. However I have learned to meet the banks and CC companies, before they come looking for you. They see this in a very positive way
 
Yes, hopefully credit card companies will have learned valuable lessons and be stricter and more cautious in the amounts they lend out, they must have got badly burnt in this past decade of madness as well
 
If you had term loans before and paid them off fully, would it be possible for you to get a bank loan to pay off the credit card debt?

The interest would be cheaper, c. card company would have no problem accepting that.
Once paid off, get rid of the card or get limit reduced to €500 or something very small.

I'd agree with other posters about contacting the card company. At least you
would know where you stand with them and would significantly reduce your worry about it. Once you start to take control the situation a bit more, your anxiety should start to reduce.
 
Hey guys, thanks very much for all the helpfull advice.

I always knew the time to face the music was going to come, so I guess I might as well get it over and done with!

I'll let you know of any future developments I may need your advice on and thanks again to everyone who contributed.

[edit] Oh yeah, just on the criminal issue, is there anyway ignoring my debt could have already or in the future, turn into a criminal matter if the bank did not get hold of me? My fear is contacting the bank and finding out they are in the depts f some seriously civil action against me, but my biggest fear is that the longer it is ignored, could it ever become a criminal matter?? That's really important that I find that out as criminality linked with debt is really the straw that breaks the camels back, and that was the only reason I took issue with the bank being almost as irresponsible as me, by allowing the amount borrowed to far exceed anything that was previously agreed and it's almost as if they are using my situation as leverage to feck me up as much as possible...I don't see the point on a credit limit if they'll let you take double that amount, when you're at your weakest financial point, and then have a sword of criminal conviction hanging over your head if you don't pay it back...
 
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