student + credit card debit = BIG problems!

What state are you from? PA

I am a full time college student and have gotten myself into a lot of trouble with credit card debt! I am getting daily calls from collection agencies and am scared to pick up the phone! It's embarrassing too because I live at home with my parents and my little sister. I am currently unemployeed but am looking for a job. I have no savings and no car or anything like that. The CA's are saying that if I don't return their calls, I'll be sent to court. I am so scared because I don't have any money to pay them and it's been a while since I've last paid them! What can I do??? Will they accept a payment plan even though it's been a long time since they got a payment from me??? This has been eating me up and it's really making me sick to think about the amount of debt I'm in and I'm only 21...can someone please help or offer comforting words?

[bigun]

When did you last pay the orginal creditor?

There are no comforting words. You are in trouble and the only way to get out is to take responsibility and fix your problem. You have no major bills and yet you have large credit crad debt? Then most your debt is probably discretionary and frivolous.

You need to change your lifestyle and stop spenidng what you dont have.

Step 1. Cut up the credit cards. Do not use them. They are no good to you now. If you don't want to do this then you don't want to fix the problem.

Step 2. Get a job. Any job. You must sink to whatever level you have to to get a job. Even if it is burger king. Its as simple as that. You live at home with no major expenses. Everything you earn should go to paying off the credit cards. Your daily schedule should consist of eat, class, look for job, sleep. That is it. YOU MUST HAVE INCOME. You may even want to consider taking next semester off and working.

Step 3. Contact a credit counseling service and tell them your problem and see what they say.



The credit card companies may accept a payment plan if you can meet their terms.

If you do pay or ignore them, they may get a judgment against you; your parents will definitely know, because you will have to go to court; if you have no assets they will probably charge off the money, freeing you, but just kiss your credit goodbye for a while. You'll be living off cash.

Which you should be doing now.

[Ladynred]

C'mon LawDawg - the child has NO MONEY, NO JOB, and NO ASSETS - what makes you think that a creditor (besides nasty Discover) will bother to sue her ? She has NOTHING they can take from her and her credit report will certainly reflect that.

The people who are most likely to be sued are those who own property, have a job, or show other possible assets worth going after - all thru their credit reports and other available sources.
Discover - nasty people - is the exception, I think they'd sue my CATS for 2 cents !! Thank God I NEVER had any compulsion whatsoever to take that useless piece of plastic !!

Besides Bigun's question - my questions are - who are the creditors and how MUCH debt are we talking about here ?

You SHOULD get a job, but a job a Burger King won't pay you enough to make any kind of dent in what I'll bet is whopping interest charges and possibly other fees that are racking up day by day.

You can get them to stop calling you with a modified cease and desist letter that limits them to MAIL ONLY contact with you. Its a bit easier to deal with when the harpies aren't screaming in your ear.

The ugly fact remains.. these credit card companies set themselves up on college campuses and push their 'student' cards to these kids - 99% of which have NO CLUE what they're doing with a credit card and they certainly have NO CLUE what awaits them when they don't pay the bill ! CC issuers throw out the plastic bait and hook 'em early - and deep. I, personally, think they should be BANNED from college campuses !!

[chinabloo]

As a layperson, I'd say confess your problems to your parents, see if they can pay your debt off for you, and then you can make regular payments to them.

Then, make a fresh start and don't buy anything unless you have the cash in hand! Take it from someone else who has learned some hard lessons!

I agree with Lady. My youngest child started getting credit card applications last year while she was a senior in HIGH SCHOOL. This year as a college freshman she receives these solicitations at least once a week. She knows while in school with only a part time job she is to rip them up. The companies shouldn't be allowed to send this stuff to kids. CCP

[JETX]

Ladynred said, "You can get them to stop calling you with a modified cease and desist letter that limits them to MAIL ONLY contact with you."
*** You certainly got me with that one. What is a MODIFIED cease and desist letter?? The only viable C&D letter that the third party collector needs to comply with is as described in the FDCPA. Or do you have some 'secret' letter that no one else knows about??

[Ladynred]

Its hardly a secret and many, many people have had success with it. Whether or not a CA truly HAS to comply per the FDCPA is another question. As we all know, most of these dumb-azz collectors don't KNOW what the FDCPA really says and its so open to interpretation in some sections its hard to really nail down.

The 'modified' C&D simply says 'don't call me, limit all contact to mail only. It works... regardless of what may or may not be the intent of the law.. I'd be willing to bet it works because the CA's don't know any better .. and that's fine by me !!