Credit Card Debt - and no way out...

[grioghair]

*I am living in Indiana*

I moved to Indiana six years ago, and was married to a United States citizen. My health was bad at the time due to a long term illness...and I didn't start work until April of this year. In the interim period I built up a credit card debt in England of £5000.

I am working in a low-paid job, and there is no way that I can meet the payments every month - there has already been talk of taking it to collection. I am not going to able keep up the payments - in fact, they are several months behind, as I write this.

What are the legal repurcussions of this dilemma. (I am not going to return to England to live at any point in the future.) I am considering my wife and family first in this situation.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[Ladynred]

To recover anything, they would have to sue you in the US first. They can't enforce a debt from the UK in the US.

 

[grioghair]

*I live in Indiana*

This has, indeed, gone to the US now. I received a letter from a law firm called Bluestone Law, based in Washington, last night. They are asking for a check in US dollars, or a reason, if I cannot meet the payments. Well...I cannot meet the payments, and I have written straight back telling them so.

So, where does that put me now - and what can I do about this situation? The debt is around $9800 - I earn about $200 per week, and have no assets.

Steve

 

[Ladynred]

Well, the 'lawfirm' in Washinton is likely just another collection agency. If they were serious about suing you, they would have retained a lawyer in Indiana, they can't sue you from Washington.

You've already answered them, so I'd be willing to bet they'll just keep after you with the usual collection tactics.

 

[grioghair]

Thanks for your reply, Ladynred. I answered the lawyer, as you know - but today I received a letter from a loan company in VA - which, I believe, is Virginia. There are offering me the option - good for only one time, they said - of taking out a loan on my house of $23,000. I am ignoring it...as the house is not even in my name anyway. However, does this mean that the debt is now on record with the credit agencies in this country?

They have obviously tied up my residence and my name - not realising that my name does not even appear on the mortgage agreement. (As I stated before, I have no assets - and I wrote and told the lawyer that.)

I have not heard back from the lawyer yet, but I guess that is merely a matter of time.

Steve

Update:

A short search on the Net unearthed the fact that this loan agency does not even exist at that address - neither the name nor the phone number. The address - the actual suite number - belongs to a paper merchant company. I'm ignoring it completely.

 

[Ladynred]

If your name doesn't appear on the deed to the house, then there's simply no way you could take a loan out against it. It could very well be on your credit reports here. Do you have a Social Security Number ??

Ignoring that 'offer' is a good idea -- you cannot borrow your way out of debt !

 

[grioghair]

I do have a social security number - but how they got access to it (if they have) is a mystery to me. I want my wife kept out of this completely - the contract was just signed in my name...years before I met her.

The loan letter was inaccurate - they said I have a debt of at least $15,000 (which is erroneous) and they said that I had property in one of the states they listed...one of which was Indiana. (As you know, I do not own property.) Could they have found out this information from a credit report?

Steve

 

[grioghair]

* As mentioned above, Indiana*

The way I am looking at this now, it appears that once the debt was transferred over here, so was the credit report. So I am assuming that I now have a bad credit rating in both the US and the UK - when the debt only came via the UK. Until they decided to take this action - and I wrote and told them exactly the position I was in - my credit rating was excellent in this country...now they have effectively ruined my chances of ever getting credit - in any form - in this country for the foreseeable future.

However, putting that aside for the moment, I have no property to take a loan out on (and I was never intending on compouding the problem by taking this course, anyway), and I have virtually no money for them to sue me. I am not really worried about them pursuing this, as they really have no recourse to getting money that I do not have. The thing that worries me though, is someone turning up on my doorstep while I am out working and upsetting my wife with all of this - I don't know if that is a possibility or not...but it is preying on my mind right now.

I know the forcefulness of their letters is just a way for them to guarantee payment - but with me they are not going to get anywhere. I want this resolved one way or the other - even if it means jail time...although, I am pretty sure that debtors do not end up in jail these days.

I must say I am pretty annoyed with them deliberately ruining my credit in this country when it was flawless, though - but there's not much I can do about it now...just learn how to get it back on track as soon as possible, once all this is behind me. (Maybe you can give me advice on this - I'm sure that my flawless record in the USA over the past six years must be something positive.)

Thanks once again, Ladynred...

 

[Ladynred]

Well then, you need to find out what IS on your credit reports. It costs $9 each to get your report from each of the 3 credit bureaus and you may be eligible for a free report.

Go to www.experian.com
www.equifax.com
www.transunion.com

Get your reports and find out what it is you ARE dealing with. Over 70% of all credit reports are WRONG, so its good practice to stay on top of them.

Yes... they can get all kinds of info from a credit report, but there are also tons of databases they can use to get information that's not on your reports.

 

[grioghair]

What is the criterion for receiving free credit reports? (I believe this is different from receiving a free credit score.) I am looking at this optimistically now - at least I will not be getting interest charged every month anymore. How do I go about obtaining a free credit report...and can I subscribe to the bureaus, and then cancel after one month? (Money is tight - I have no disposable income.)

Thanks,

Steve

 

[Ladynred]

Criteria for a free credit report:

(c) Free disclosure under certain other circumstances. Upon the request of the consumer, a consumer reporting agency shall make all disclosures pursuant to section 609 [§ 1681g] once during any 12-month period without charge to that consumer if the consumer certifies in writing that the consumer

(1) is unemployed and intends to apply for employment in the 60-day period beginning on the date on which the certification is made;

(2) is a recipient of public welfare assistance; or

(3) has reason to believe that the file on the consumer at the agency contains inaccurate information due to fraud.

You're on the west coast, so starting in Jan 2005, per the new FACT Act, you will be eligible for a free credit report once a year. West coast gets this advantage first, east coast has to wait until Dec 2005 !!

 

[grioghair]

I live in Indiana.

There is an update on this case. I never received a letter back from Bluestone Law. Then a whole year passed. Several days ago I received a letter in the mail from Rubin & Levin - a group of lawyers in Indianapolis. The letter seemed very similar to the one I received last year. Please send a cheque for around $9,000. They want it written out to The Bank of Scotland, so - rather than this company buying the debt - it seems that they are just dealing on the bank's behalf, for a fee.

I have written back telling them I don't earn enough to settle this debt. However, now that this is being dealt with locally, where does that leave me legally? The position remains the same - I have no assets...although my wife does. She is worried about losing the house now. The house is not in my name. The credit card account was in my name only, and was set up before I even met my wife. I am sure that I am the only one liable.

Please advise,

Steve