Cancel Credit Card Debt

I currently owe $45,000 in student loans and I am having a hard time paying them off. The loans are private (sallie mae) and I am not elligible for consolidating them via federal loans since I am not a US citizen. I was not able to get a visa so I had to leave the US. I live in Europe now.

I understand that declaring bankruptcy would not cancel out the student loans, but I have read that bankruptcy could cancel out credit card debt. I have a good credit score (790), so given some time, with an even higher credit score, I may be able to transfer my loans to a few credit cards.

What are the laws regarding credit card debt and bankruptcy? What difference does it make that I am not a US citizen and do not live in the US?

I would strongly advise you not to go that way. You will carry that mark against you for life. Talk to your student loan creditors and tell them that you are doing it really tough. Most will understand and help you come to a better arrangement that's suitable to you both. I have been in a similar position to you and I worked out a solution with my creditors. Maybe you could talk to a financial adviser who could show you various options. Good Luck.

2007-04-16 09:04:53 by migueljuan

Canceling a paid off credit card can hurt a credit rating because credit card companies can pretty much do anything that they want. Consider ...

i had a small debt of $91.33 which is big to me because i am a high school student and i only have a part time job. so my bank is Wells Fargo and i had a debt with them for $91.33 i paid in cash to get that off and clear my name off the credit burou thing and i told them in person to CANCEL my card i do not want to use it anymore...and i also tore up the card and trew it away...now they are charging my overdraft fees and it is back up in the negative place again it is -$59.88 i am getting sick of this but i also need help what should i do?

Credit cards do not have overdraft fees. Is this a debit card that withdraws the money from a checking account? If so, you may have charged something before tearing up the card that didn't clear your account until later. You can ask for a statement of charges (or wait until the regular statement comes out, but sooner is better when disputing charges) and verify that you made the charge or dispute that it was not made by you. If it was not made by you, they should remove the charge. You may have to request separately that they remove any overdraft charges if they don't do it along with the other charge.

2007-07-17 21:45:27 by bball17

Finally I paid my credit card. It is feeling good. Should I cancel my credit card account and stay debt free? or what?

No-leave it open, if you close it it will lower your credit score. If your afraid you might use it- freeze it in ice, stupid but if you have to un-thaw it it makes you think twice about using it. You also need a cc to rent a car, or reserve a hotel room so keep it and congrats on being debt free!

2008-09-21 15:55:12 by geeks_gadgets

i owe $16000 on my 4 credit cards all with chase and cant even make my minimum payment on any card. i lost my job and my wife is 2 months pregnant and i need help. i called a credit consolidation place, but they just want to add more and more fees. please help me i need real advise. thank you and god bless

Bankruptcy if you are looking to cancel debt. You must be careful though in how you do this (i.e. don't rack up unusual debt right before declaring). Talk with a lawyer that specializes in filing bankruptcy to ensure you do it properly. You will thoroughly ruin your credit for many years to come but you will also need to watch for new credit offers too. Once you file, you can't immediately file again so the credit offers know this and will look to take advantage of the situation.

If you are really looking to pay off your debt though, I recommend Consumer Credit Counseling Service (no charge to you) to assist with setting up a repayment program based on your income and ability to repay. Some credit card companies will work with CCCS and reduce the rate and/or payment amounts. You may also be able to do this with utility companies too through CCCS. Other companies like student loans or mortgage companies may be less cooperative but it never hurts to try.

Personally I recommend the CCCS route over bankruptcy. My wife and I were in a tight spot when I first got out of college and ran up a pretty good chunk of debt. Through CCCS and careful budgeting we were able to repay everything within approximately 5 years. While we had some negative marks on our credit report, we were able to still get a decent interest rate when we purchased a car at a later date by showing that we did go through a repayment program rather than filing bankruptcy.

Good luck with your choice.

2008-02-05 10:50:29 by drgreenbean

Yes. 1099's are never required (it is still too early to see if they did send it) for you to have to report income.

2007-02-02 20:03:40 by jerryscoins