What happens if I buy a bunch of stuff with my credit card and then don’t pay it back? What can they do about it?
Assuming you’re asking what can the credit card company do about it, they probably won’t do anything directly to you. The effect will be more indirect.
You’ll likely get some notices in the mail or via e-mails, reminding you of the payment. Then they’ll likely disable your credit card and send your account to collections.
This means, basically, you and your family are likely to get a steady stream of calls and mails from a company seeking to get you to pay off the credit card debt. It’ll likely continue for around seven years. You and your friends might also receive phone calls or messages on social media about your outstanding debt.
The credit card company will also report the lack of payment on your account to credit agencies. Your credit score will drop and it will become increasingly difficult to get future loans, home mortgages, lines of credit, or other credit cards. You probably will not be able to get any jobs where you handle large amounts of money, confidential information, or require a security clearance.
If you go to rent an apartment in the future, set up utilities for your home, or purchase a car then your outstanding debts will appear on your credit check. This will likely mean you’ll be required to pay for goods and services up front and offer deposits on utilities you want run into your home.
Basically, credit card companies can’t do anything immediate to you if you don’t pay them. However, failing to pay a credit card debt or a bank loan will mean virtually any company you do business with in the future will not want to give you the benefit of the doubt matters concerning money. Whether it’s offering you a loan, hooking up services, leasing you a car, renting you an apartment, trusting you to handle large amounts of cash, or giving you access to company secrets.
Unless you have another credit card that is in good standing, it will also be difficult to purchase on-line services (think Amazon and Netflix), it will be harder to get reservations at hotels (most of them require a credit card to make a reservation), and it will be more difficult to buy airline tickets.
In short, while you may not notice any ill effects right away from avoiding your credit card bills, you will probably find the next decade or so of your life involves an uphill struggle whenever you want to travel, make on-line purchases, lease something, get utilities hooked up, or apply for certain jobs.
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