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I highly doubt if you would be arrested for having some credit card debt, safe enough to say that your credit would be ruined and all that, but getting arrested? Not unless you get involved in a massive fraud of gargantuan proportions. That said, better to pay off and live debt free, than be a debt slave.
go to US with your girlfriend by car - less questions when there are 2 in the car- bring a passport- only answer questions do not volunteer info-or you could fly in- you will not be arrested for credit card debt- get a copy of your credit report in Canada, not the US. - keep 2 credit cards if you can get them- if not, get high interest card or a debit card from a major CDN bank. use your cards & build up credit by paying off the balance each month.
A few years ago I worked in America... and I moved back to Canada leaving $12K in debt with credit card companies... I
First of all, as the others have said, credit card debt is a civil not a criminal issue, so you will not be arrested.
Secondly - you indicated "a few years" - how long exactly since you made your LAST payment? TECHNICALLY, you may owe money for the rest of your life if you do not pay your bills. LEGALLY, there is a statute of limitations on someone suing you for an unpaid debt. The length varies by the state of residence. For example, in Texas, if it is more than 5 years since you LAST made a payment, a creditor can take you to court, but if you tell the court that the statute of limitation has passed, they will throw the case out.
Having said that, there's nothing to stop a creditor from continuing to call you even beyond the statute of limitations, but they cannot legally do anything about it (they can continue to report it as unpaid on your credit report for up to 7 years).
If a creditor catches up with you (which is highly unlikely if you do not attempt to get new debt), DO NOT TELL THEM ANYTHING. If they claim that you owe money, and you acknowledge it, then the statute of limitations starts all over again.
Another twist - if one of the credit card companies sued you while you were in Canada, and you had a judgment awarded against you, you will be responsible for that. There is no statute of limitations on court judgments.
If you want more advice on this particular subject, you might want to do a google search "statute of limitations credit card debt". There are lots of forums out there specific to managing debt/credit cards.
Similar question - if US citizen, left with US cc debt and it's 14 years later and I want to go visit (moved to Canada) - ok so no hassles at the border, and as long as I don't apply for credit then the visit should be fine? What happens with that debt - you say it doesn't go away, but how would they know I'm there to visit - they would know if I reapply for anything right?
greenrr
this is silly. debt evaporates for all practical purposes, after 7 years of no payment and no promising to pay. If any creditor tries to take you to court after 7 years, that is basically illegal since they have no right to do so, and you can then sue them for money, see the Federal register online, on the UCC codes. Debt collection, done illegally, can cost the collector thousands, if they don't walk the line. And you can collect those penalty fees.
OK, the point is, no one gets arrested for failing to pay credit card debt unless it's outright fraud. If you had too low income / too much debt and resulting financial troubles that's different; not usually seen as fraud, especially if you tried to pay it off but found you couldn't after a while.
But 7 years is the Federal limit on debts, after that you can apply for all kinds of stuff and the companies can't see the old debts on your record. If they do show up, that's illegal for anyone to list them on your record after the 7 year statute has passed. So you can call the credit bureaus, such as equifax, and report an error, and also prosecute for $$$, whomever wrongly put it on your record after it was illegal to put it on there. The record I am referring to, is your credit file in the 3 or 4 main credit bureaus that keep track of all of it in the USA. That's who the banks and everyone go to , when they are checking your credit.
ps, do they arrest people for credit card debt in canada?
pps, Americans have all kinds of rights about debt and to protect them against illegal debt collection activity. Collectors have to toe the line or face penalties. And NO they cannot continue to call and harass you once you have notified them in writing (keep copies always! ), NOT to call you any more. etc etc- search and find out your rights because they are pretty good nowadays! you can actually make $1000's off of bad debt collectors if you have an attorney who wants to go after them. Baddies have to pay the atty too. all in the Federal laws, read 'em. Federal trade commission.
Last edited by 2bpurrfect; 04-07-2011 at 05:55 AM..
That is fine. Read some of the questions on ESTA or actual visa applications. Once in the legal system the infamous 7-year-death of debt may only be Snow White's sleep.
Contrary to your opinion - you can get blood from a stone when the stone wants something.
Your particulars are of no personal interest to me. That you have apparently made no attempt to deal with your obligations and are still putting them on hold until something happens does not show a lot of responsibility in my book. An employer will run a credit history on you and then?
Actually Threestep. I think in this case you misspoke. Credit has no bearing on legal status or visas. Criminal history does and it is required for you to go to court for a debt for you to be convicted. Even then unpaid debt does not negatively impact your chances of getting a visa.
Getting a job.... Maybe. Depending on the position and the requirements for the job. However, when companies and everyone else do a credit search. That bad debt will fall off after 7 years. Unless you have debt collectors refreshing your debt without having spoken to you.
Typically when it is turned over these guys will harrass you your family anyone that may know you to collect on the debt. As long as you have not had any contact in 7 years there should not be any new marks on your credit. However, some of these collectors will refresh for every phone call they make and letter they send. However, that is not a big deal. You can dispute anything on your credit record. Additionally, any agency found to be intentionally reporting nonfactual bad debt can be taken to court.
By the way for most people there are only a few people that get to Judge them. I am pretty sure you are not on anyones list. May want to keep your judgement to yourself. Additionally if you are going to state something as an authority I would suggest stating fact and not your jaded opinion.
If I had to guess you work for a collection agency.
Actually Threestep. I think in this case you misspoke.
If I had to guess you work for a collection agency.
With all due respect, if I had to guess you didn't read the whole thread, you know nothing much about immigration requirements and you didn't notice that this is an old thread which was last contributed to over 10 months ago.
Similar question - if US citizen, left with US cc debt and it's 14 years later and I want to go visit (moved to Canada) - ok so no hassles at the border, and as long as I don't apply for credit then the visit should be fine? What happens with that debt - you say it doesn't go away, but how would they know I'm there to visit - they would know if I reapply for anything right?
greenrr
Bad debt stays on credit report only for 7 yrs collection accts for 5 yrs
immigration has nothing to do with your credit history byt it will tough to get a good job in the US with bad credit
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Threestep Please!
