4 years old credit card debt, should I pay or wait it out? I don't have any salary at the moment to be garnished

Submitted by ex-veggian t3_10q8qid in personalfinance

Hi, I'm looking for some guidance. I had a citibank credit card that I couldn't pay due to financial issues. I'm an international student so I don't have a work permit in the USA therefore no salaries. A collection agency called Midland Credit Management is sending letters to my previous address indicating they are planning to sue me. Total debt is $3200, I checked my credit reports from annualcreditreports and it seems like the last activity was around October 2018. (I remember it being even older but this is what shows up).

What should I do? I'm not planning to use any credit in the near future so I don't mind the credit score but I'm afraid of a lawsuit. Can you guys give me some ideas/guidance on how to proceed with this problem?

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Werewolfdad t1_j6oict3 wrote

You can offer to settle or wait until they do sue you.

What state are you in? You can also wait out the statute of limitations potentially

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Interesting-Dish8894 t1_j6oin3p wrote

Don’t be surprised if a collection affects your immigration status and causes you problems

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ex-veggian OP t1_j6okoif wrote

Replying to Werewolfdad (#1,677,702)

I'm in Tennessee so statue of limitations are 6 years, about 2 more years as far as I'm able to decipher from the credit report. But I'm not sure if October 2018 really represent the last payment date, I remember I stopped paying earlier but have no proof.

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ex-veggian OP t1_j6okwsd wrote

Replying to SolutionLeading (#1,677,657)

Not right now, I'm not employed and whatever money I can get on my hands is usually spent on attorney and application fees for immigration. I'd be able to pay it once I get my work visa but right now I have zero income.

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lobsangr t1_j6p37i9 wrote

It shows a different date because It became a collection so pretty much a "new" account.
Uhmm when it comes to legal action I believe what you owe is not enough for them to prosecute it because of the cost involved with this procedure. This will be on your credit for the next 7 years and I am not really sure if it will affect your immigration status.

Dave Ramsey recommends not to pay collection agencies anything since they're buying your debt on the pennies for every dollar. So for example they bought your 3200$ for 600$, and their profit is the difference. This debt will be increasing since they will be adding late fees and some other stuff to it.

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ex-veggian OP t1_j6pec1y wrote

Replying to lobsangr (#1,685,594)

Thanks for taking time to respond. I wish calling them to negotiate wouldn't reset the statute of limitations. I could give them a call and ask them if we could work something out. I'm afraid to call them, I'm also afraid not to call them as well. I guess I'll wait for the court date and tell the judge I don't have anything. I'm not worried about the collection agency and the court date but this having an affect on immigration process is really worrying.

Thanks again.

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