I have $16,000 in credit card debt. Will it disappear after 7-10 years, or will it follow me forever?

Right now, I have no means of paying it off. If I were to get funding to go to college, and then be able to make more money, will I still have that debt for the rest of my life? If I wait to pay it until after I get a degree, the fines and interest will be even worse than they are now. I have read that I can't discharge credit card debt through bankruptcy. What do people do when they lose income from a spouse through divorce or death? How can they ever get past their debt when credit cards are in their name?

haha sucks to b u

I suggest you pay it off or it will stay with you forever.

there are organizations that can help you eliminate credit card debt but it will never go away by itself

call a credit counseling service....they will help

they will also be a big help to you when the credit card companies sue you

research 'credit counseling service'....find several....call and talk to them...ask them all of your questions before you decide which one is right for you

Eventually they will come after you through collections.
Bankruptcy might be the only solution, you can still file, but the requirements are different.

I don't think your debt is going to disappear. From what I understand, the negative credit due to your balances will go 7yrs AFTER you pay everything off - at least that's what I heard. I do know that foreclosures and things of that nature are usually gone after 7yrs. You might want to contact a lawyer or a CPA and ask what you can do about your debt and if bankruptcy is for you.

You're screwed. It will follow you. And depending on what it is it may come down to being a legal matter. They'll chase you till it's paid believe me.Good Luck.

The credit card companies have to write off debt everyday, if you die they can't get any money. Unless your name is on account.

i'm not a credit expert but this i know. you need to get it taken care of. get to a debt relief agency or something. i'd call a local bank and ask them about any non-profit debt relief agencies in the area. not paying off your debt, and that much will GREATLY effect your credit. which means you will pay out the rear (pardon my words) if you want to get a new or newer car, a house, rent a decent apartment; anything that looks at credit. i doubt this helps much so i apologize, i too have some school and other debt, so my advice is finding a good agency to get some help.

DON'T LISTEN TO KIMMY: that person isn't worth the oxygen God blessed them to breathe

It won't just disappear or everyone would run up credit cards. It does go away 7 years AFTER you pay it off though. Seek out a credit counseling company. Avoid bankruptcy if you can. They should be able to settle for a much lower amount. People who inherit debts have less strict rules to follow for backruptcy than those who were just foolish with their credit.

When I was in college, I accrued credit card, bank loan and phone bill debts. I don't think I paid a dime. They were on my credit report, some for more than seven years, and they eventually came off.

Some of the debts were charged off and sold to collection agencies. They tried to get nasty, but I got them to remove the negative items on my credit report as well.

Know your rights. Know what the agencies can and cannot do. A good place to start is the Federal Trade Commission, and read the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Make it work to your advantage.

You will always owe that money, especially from a moral standpoint. You borrowed it, and you owe it, unless the company will agree to forgive you the debt. I've never heard of that, though.

A credit counselling agency can help you pay off that debt in payments that are small enough that you can still live. They will get into touch with the people that you owe the money to, get your interest lowered, maybe even get some of the debt forgiven as long as you keep up your payments until the rest of the balance is paid off.

The items that drop off after 7 yrs or so do so only because, after so much time, the company you owe the money to doesn't put them back on. That company hasn't forgiven your debt; it's just cost to much to recover. But they are under NO obligation to take the item off; you owe it, and it will stay on there as long as they take the trouble to keep renewing it.

Now, if it's been awhile since these charges were on your credit, you can try to get them off yourself. You'll have to get in touch with each credit reporting agency, and ask them to take them off; fill out the proper forms, send them everything they ask for, things like that. If you don't have the time to do that, you can try a credit lawyer. I don't mean those illegal scams where you get a new social security number. I mean a lawyer that you pay a small fee to do all that for you. As a lawyer, they would get better results that you would, faster than you would, and it gives you the opportunity to build a better life after some mistakes that you don't have the money to repay.

Again, keep in mind, even once a credit lawyer has gotten those items off of your credit, you still owe that money. And if the company on the other end (that you owe the money to) decides to put that entry back on your credit, they will. Credit lawyers can't offer any guarantees about how long items will stay off. But that sort of thing is rather effective against older items, where the company has likely given up collecting the debt. And it is legal.

My Dear, if credit card debt disappeared after 7-10 years, everyone would have charged millions by now and would also be sitting around waiting for it to go away. You charged up the debt, it's your responsibility to pay it off. If you sit back and do nothing you will very shortly have collection agencies calling you night and day asking how you plan to pay off your debt. Being an irresponsible jerk and trying to discharge your debt through bankruptcy is what a loser does. Get in touch with a agency that deals with figuring out a way to make the payments within your budget. Toss your credit cards and don't be so stupid to charge up that much debt again. For Godsake behave responsibly in this situation. Your unwillingness to pay off your debts affects all of us and I have enough problems already!!!

The first thing you should do is call the credit card companies and tell them what your situation is and see if they will suspend interest and let you pay a small amount each month. If that doesn't work go to a credit counseling agency but check them out with the better business bureau first so you don't get ripped off

I think you know what to do, now that everyone has responded to your question. From passed experience I can tell you this. They want their money and they will do anything to get it. So, if you call them and explain your situation they will find a way to make it work for you.

What terrible answers! They don't read the question to begin with.....or they are collection agents with all their "just pay the bill" advice.....but certainly they don't have a clue about the laws.

Lets start with the bankruptcy advice. I don't have enough information to guide you on this. But if you currently do not have an income, and no home, you could qualify for a chapter 7 bankruptcy. That will discharge all of your credit card debts. The other option is a chapter 13, where you take all of your "disposable income" and use that to pay off your debt. The creditors must freeze the interest and late fees, and stop all collection efforts. You will pay back these debts over 5 years, then be debt free.

Check the link below for info on the new bankruptcy law. If you think it will help you out, don't be afraid to discuss it with a lawyer.

Your debts are reported to the credit reporting agency. The stay there for 7 years, beginning on the day of the delinquency. Once that period is over, they must be removed from the report.

Depending on the statute of limitation in your state, once the SOL runs out you no longer have a legal obligation to pay the debt. The average is about 6 years, but some are 10. You need to check the links below and see what your state allows.

Don't count on just ignoring the creditors for 6 years and hope they forget about you. Depending in how big the debt is, and where the creditor is located, that will depend on how hard they try to collect from you. If you owe $2000 to a local collector, then you can pretty much bet they will come after you in court.

This answer probably doesn't help you much, but at least it cleans up the other terrible replies.

There is some useful advice here.

It will not disappear ever unless you pay who ever you owe off commpletely! As well it will hurt your credit rating!

"Studly" is right on point with his answer. The truth is a creditor can try to collect on a debt as long as that debt remains unpaid. But more importantly, the bad debt can only stay on your credit report for 7 years from the time it became delinquent (10 years for bankruptcy). Even if you pay on the debt, it still screws your credit rating, so unless it is an auto or real estate loan, which involves real property or collateral that can be reposessed, why bother? Just keep up to date on all your other bills and wait out the 7 years. Your credit rating will soar overnight after this, speaking from experience.