Calls From Collections

• After a relatively short period of time from your first missed credit card payment, you should expect a phone call from the collections department of the credit card company. The credit card collections department will want to find out when you plan on paying your bill. If you continue to avoid paying, the credit card company may hire an outside collections agency to try to get in touch with you. The collections agency can contact you in writing and over the phone to attempt to collect the debt.
  
  

Charge Off

• After a certain amount of time, the credit card company will most likely charge off your outstanding debt. When this happens, it does not mean that you no longer owe the debt to the credit card company. Instead, the credit card company is simply using an accounting technique that removes the debt from its books. When this happens, it will show up on your credit report and will negatively affect your credit score. Other creditors will see this when you apply for credit.
  
  

Filing a Lawsuit

• At some point in the future, the credit card company may elect to file a lawsuit against you. Since the credit card debt is unsecured, the credit card company has to get a judgment from the court system before it can take any action to collect the balance from you. The credit card company will file a lawsuit in your local jurisdiction and you will have to appear in court on the date of the hearing.
  
  

Collection Actions

• After the credit card company files a lawsuit and gets a judgment against you, it can take many actions to collect the balance that you owe. For example, the credit card company could use the judgment to get a writ of execution which allows it to garnish your wages. This removes a percentage of your paycheck every time that you are paid by your employer. The credit card company could also take money directly out of your bank account through a levy.