Should I keep paying this bill?

[brank]

Hi,

I’m not sure that I am posting this question in the right forum (General), but here goes.

I haven’t been paying my credit card debts since November 2012 or about 18 months. I owe money to five credit card companies. A total of approximately $49,000 is owed. I got in debt mostly because I thought my business would improve, but it never did on a sustained level and I finally realized and accepted that it wasn’t going to. I have a Dell account with a balance of about $100 on it and I have been paying the minimum due every month as I wanted to be able to order the laser toner from Dell. The balance on this account has been under $500 for the last three years. I want to know if I should keep paying this Dell account as I am getting rid of the printer.

I don’t plan on owning a home, so I’m not too concerned about my credit score in that regard and I don’t have a desire for expensive vehicles which would require a loan. Used vehicles under $10,000 are fine with me.

I recently earned my commercial driver’s license to drive tractor trailers and I hope to get a high paying job in the oil field where you work over 70 hours a week and sleep in a dormitory room or in the truck and the money should be pretty good. I hope to clear up my debt eventually.

I get no calls or letters from any financial companies or collection agencies.

My question is “should I keep paying my Dell account even though I don’t need to order supplies from them anymore and I’m in severe default on all my other credit accounts?” Bear in mind the Dell account has a balance of only $100 while my other debt is approximately $49,000.

Any and all feedback on my question and general situation is much appreciated.

[TXskyblue]

I wouldn't. Are you planning to file BK?

You say you are planning to clear up your debt. Does that mean you think you'll be able to pay off 50k in credit card debt? After 18 months, it's got to be in the hands of shady debt collectors, having been sold for pennies on the dollar. They are likely adding fees and frankly just making up numbers at this point. I don't see paying them back as very feasible unless your income is going to skyrocket.

[brank]

I don't have the money for it now, but my income will increase a lot. I looked at my credit report in April 2014 and the CC debt is shown as written off and charged off.

Does it really matter one way or another whether I pay this small Dell account? I was getting calls for the first half of last year, but they stopped and that was nice. Since I'm starting a new career that will require me to work 70 or so hours per week and there will be a lot to learn in the oil field, I really would rather not be distracted by this too much. Then after a few months when I get settled and the cash is flowing, I could look into my options, and I'm not really sure what my reasonable options would be. I was reading that there is a statute of limitations on debt with some states having it as little as three years where they cannot sue you for any debt that is outstanding and that hasn't been paid for three years. I don't know, but I would expect them to come after me. I really would like to keep them at bay and not bother me until I get settled in my new career off the ground (say give me three or four months in my new job before dealing with this).

[TXskyblue]

If you listed your state, I would have looked up the statute of limitations for you. You can google it yourself. A credit card is an "open account" for statute of limitation purposes. My home state of Texas is 4 years.

50k is not a miniscule debt. You very well might be sued for this, and they can (and will) sue even the day before SOL expires.

My opinion is that you should explore BK. Since your income is going to be increasing, it would make sense to file right now and hopefully avoid a chapter 13.

I understand you want to pay back your debt. Remember that to creditors, it's not personal. It's a business decision to sue you. And similarly, filing BK is simply a business decision on your end. It's the only way to get the monkey of lawsuits and garnishment off your back. And, if you so decide, you are even allowed to repay the creditor after bankruptcy and you could do it on your own terms since there is no legal requirement for you to pay anything.