Default on Credit Cards 17 July 2011 at 2:59AM in Stoozing: free cash from credit cards 2 replies 2.4K views

wilyerm

Hello,
A friend of mine was telling me earlier that as credit cards are unsecured loans there is no legal obligation to pay them back, so long as you are prepared to be credit blacklisted for however many years it is. Being a student with a good credit rating but no hope of buying a house for decades, could anyone confirm/deny if this, and if true explain what the cons would be to signing up to as many credit cards as I can and just defaulting on the debt?
Many thanks!
Will

DarnIt_3

It is not illegal to have debts unless they are debts to people like the tax or vat man. So yes, you could run up huge amounts of debt and not pay it. However, be prepared to be hassled at every turn even for simple things like a basic bank account, electricity and even sky!
Be carefully to keep your doors and windows locked and keep your car in a garage, tell your parents to do the same as none of their stuff would be safe if you run yourself up in debt.

Short term it seems like free money...but there wouldn't be a forum board dedicated to people trying to get out of debt if it was as easy as walking away after running the debt up.

Tixy

The cons?

Creditors chasing you, followed by debt collectors, followed by CCJs (in some jobs potential employers will ask you about this - can its a matter of public record so they could check if you lie). The CCJs could lead to bailiffs and/or attachment of earnings (where money is take direct from your salary).
Any creditor to whom you owe more than £750 could apply to make you bankrupt. This doesn't happen often but could, and if you have been made in bankrupt then in certain circumstances you legally have to declare this for the rest of your life.