Credit Card Debt Inquiry

Hi, good afternoon. I have a question, is there a possibility po na ma hold sa immigration due to unpaid credit card debts? May isa pa akong CC na hindi na nabayaran kasi insufficient funds na ako and madami po akong binabayaran at may pinag-aaral pa ako. I'm going to Dubai this coming August. Yun lang po ang concern ko na baka ma hold ako sa immigration? Need your help asap kasi kelangan ko po talaga mag abroad para makatulong sa family. Maraming salamat.

Do not get off the Country just like that; talk with the CC Company first.

Republic Act (RA) 8484 or the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998, one may be imprisoned for using an access device, such as a credit card, with intent to defraud. This is particularly prohibited under Section 9 (j) of the said law, which provides as follows:

“Section 9. Prohibited Acts.—The following acts shall constitute access device fraud and are hereby declared to be unlawful:
xxx
[j] obtaining money or anything of value through the use of an access device, with intent to defraud or with intent to gain and fleeing thereafter;
xxx”

It is presumed that the holder of a credit card intended to defraud, if he abandons or secretly leaves his place of employment, business or residence without notifying the credit card company of the place where he may be found and that at that time, his outstanding and unpaid balance is past due for at least 90 days and is more than P10,000. (Section 14, RA No. 8484)

Perhaps, the best thing you could do is to settle your obligation with the credit card company. If you are undergoing financial crisis, you may propose payment schemes to the said company on how you are going to pay. Never abscond from your obligations with the said company for you may be held criminally liable under the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998.

thanks jd888. pwede ko kayang i settle when I come back from Dubai? Para diretso na ang pagbabayad ko. kahit kasi makipag usap ako sa kanila wala naman akong maibabayad as of the moment at wala naman akong trabaho sa ngayon. thanks for your immediate response.

Depends on how your talk with them goes.

We are both senior citizens. My husband and I have ended up in the hands of the credit card companies' collecting firms for delinquency of payments., in arrears since September 2012, which was our last payment. My husband has been in between jobs for 19 months and we have no assetts, no properties, no other resources. My husband was to have been paid his professional fees in Nov. 26, 2012,as per contract with a Danish company for a month's assignment in French Africa. As of this date and in spite of solicitations with this Danish company to pay, we have not seen any remittance which has aggravated our financial condition. We risk being evicted from our rented unit for perennial late rent payment and eventually no rent paymentat all. We've been surviving on personal loans and dole outs. Would declaring bankruptcy be a solution? No repayment scheme with the collecting companies be feasible as there is no income at all and with us having zero resources . We've tried to hold out for as long as we could,selling personal stuff and trying to bury us deeper into debts just trying to pay off even part of our credit card debts.Any legal way out?

Any legal way out?

The most honest answer I could give is to ignore the collection agency, although the most prudent is to talk with them for a some payment scheme; because if you do ignore them, you will be flagged to all Banks and that you will risk your chance of having a loan.

The collection agency will do everything they can to bother you and your family.

The worst case scenario is that, if you will change address, they may go after you under Republic Act (RA) 8484.

At the end, the best way out is to fix this is by telling the collection agency that you will pay it gradually based on the term you can afford.