Take it easy, focus on raising your child; get that trouble off your mind, you can pay gradually or in stagger-mode.
4 Years? What could get worst than that? Just relax.
Our very own 1987 Philippine Constitution states that: “No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non-payment of a poll tax” (Article III, Sec. 20). This means that a creditor cannot file a criminal case against his debtor for non-payment of debt. The Constitutional provision contemplates a situation where there is a simple debt to be paid, whether such contract was made verbally or was made in writing.
In the case of credit card debt, Republic Act No. 8484 or the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998 penalizes any act of obtaining money or anything of value through the use of an access device (a credit card, for example), with intent to defraud or with intent to gain and fleeing thereafter. Section 14 of the same law also states that:
“A cardholder who abandons or surreptitiously leaves the place of employment, business or residence stated in his application or credit card, without informing the credit card company of the place where he could actually be found, if at the time of such abandonment or surreptitious leaving, the outstanding and unpaid balance is past due for at least ninety (90) days and is more than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00), shall be prima facie presumed to have used his credit card with intent to defraud.”
In other words, while one cannot be imprisoned for non-payment of credit card debt, he may be penalized for credit card fraud if the debtor, who at that time has an unpaid balance of more than ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) due for at least ninety (90) days or more, abandons or surreptitiously leaves his place of employment, business or residence stated in his application or credit card without informing the credit card company where he could actually be found. It is not the non-payment of the debt that is punished under Section 9 & 10, in relation to Section 14 of R.A. No. 8484 but the act of defrauding the credit card company.
On the other hand, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas issued Circular 454, Series of 2004 (September 24, 2004) relating to credit card operations of banks and subsidiary credit card companies. Section 7 of the Circular defines unfair collection practices among banks, credit card companies and other agents. It said that in collecting amounts due them under a credit card agreement, banks, credit card companies and their agents must observe good faith and reasonable conduct and refrain from unscrupulous or untoward acts. It also enumerates what are deemed unfair collection practices. These are:
a) the use or threat of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any person;
b) the use of obscenities, insults, or profane language which amount to a criminal act or offense under applicable laws;
c) disclosure of the names of credit cardholders who allegedly refuse to pay debts, except as allowed under Subsec. X320.9 and 4301N.9;
d) threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken;
e) communicating or threat to communicate to any person credit information which is known to be false, including failure to communicate that a debt is being disputed;
f) any false representation or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect any debt or to obtain information concerning a cardholder; and
g) making contact at unreasonable/inconvenient times or hours which shall be defined as contact before 6:00 A.M. or after 10:00 P.M., unless the account is past due for more than sixty (60) days or the cardholder has given express permission or said times are the only reasonable or convenient opportunities for contact.
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