Many Phoenix, Arizona Residents are Still in Search of a Way to Eliminate Credit Card Debt
Although bankruptcy filings in Phoenix dropped from 2010 to 2011, this does not mean credit card debt problems in Arizona have disappeared. It would be an understatement to say that Arizona was hard hit by the recession. When the housing bubble burst in mid-2007, some of its worst effects were felt in Arizona, with many residents having to decide between paying their mortgage and paying their credit card bills on time. But homeowners were not the only residents affected – construction jobs were lost and many consumers were forced to redirect their spending. All of this contributed to a nine percent unemployment rate and an increased reliance on credit cards, causing many residents in turn to feel trapped in a cycle of debt.
Those Arizonans who have become delinquent are in constant fear that legal action may be taken against them. In 2011, the Arizona legislature extended the statute of limitations on credit card debt collection actions to six years. In consequence, credit card holders in debt in Arizona are open to lawsuits for a much longer period than many other states, and twice as long as they were two years ago.
The Debt Cycle Does Not Have to End in Bankruptcy
Many people faced with credit card debt are unable to pay the full amount, even over an extended period of time. For these people, consolidation loans or debt management programs are simply not a viable option. Both of these types of programs condense multiple payments to creditors into one monthly payment, but both require the debtor to eventually repay the entire amount an often with much more total interest.
For those people with credit card debt beyond what they could ever repay in full, bankruptcy may seem like the only option, but declaring bankruptcy should always be a last resort. Credit card debt is considered to be an unsecured debt because it is not attached to any collateral put up against the loan. When you declare bankruptcy, generally all of your unsecured debts can be discharged. This process technically extinguishes all of your unsecured debt, but forgiveness does not come cheap. Bankruptcy can follow you around for the rest of your life, adversely affecting your credit for 7 to 10 years and requiring you to disclose your filing in many of your future endeavors.
Those with severe credit card debt in Arizona should know filing bankruptcy is not the only way to stop creditor calls, escape lawsuits or avoid wage garnishment. In addition, borrowers should understand that qualifying for bankruptcy has several requirements that many with debt do not meet. For those who do not meet these requirements but still cannot pay their entire debt, debt settlement negotiation could be the best answer. Debt settlement negotiation is a process in which a third party negotiates with your creditors, often reducing the amount you pay to a fraction of what was originally demanded by the creditor. Debt settlement negotiation enables you to eliminate credit card debt by paying less than the full amount you originally owed but without the life altering effects of filing bankruptcy.
McCarthy Law offers a free consultation to evaluate your debt and your eligibility for a negotiated settlement. Let us eliminate your credit card debt without bankruptcy so you can move on with your life.