I need to let some of my credit cards go into collections because of my decrease in monthly income. These are the creditors who weren't willing to make lower payment arrangements with me and are insisting that I make the required minimum payment. My question is this, can the delinquent creditors mess up my good record with the creditors that I'm paying on a regular basis? I'm concerned that they will contact my good creditors and force them to remove my limit?

Do you know how long after a credit card goes into collections before they start freezing my bank accounts? Is there a way to see if the account is frozen before I make deposits to it? If my direct deposit is a Social Security Disability but I make periodic deposits with cash, can the cash deposits be frozen?

I'm joint on a checking account with my father who is retired and the only deposits to the checking account are his pension and social security. Can this account be frozen because of my past due creditors?

If credit card bills go unpaid, then it is likely that the creditors will threaten you with legal action.Yes, they can freeze a checking account, but only if they have received a court order to do so. The credit card company can't just call up the bank and tell them to freeze your account. Usually, before it got to that point, they would call you over and over and try to work out some plan. Usually, if an account went 90 days past due, then they might try to get a court order.

In regard to your good credit getting messed up -- yes, again. Credit card companies used to periodically review accounts to determine credit line increases, interest rates, etc. But now, a credit card company (under the new economic sanctions plan) can review your account with them or an account with another credit card. And this is usually done on a monthly basis. Example: You fail to pay Chase Bank the monthly amount; Capital One (where you have a $1000 limit) reviews your full credit report and sees that. They can lower your limit to whatever they want. It never use to be like that, but they are all in it together now.

In regard to the checking account - you might want to go to the bank with your father and have your name removed from the account. If his name is the only one on the checking account, then no, creditors can't do anything to him. They would have no reason, since the credit card debts are not his. You just have to be careful of your direct deposit. You can cancel your direct deposit and elect to get a "hot" check from SSA in the mail and then cash it wherever. You can do this temporarily until the dust settles regarding the bank freezes. Once the threat of bank freezes is gone, then you can open a new account or be put back on your father's account. Good Luck!