Not unless your debt was secured by the house. Most credit card debt is unsecured debt. A creditor cannot take your house for an unpaid unsecured debt. If a creditor comes to you later and asks you to sign something that puts your house or car up for collateral for your current credit card debt, DO NOT sign it before speaking with a Jacksonville consumer law attorney first to know your legal rights and the consequences of signing such an agreement.
Articles Posted in Credit Cards
What is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is an Act that Congress passed in response to a growing number of abusive collection practices used by collection agencies. The FDCPA provides guidelines that creditors must follow when trying to collect debts from consumers. This Act applies to debt collectors. A debt collector is defined as any person who regularly collects debts that are owed to others. This act also applies to attorney collectors but in-house collections are not covered.
If the collection department from your favorite store is contacting you regarding your credit card with them, they are not restricted by the FDCPA, but they are governed by the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act. However, if that same store used an outside collection agency, that agency is governed by the FDCPA.
Some restrictions that the FDCPA puts on debt collectors are: