Credit score?

How much does not paying on your credit cards hurt your credit score? i own a house and a car--I got layed off THEN sick and finally found a job making half of what i WAS making.NO JOBS in the military town I am in!! I had to let the credit cards go!! House and car are in good standing. I haven't paid on the cards in 2 years. What do you think?

Public Comments

1. believe it or not it can hurt your credit score I know I am going through that right now all you can do is if they call and start hounding you make the minimum payment that you can afford if they don't call you then you are one of the lucky ones good luck
2. Its good you are paying things like your house and your car, because those things affect you credit standing the most. You not paying your credit cards is surely having a negative impact on your score, but not that big of one. Start paying them off, and you'll be good. Go to freecreditreport.com too, to know for sure
3. Your score probably took a pretty big hit -- not paying for two years. You can check out your credit report FREE (no obligations, either) by going to https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp The U.S. government requires each of the three credit bureaus to give you ONE free report (provided you ask for it) each year. Just go to that site and follow what it asks. This will show you everything they have on file for you, but they will not show you your credit score. I hope this helps!
4. It has hurt you a lot, though you have the right idea on a house - mortgage lenders will still talk to you if you don't screw up a mortgage. It has probably cost brought you below 500, but you can check it online - one report each year free from each of the three major agencies. You should call the credit card companies, explain the problem, most will put a zero percent interest moratorium on the card and give you a chance to pay it off. If you do as you promise, they will report that you are making payments as scheduled which will start to bring your score up, as well as pay down the cards with no further accumulation of interest. Best of luck.
5. Lets just say that after 2 years your credit would have taken a good hit, for the worse,. Once the credit card companies write the amount that you owe as noncollectable your credit will really suffer.
6. There is no exact way of knowing how much things affect your score but not paying your credit cards is one way to negatively impact your score. The longer you go without paying, the more of a chance you have to get it turned into a collection account which is a double whammy on your credit report. If you can, contact the creditor and tell them that you are willing to make payments and maybe you can come up with an agreement that works for both of you.