:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elfinanciero/WSNPEGPYARARNOMRX46WUBVKSM.jpeg "Can I go to jail if I don’t pay my credit card debt? This says the law – El Financiero")
Many people have experienced financial problems, including credit card debt. This has the consequence that the collection offices insistently make calls for you to pay, even with threats to put you in jailbut is this legit?
If you receive threatening calls that if you don’t pay you will go to prisonit is important that you take into account that this is not legal. The collection offices have certain limits that they should not exceed, however, many times they commit actions that, in addition to making people uncomfortable, can be grounds for sanction.
Note that the people who stop paying debts will have accordingly accumulation of interests. What’s more, the banks they charge you charges for late payment and other additional for the visits addresses of these officesand apply.
Can they send me to jail for owing the bank?
You must first know that constitutionally, they can’t put you in jail in case you have contracted civil debts, such as credit cards, personal loans, or mortgages. In this sense, by not paying you become a creditor to a civil or commercial lawsuit, but not to a criminal complaint.
According to Article 17 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States“no one can be imprisoned by debts of a purely civil nature. No person will be able to do justice for himself or exercise violence to claim her right”.
For this reason, collection agencies should not threaten or harass you. In addition, there is a code of ethics, to which all banks belonging to the Association of Banks of Mexico (ABM) and any other company that carries out banking activities.
What collection agencies should not do
So that you do not get caught in a curve, the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services (Condusef) remember what they should not do the collection officesso that you know and can exercise your rights as a user of financial services.
They shouldn’t call you from some phone number appear as private or with any other expression or similar denomination, which makes it impossible to identify it, as well as use numbers other than those registered in the Collection Dispatch Registry (Redeco) of the Condusef.
They should also not call you with an intimidating tone much less use threats against you or your family or even threaten you with jail. Prison for civil debt still does not exist in our country.
They should not send you writings that appear to be judicial or signed by an authority when in fact they are of apocryphal or false origin. If they visit you at home or receive a phone call from them, must be presented with at least the following data: name of the executive or employee, name of the office and if they represent any financial institution.
If any of these cases occur, article 284 bis of the Federal Penal Code establishes the following: “Anyone who carries out the illegal extrajudicial collection activity will be sanctioned from one to four years in prison and a fine of 50,000 to 300,000 pesos. ”.
If you also use false documents or stamps, the penalty and the economic sanction will increase by one half. If he incurs in usurpation of functions or profession, the rules of the crime contest indicated in the Federal Penal Code will be applied.
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