I owe 22,000 on my credit card. Will I go to jail if I can’t pay it off?
The amount of debt owed is not large and the situation is not serious. Generally, you will not go to jail. Just find a way to pay the money back.
The bank will arrive when the debt is not repaid after calling for collection. Generally, we will judge whether you have a malicious overdraft based on your actual situation. Even if it is a malicious overdraft, your amount will not constitute criminal liability.
It doesn’t matter if you are two months overdue, but the amount of interest and late payment fees will be relatively large. Moreover, your credit record will be affected, and it will be difficult to deal with banks in the future. It will take at least five years to restore your credit record.
Extended information
If you fail to repay your credit card debt for a long time and the amount is large, you will be jailed. Article 196 of the "Criminal Law" stipulates: Whoever engages in credit card activities under any of the following circumstances and the amount is relatively large shall be sentenced to not more than five years or criminal detention, and shall also be fined not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan;
If the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, the sentence shall be not less than five years but not more than ten years, and a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than half a million yuan; , and be subject to a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan, or property confiscation:
(1) Using a forged credit card, or using a credit card fraudulently obtained with false identification;
(2) Using an expired credit card;
(3) Pretending to use another person’s credit card;
(4) Malicious overdraft.
The term "malicious overdraft" as mentioned in the preceding paragraph refers to the cardholder's behavior of overdrafting beyond the prescribed limit or within the prescribed period for the purpose of illegal possession and failing to return the card after being called upon by the card-issuing bank.