I know it sounds like government interference, and I hope it doesn't come to that. But in cases where someone is desperate enough to file for bankruptcy, purely on the basis of credit cards, the credit card companies might want to consider the prospect of stopping high interest and extra fees, and allow some of these people to pay off frozen cards at a low minimum payment. The cards could be unfrozen at a time when the debts have been repaid. It must be better to get slow payments over a period of time then a long series of bankruptcy filings.


At least some of the credit card companies are willing to participate in a program similar to this. My wife and I paid off our credit cards with the help of a credit counseling firm, Debtserve, that negotiated a payment plan with our creditors that included lower interest rates. Each creditor has their own preference for what they will do. Each account was closed. AMEX did not charge any interest during the repayment period, so long as we made our payments on time. MBNA charged the highest amount of interest, 12%, but at least that was better than the 30%+ we were looking at if we defaulted, which we never did. These programs can be an effective way to get credit cards paid off. They also offer personal finance education.