Answer: -There's 2 timeframes that you need to know when it comes to debt called the statute of limitations. There's a statute of limitations for collecting debt that can vary by state. (the first link I posted shows these by state) and there the Fair Credit Reporting Act(FCRA) which has a 7Ѕ statute of limitations that starts on the date when the account becomes delinquent. Right now, you're about halfway through the federal statute, and depending on which state you live in, the statute for collecting the debt could be or almost expired. If that happens to be the case, then you may be able to either finish waiting it out, or negotiate paying it off for much less than you owe, which I strongly suggest. -At this point, they will probably sue for judgement. obtain a lien at the county level that will sit on the records there for at least 10 and in most states 20 years. Credit bureau for 7-10c years. Attach wages and bank accounts if legal in your state as well as adding the charges to do this to the bill. IN addition, under new bankruptcy laws, the debits may not all just "go away" anymore. -The first thing I will suggest is that you don't take out another loan to pay those off unless you are able to get a really good rate on it (under 6%). You could imagine $30,000 is the price of a nice car so you can expect that payment to be about $600/mo. If you can't afford that I would suggest bankruptcy if you have a reliable car that won't have to be replaced in the next 5 years and are living in a place that you can live at for the same period. The reason your home and car need to be reliable is because you will have some trouble getting new credit for some time after bankruptcy. If you don't want to file bankruptcy and you can't get a sensible loan to pay it off, you are stuck with bad credit. At some point, all those that you owe money to will come after you. They might even take you to court and you can end up with a judgement on your credit. These are really bad as well. You can also get a lien on your home or anything you own of value, which does not allow you to sell your house until you pay them off. Have your credit cards been maxed out? Have they gone to collection agencies yet? If not, you have some time...