Hello Bernard,

I am SO very sorry to hear of your health problems. It is VERY unfortunate that a person who has worked all of his/her life, paid bills on time, was married, and did everything RIGHT ends up in a position such as yours. Although it may not help, please know that you are NOT alone. There are thousands, if not millions, of people in your position.

If you can make it to court on the 25th and you want to work out a payment arrangement with the credit card company, then you REALLY should try to go. You will have an opportunity to speak to the attorney for AmEx and let them know of your situation. It is possible that you may be able to work out a payment arrangement with the credit card company once that the attorney knows that you have no assets that can be garnished. Even if the attorney does not agree that the amount that you suggest to pay is NOT reasonable, you can go before the judge and the judge can approve an amount that is reasonable based upon your income. If you can't pay anything, then a Judgment will be entered against you for the amount owed plus court costs, interest and statutory attorney fees. The Judgment will show up on your Credit Report.

If you do NOT show up for court, the attorney will obtain a Default Judgment against you for the amount of the money that is due and owing plus court costs, statutory attorney fees and interest. The Judgment will show up on your credit report.

The good news is that Federal statute exempts Social Security benefits from garnishment of any kind by private creditors, such as credit card companies and other lenders of unsecured debt. However, your Social Security benefits may be inadvertently garnished, if a creditor obtains a judgment against you in a court of law. Here's how to avoid Social Security garnishment before it even begins, and what to do if your benefits have been garnished.

A private lender cannot touch your Social Security benefits in any way, even if you owe a legitimate debt--but this can still accidentally happen, if you don't pay attention--and it usually happens when you have your Social Security check directly deposited into a "co-mingled" account that contains non-Social Security monies.
If a private creditor has a judgment against you, they may resort to getting a court order to "freeze" the assets in your bank account. Upon receipt of such an order, a bank must comply. By law, you are required to receive a copy of this order, which will include instructions to inform the court if the bank account that the creditor wishes to garnish contains money from Social Security. If you don't receive a copy of the order or if you ignore it, or if the bank receives the order before you, you may find your assets frozen.
immediately contact the court, the creditor and your bank to inform them that your bank account contains Social Security benefits. You will probably be required to submit proof of your direct deposits. Alternately, if you know that a creditor judgment is headed your way, plan in advance.

Have your Social Security check mailed to you directly rather than direct-deposited. You can cash the check and use money orders to pay for your bills, or you can open another account strictly reserved for Social Security monies. Account garnishment is tricky, because by law, creditors may be permitted to garnish a bank account with co-mingled moneys (for example, your spouse is still working and deposits his or her earnings into the frozen account), as long as your Social Security monies are exempt. The number for the Social Security Administration is 1-800-772-1213. According to SSA.gov, you can speak to a representative Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (the site fails to note to which time zone this applies, so you may want to call during regular business hours in your state).
http://www.ehow.com/how_5193731_prevent-social-security-benefit-
garnishment.html

Please know that the above may never happen. AmEx may NOT try to get a garnishment if it knows that your only income is from Social Security Benefits. However, it may be a good idea to have your Social Security Benefits deposited into a separate account than any other monies that you may receive. That way, your benefits will automatically be protected.

Regarding Chase, a "charge off" does NOT mean that the debt went away. However, if you went to court and the case was dismissed because service was inappropriate, and you were never served again, then you should be fine. However, Chase could still come after you for the debt for 4 years from the time that the action arose. This means from the time you last paid on the debt.

Whether you go to court or not, it sounds from your post, that a judgment will most likely be entered against you. However, if you can go, you may be able to work with the attorney for AMEX to reduce the amount of the debt, or allow you to enter into a payment arrangement (if you are able to do so). If not, a Default Judgment will be entered.

You should order a copy of your credit report to see if a judgment shows up against you by Chase. Further, it is always a good thing to keep an eye on your credit report to make sure that you have not become a victim of identity theft. You can obtain a copy of your credit report for free.

I hope you find this information useful. If you have additional questions, please ask.

Please remember to only rate my answer when you are satisfied with it. IF you feel the need to click either of the two stars on the left, PLEASE STOP and REPLY TO ME VIA THE CONTINUE CONVERSATION button with the issue that you have. I will be happy to continue to further work with you and do everything I can to provide you with the service that you seek. Thank you. Good luck.