Doc in the dock

He took credit card after card to pay his EMIs, and now owes the banks a whopping Rs 4.5 crore

Doc in the dock

He took credit card after card to pay his EMIs, and now owes the banks a whopping Rs 4.5 crore

A doctor who took new credit cards to pay EMIs on old ones has ended up with about 50 cards and a Rs 4.5 crore debt.u00a0

He even considered suicide, but approached the Credit Card Association of India, which has asked him to file for bankruptcy as his only solution.

"It all started in 1998 when I got my first card," said Dr Girish. "I soon overspent and had to get another to pay off the EMI on the first."

Since then, he says he has taken and used about 50 credit cards to pay off his previous EMIs.u00a0
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"I even took a loan of Rs 10 lakh from private financiers to pay off some of the EMIs," Girish said.

He has so far managed to repay Rs 40 lakh for the loan he took, but continues to pay the interest on it.

He earns Rs 1 lakh a month, but has to pay Rs 5 lakh a month to clear his debts.

He had interestingly managed not to default on any card until last week.u00a0

Yogesh, a marketing executive of private bank, said that as long as payments are prompt, a person can get multiple credit cards easily.

Another caseu00a0

A techie with a famous firm who has 10 credit cards is also in debt and has approached the CCAI.

"I earn Rs 42,000 monthly, but I have to pay an EMI of 43,000 a month. It has become impossible to survive in the city now and I want to get rid of the card," she said.u00a0

C V Giddappa, general secretary, CCAI, said, "Once you take a credit card you're bound to fall into a vicious circle. Unthinking youngsters take loans and fall into a debt trap. They realise that only once their honeymoon period is over."u00a0

"Never have I come across such a case as the doctor's," he said.u00a0

According to him, the number of credit card defaulters has drastically increased since the start of the recession. "We hear from at least 10 to 15 customers facing a credit crunch every day," he added.u00a0u00a0

The defaulted amounts start from Rs 25 lakh, he said.