text: No, they can't come to your house. They could sue you and garnish your wages and clean out your bank accounts, but that's rather unlikely unless you owed the $8K to one creditor. Your credit will be ruined. You cannot be arrested for debts in the U.S.\n\nYou will not have a fresh start because the back marks will remain on your credit keeping you from establishing good trade lines the whole seven years. You will also be in a different category for having had bed debts than other consumers who paid on time.\n\nYes, try to make a deal with the creditor, if not, consumer credit counseling can probably help you. Don't just try to hide and ride it out. You'll thank yourself for being proactive and getting this behind you now rather than waiting.