The steps to take, in order, when you can no longer pay your loans and cards as agreed.
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Use this checklist when you cannot keep up with your EMIs or card payments, or know that you soon will not. The steps run in order: first get a clear picture of what you owe, then protect the debts whose default would hurt most, then talk to lenders in writing, know your rights and get free help where you qualify.
Tick items as you go. Most people skip the first group and start by negotiating, then find they settled one debt with money they needed for a secured loan. The repayment plan checklist explains how to rank debts. The priority guide covers what happens when a secured loan, a card and an app loan all fall due together.
Deadlines in legal notices matter more than collection calls. A SARFAESI demand notice gives 60 days, a cheque bounce notice gives 15 days to pay, and a court summons has its own date. Missing them limits your options. If you receive one, read the legal notice guide and contact a lawyer or your legal services authority.
This checklist is general information, not legal or financial advice.
Failure cases, free help and official sources
How a bounced EMI or security cheque becomes a Section 138 case in India, the notice and complaint timelines, penalties, interim compensation, NACH failures and settlement options.
Worked examples and checklists
A step-by-step plan for Indian borrowers in debt trouble: list every debt, set a realistic budget, rank secured and unsecured debts, and choose restructuring, settlement or consolidation.
Options, costs and 2026 rules
The routes open to an Indian borrower who cannot repay: revised plans, restructuring, one-time settlement, consolidation, SARFAESI, Lok Adalat and IBC insolvency.
Failure cases, free help and official sources
Real patterns of failed loan settlements in India, from verbal deals and agent payments to ignored notices and bounced cheques, with what to do instead and where to check.
Failure cases, free help and official sources
Who qualifies for free legal aid under the Legal Services Authorities Act, how to apply through NALSA (15100) or your DLSA, what free credit counselling exists, and what to bring.
Options, costs and 2026 rules
Which parts of IBC Part III are in force for individuals in 2026: personal guarantors since 2019, the 2026 amendment ending the interim moratorium, fresh start status, old insolvency Acts.
