What exactly would happen?

After weeks of waiting, I finally signed the refinance papers, which will make my life a lot simpler. My new deal will roll my two mortgages, my car payment, my property taxes, my credit card debt, and my overdraft account into one payment, plus give me some money to replace my gross carpets with wood floors. Yay!

As I said above, I've been waiting for weeks for this to happen... there was some drama between the lender and the insurance company that I had to wait out... so certain monthly payments of mine didn't get made. Why make a payment, when the whole account is about to get paid off?

So when those monthly payements came past due, my debtors call me on the phone. Of course, I told them I'm refinancing, and the people I talk to give me the thumbs up. No problem, they say, that's a very common reason why payments come past due. They make a note in the computer. Have a great day!

However, they do not take my name off the robo-calls. I've gotten four calls per day for the past couple weeks. It takes very little effort to screen their calls and ignore their messages. Today I actually answered one of the calls, which switched to a person fast enough to hold my interest. Of course I told them that the papers have been signed, and that we're just waiting to close.

The person, Jennifer was her name, cheerfully said she'd make a note in the computer. She told me, just as cheerfully, that if they don't receive the payment from in three days, that they'll give me a call.

That's fine with me. Maybe the deal will close tomorrow; maybe it will close Monday. I don't know, it's out of my hands. If I start getting robo-calls again, I'll start ignoring them again.

Here's what I want to know. What happens if I don't pay those people? I have a good idea of what happens to me, but what happens to them?

If I decide not to pay them, do they suffer some kind of hardship? Does somebody's kid not get to eat? Can somebody not afford to buy their mama an asparin if one dude in Seattle decides to end payments? Apparently, my payments are important to them, if they're going to call me multiple times a day with their robots. But what is at the root of this compulsion to make me pay? Is somebody in physical danger? Does society move closer to collapse if they don't get my checks?

Obviously, I didn't take economics in college, because I just don't see the wider repercussions. If one dude in Seattle somehow can't make a payment, I don't think the white guys in suits with expensive haircuts and manicures who depend on my checks and the checks of others for their livelyhood will suffer in this lifetime. In fact, I would guess that there is nothing I could do to hurt those people financially. They will be safe and well fed, regardless of how current my account is.