AS the debt trap looms larger than ever, the most law-abiding of citizens can turn artful dodgers. They are helped by India's sluggish legal systems and inadequate infrastructure. Take non-repayment of credit card bills. In the case of consumer finance, there is at least a tangible asset—the washing machine or the car—that the company can try to seize and recover some, if not all, of its out standings. Not so for credit cards. Says Sunil Saxena (not his real name), who never paid any bills on the two cards he owned: "First they sent letters, which kept getting nastier in tone. Then they sent a man around. I told him I wasn't going to pay and he could go to court if he wanted to. The man admitted that the bank didn't want to do that because it would entail a long-drawn-out and messy process. I haven't heard from them again." Saxena has since acquired two more cards—one, in fact, from one of the banks he defrauded—and is living it up.