Introduction

[bcvw]

Hello to all.

I've been reading this forum for several days now and thought I'd jump into the mix.

We are in the beginning stages of prepping a CH 13 having retained an attorney and taken our pre-bankruptcy class.

Never been late with a payment since 1992 and have a credit score in the low 700s, but it has become apparent with today's fuel and food prices that we will be unable to maintain making monthly payments to all our creditors. Based on that, and the desire to get debt-free once and for all, we decided to move on and file.

Our combined income is about 125K per year gross with an unsecured debt of 92K. Our house payment (1st and 2nd mortgages combined with taxes and insurance) are $2180. We have one car loan at $455 with 57 payments to go that we will reaffirm.

We are waiting until Oct 1 to file to be sure that no one can claim fraud in the 90 day lookback as we had to use the cards for some car repairs and cash advances. The hard part of the wait will be dealing with the calls. It has only been 2 weeks since we stopped paying on the unsecured items and already they have started calling. Bank of America was the first and they seemed cool after I told them what was going on and gave them my attorney's name and number. But the very next day they called again and I reminded them that I'd already explained what was going on. The person said that the first caller must not have logged the info.

Anyway, I fully expect to be pestered until we get a case number.

[berrymom31]

Our creditors started calling in May and we gave them all our atty's name and number. We still do not have a case number due to slow atty and they have not called.

[AngelinaCat]

We had a period of about 16 months between when we retained our attorney (also extremely slow) and when we actually filed, and most of the callers were okay once we explained we were preparing to file and gave them the attorney's contact info.

[liz417]

Hey bcvw,

We are planning on filing ch 13 too (in Aug/Sept, saving for attny fees) and directed all our creditors to our attorney. The creditors all seemed nice and asked a few questions and took the info., but my Chase card kept calling back, sometimes several times a day! I would tell them that they *already* took down the info and they would say, "oh, I guess the previous person(s) didn't write it down"...yeah right! I purchase a phone with caller ID and started logging each call. The calls will stop/slow down, don't worry. I just think that some of the cc are a little more aggresive at collecting.

Hang in there.

[rrockinggramma]

I know that this is probably no consolation now to all of you but once you file and those calls stop and the mail stops, one can feel down right lonely. There were days when I got no mail and my phone seldom rings now (just kids) lolol It is nice but is such a stark change once it happens. Then after about a year into the bk, you will finally gain your confidence and be able to think about moving forward. Then the countdown will begin!!! GL to you all

[bcvw]

Interestingly enough, we got no calls at all yesterday that I am aware of. They may have called but did not leave a message. Cool.

Another round of creditors did not get paid this week so I'm sure they will be contacting us soon.

We opened a new checking account at a bank not affiliated with any debts we have. This was done to protect our pay deposits. Our previous checking and savings were at the credit union who also held a line of credit and a credit card for us. Since we will default on those debts, we closed the checking accounts (savings has to remain open until the debts are taken care of, but will have a minimum balance) so there would be no chance of the CU accessing those funds. We still have our 2nd Mortgage and car loan with them. I told them what was going on and they were very nice about it all. I really like the place, they've been good to us over the past 10 years and I hate to stiff them.

[AngelinaCat]

I've heard people say that the last time they actally looked forward to talking on the telephone was when they were TEENAGERS!

[justplaintired]

Welcome to BKforum!


Once we gave our attorney's name and number the calls stopped. It may take a few times telling them this, but it worked for us. It took giving each and every creditor this info and a few did call more then once.

When I talked to our paralegal and asked if they had gotten calls, she said they had. So I think once they find out it's a done deal on the BK and fees to an attorney have been paid, they will not call your home again.

[bcvw]

I actually do not mind the calls as it means we are moving forward. Each time I tell a creditor what is up, I get a little more relieved. It will just be really annoying if the same company keeps calling over and over until I give them the case number.

They have called me here at work more than at home. They've even called for my wife here (somehow her accounts ended up with my work number). She has not received one call at work yet.

BTW, this isn't my first excursion down this path. I filed a Ch 7 in 1992 after a divorce. That one was SIMPLE compared to this one.

[bcvw]

So far, here is a list of the creditors we've heard from and the outcome:

American Express: "Thank you for the information. We'll make further contact through your attorney." Two weeks later, we got a letter from a CA saying they had bought the debt. So much for further contact through our attorney. 3 days after that, the CA called demanding payment. I gave them the same info and asked them to not call again. I'm thinking I should add the CA to my creditor list when I file?

Bank of America: See my first post.

Washington Mutual: I have a CC with them as does my wife. Our 1st mortgage is with them, being kept currrent. They've now called on both CC accounts. My account call was a couple of weeks ago. No further calls. They are using call centers in India.

Discover Card: Called and were given the info. No further calls.

Local Appliance Store (World Financial Network Bank representing many companies): Called and notified of pending BK.

Chase (automated dialer) has called during the day at home when we are away but does not leave a call back number.

Our CU was notified and we got a dunning letter from them yesterday.

Have not heard from Sears, Capital One, Best Buy or Kohls yet.

So far, not too much pressure.

[BigJohn]

My wife works for me. Yesterday one creditor called and she said she works till 7:00 Pm and then she is done. He said she is not done till she has me call him. She didn't let him know she was my wife. I laughted about his agresssiveness.

[bcvw]

Chase connected with us. The caller seemed kinda put off when I told her about retaining an attorney. She took the info and said she'd forward it to their BK department.

Sears called and my wife answered. I wasn't home so she ran the script. The account is in my name and they told her that she wasn't responsible for the account. My, that was nice of them.

[mynameainttracy]

We stopped paying our ccs 3 months before we filed. The calls started slowly, but we were getting 40 calls a day by the time we filed. Then one day after our attorney filed our 13 they all stopped. We get hardly any mail now, however we do still get a cc application every few days.

[bcvw]

My FICO score increased to 707 today.

[bcvw]

Chase called again last night. I guess I was right when I had the feeling the person who contacted us the first time was miffed about the BK. This time I got a call from a nice Indian woman who asked that we make our past due payment. I informed her that I'd already spoke to someone before and that we were filing a CH13. So she asked for all the info AGAIN.

After all that she asked "Sir, would you now make your past due payment to bring your account current? I can arrange to have the money taken from your checking account."

"No, because that would not be advantageous to me at this time," I replied.

"Well, please know that you are now 13 days late and we will be reporting this as a 30 day past due to the credit bureau."

"I understand."

"Is there another number we may reach you at?"

"No, this is the only number you may reach me at. Thank you and good night."