Voluntary Dismissal of chp 13

[earningslost]

unfair credit card practices
the very reason we're in this mess

[justbroke]

Be careful. If you filed to same a home that was in foreclosure, the lender may be able to resume foreclosure actions without further notice (North Carolina is a prime example of this).

I would work with my attorney to see if they can get the payment reduced based on circumstances. I plead on my B22C that the fuel costs didn't reflect reality, and I budgeted a higher number using "Additional" costs.

[car67]

Your plan can be modified if the payment is a struggle... Your bankrupt you should not have much of any cash left over for the 60 months as any funds left over goes to debtors... Thats the idea of the plan to protect you not to allow you to keep cash to feel safe or am I missing something?

[earningslost]

We only filled out a 22C which I guess is the same as B22C and I just looked at the document we put nothing $0.00~ our home and our vechicals are outside the plan; after we pay all of our bills we have under the amount what we need in a payment- our payment is $2000.00 a month and we only have left after we pay everything $1346.25 which means we're short $653.75 and when you add in major and minor unexpected, What then? Thank you for your help I had no idea you could budget your plan ?*&$#@?

[Flamingo]

You need to totally see if you can modify your plan. Contact your attorney and sit down with him/her and go over the situation. I understand completely how hard it is in a Chapter 13 with fluctuating income and emergencies and repairs taking place. You are basically on a fixed income and have to budget and save like crazy and totally adjust your lifestyle from what it was before you found yourselves in the position that you had to file bankruptcy. It is a major, major eye opener when you were not used to budgeting in the past and just pulling out that credit card for the easy, available cash. Then it all comes crashing to a halt and it's cash only and budget, budget, budget.

Everyone in a Chapter 13 has to deal with the rise and fall of gas and other prices during the Plan. That is the trick of budgeting and saving what you can to get through it. It is not easy and at times not possible. Since you are truly struggling, you need to discuss in full with your attorney before you make any decisions you may regret later.

Best of luck to you.

[earningslost]

maybe we should let the plan default re-file in 180 days and get a new attorney- they did nothing in helping us with the 22C. Looking at the national average for utilities is only$414. my utility bill the past 3 months has been $671 alone, water $135. this would have been an example of filing out the additional expense claim where we have nothing $0.00 listed????????? go figure!

[MajorMike]

your water bill is $135 a month?? That doesnt sound right..... What does the 671 consist of? What state are you in?

[justbroke]

your water bill is $135 a month?? That doesnt sound right..... What does the 671 consist of? What state are you in?

My water bill is about that high too. I had it up to $300 once, but that was due to two malfunctioning toilets. (I have a small leak in my pool.)

[earningslost]

your water bill is $135 a month?? That doesnt sound right..... What does the 671 consist of? What state are you in?

well the times tht we made the $2000 a month pmt to BK we fell behing one month on our utility which is $470 each month- so for the past three months we've had to pay over $600 to catch up on the "one" past due or they would cut us off. we live in super hot texas and our bills have increased tremedously this past year. we've been looking over our bills and the paper work that our attorney filed... they did not have us fill in the 22C where we could have added extra $$$ from the national average. we meet with them this week to find out our options. we may have to re-file- and start all over???

[earningslost]

your water bill is $135 a month?? That doesnt sound right..... What does the 671 consist of? What state are you in?

How'd you get such a great re-payment of $825? That sounds more like it??? I would even take $1200; we're really questioning filing in the first place- We claim a homestead excemption, our home is protected under state law and Texas does not allow wage garnishment. The only thing is... if and when we ever sell our property the CC's get $$$ off the top out of our equity. We should just live in our home for the next 10yrs. save the $2000 a month or even $1200 a month; we would then be able to pay cash for our next home and not even need credit! Don' t they say if you can't pay for it don't buy it.

[HHM]

maybe we should let the plan default re-file in 180 days and get a new attorney- they did nothing in helping us with the 22C. Looking at the national average for utilities is only$414. my utility bill the past 3 months has been $671 alone, water $135. this would have been an example of filing out the additional expense claim where we have nothing $0.00 listed????????? go figure!

That would be a bad ideea. Just get your plan amended. If you dismiss and refile, you will have to be in the plan for 60 months. No point in wasting the money you already paid.

[earningslost]

When we filed they made it seem like no way would our plan be approved with the income we have and now to have it amended seems like a reach. I feel like our attorney did this to make more $$$- they filled out the 22C form for us... looking at it now seems like they left a lot of blanks and $0.00 for extra expenditures or averages. Not really understanding that form was there for us to fill out and plea to the courts and budget for reality. We just spent an extra $500 on the Attorney going back to court on a dismissal threat. Which we will totally get again this month because we didn't make the whole amount. Out of the 10 pmts we've only made Nov. Dec. we had been given a stay in Jan. and Feb. then again made March, April, May, got behind in June and July made partial pmt Aug and Sept. It’s bad... It's not working- now we're behind on regular pmts. i.e. utilities, phone, cable I thought filling BK was to not make it hardships on families not make it worse???

Before we filed we never had late payments on anything; just barrowing here there and everywhere; spent a pension on the debt to try and get ahead-emptied a 401K to try and pay. Interest pmts, Lowered Credit Lines without our knowledge and Fabricated due dates etc... made the credit cards pmts out of control. We basically filed BK to stop predatory practices and inflated interest rates. Every month our credit card statements were jacked up with outlandish rates, term chgs, late fees for not even being late but the day they received pmt the cc don't process? It seemed that one late pmt on our credit report for a gas card we rarely used jumped interest rates with other cards and before long making each debt pmt higher and higher. I've just read a letter online about these same practices and finally feel vindicated. heres the link http://www.federalreserve.gov/SECRS/...14_20950_1.pdf 1000's of letters from people just like us. Wow, I thought I was the only one and in this alone. Thank you all for your support and helpful words of advice. Please keep posting! We meet with the Attorney Tuesday lets see what unfolds- I'm just so mad! I wish I knew then what I know now; great forum!

[Brokeaswell]

Dear Earningslost, I read your post and couldn't believe how similar of a sitituation I have found myself in. We filed Chapter 13 because of credit card companies as well. When we filed we were not late on anything but felt that the late fees and high interest rates were spiraling out of control. We filed in 7/07, and have made 15 payments into the plan so far, totaling over 20 grand. Our attorney took $299 in filing fees and $3800 of our money. Our payments were 1189.00 a month, but then jumped to 1387.00 and then to 1483.00 and when we received notice that they were again jumping to $1660 I about had lost it. Now I find myself behind on our mortgage, late on child support, and barely able to get by. Two months after confirmation we find out that there was a Motion to Dismiss filed by the Trustee. Our attorney was telling us all along that the Trustee was raising our payments. I stumbled on this web site by trying to find someone with a similar story. That is when I discovered PACER. I have spent countless hours reviewing our case file and found out that our attorney filed 4 pre-confirmation admendments and 6 post-confirmation admendmenets without our signatures or knowledge. This was happening when I was writing to him asking for a modification reduction due to increases in fuel, groceries and medical expenses. I got permission to talk directly to the Trustee and was advised to call the Bar Association. They were of no help. I went to the attorney and told him I no longer needed his service and he agreed to give me half of our fees to another attorney that would take the case. I then went to 15 or so attorneys and no one would even touch it. One was nice enough to review my case but told me since he did not officially terminate himself that she couldn't help. She basically told me that there were numerous errors made that were not caught prior to the confirmation hearing. When I discovered PACER I found out that he had changed all of my schedules reducing my expenses to come in line with the new amounts they were asking for. My disposible income on my contract showed around $380 but it confirmed at $1387! Needless to say this is why we are so broke now. We have taken matters into our own hands and filed a Motion for Hardship Discharge on the grounds that there is no way we can afford the case as it is written, as well as all of the issues we are having with our attorney and not being able to hire another. Our hearing is set for 10/1 with the hearing for the Motion to Dismiss. This should be interesting. I have told my husband that we cannot make any more of a mess of our case than he has. Watch your case files closely on line. If we did not hear of PACER we would of never known this. We were not being copied on the Admendments.
Good luck to you as well. I'll post a update later this week.

[WoodSprite]

Dear Earningslost, I read your post and couldn't believe how similar of a sitituation I have found myself in. We filed Chapter 13 because of credit card companies as well. When we filed we were not late on anything but felt that the late fees and high interest rates were spiraling out of control. We filed in 7/07, and have made 15 payments into the plan so far, totaling over 20 grand. Our attorney took $299 in filing fees and $3800 of our money. Our payments were 1189.00 a month, but then jumped to 1387.00 and then to 1483.00 and when we received notice that they were again jumping to $1660 I about had lost it. Now I find myself behind on our mortgage, late on child support, and barely able to get by. Two months after confirmation we find out that there was a Motion to Dismiss filed by the Trustee. Our attorney was telling us all along that the Trustee was raising our payments. I stumbled on this web site by trying to find someone with a similar story. That is when I discovered PACER. I have spent countless hours reviewing our case file and found out that our attorney filed 4 pre-confirmation admendments and 6 post-confirmation admendmenets without our signatures or knowledge. This was happening when I was writing to him asking for a modification reduction due to increases in fuel, groceries and medical expenses. I got permission to talk directly to the Trustee and was advised to call the Bar Association. They were of no help. I went to the attorney and told him I no longer needed his service and he agreed to give me half of our fees to another attorney that would take the case. I then went to 15 or so attorneys and no one would even touch it. One was nice enough to review my case but told me since he did not officially terminate himself that she couldn't help. She basically told me that there were numerous errors made that were not caught prior to the confirmation hearing. When I discovered PACER I found out that he had changed all of my schedules reducing my expenses to come in line with the new amounts they were asking for. My disposible income on my contract showed around $380 but it confirmed at $1387! Needless to say this is why we are so broke now. We have taken matters into our own hands and filed a Motion for Hardship Discharge on the grounds that there is no way we can afford the case as it is written, as well as all of the issues we are having with our attorney and not being able to hire another. Our hearing is set for 10/1 with the hearing for the Motion to Dismiss. This should be interesting. I have told my husband that we cannot make any more of a mess of our case than he has. Watch your case files closely on line. If we did not hear of PACER we would of never known this. We were not being copied on the Admendments.
Good luck to you as well. I'll post a update later this week.

WHAT a story. Welcome to the forum, BasWell, and do please keep us up to date. Good luck on Wednesday.

[earningslost]

Dear Earningslost, I read your post and couldn't believe how similar of a sitituation I have found myself in. We filed Chapter 13 because of credit card companies as well. When we filed we were not late on anything but felt that the late fees and high interest rates were spiraling out of control. We filed in 7/07, and have made 15 payments into the plan so far, totaling over 20 grand. Our attorney took $299 in filing fees and $3800 of our money. Our payments were 1189.00 a month, but then jumped to 1387.00 and then to 1483.00 and when we received notice that they were again jumping to $1660 I about had lost it. Now I find myself behind on our mortgage, late on child support, and barely able to get by. Two months after confirmation we find out that there was a Motion to Dismiss filed by the Trustee. Our attorney was telling us all along that the Trustee was raising our payments. I stumbled on this web site by trying to find someone with a similar story. That is when I discovered PACER. I have spent countless hours reviewing our case file and found out that our attorney filed 4 pre-confirmation admendments and 6 post-confirmation admendmenets without our signatures or knowledge. This was happening when I was writing to him asking for a modification reduction due to increases in fuel, groceries and medical expenses. I got permission to talk directly to the Trustee and was advised to call the Bar Association. They were of no help. I went to the attorney and told him I no longer needed his service and he agreed to give me half of our fees to another attorney that would take the case. I then went to 15 or so attorneys and no one would even touch it. One was nice enough to review my case but told me since he did not officially terminate himself that she couldn't help. She basically told me that there were numerous errors made that were not caught prior to the confirmation hearing. When I discovered PACER I found out that he had changed all of my schedules reducing my expenses to come in line with the new amounts they were asking for. My disposible income on my contract showed around $380 but it confirmed at $1387! Needless to say this is why we are so broke now. We have taken matters into our own hands and filed a Motion for Hardship Discharge on the grounds that there is no way we can afford the case as it is written, as well as all of the issues we are having with our attorney and not being able to hire another. Our hearing is set for 10/1 with the hearing for the Motion to Dismiss. This should be interesting. I have told my husband that we cannot make any more of a mess of our case than he has. Watch your case files closely on line. If we did not hear of PACER we would of never known this. We were not being copied on the Admendments.
Good luck to you as well. I'll post a update later this week.

OMG... I'm so sorry! When it rains it pours~ thank you for your kind words! Did you get a chance to read some of those letters? It makes me feel a little better to knowing others going throught the same thing and its not just us. The weight of the world seems so heavy but... this too shall pass, yes?