Can the Trustee do this?

[deerme]

Ok, I filed in 9/05, confirmed 12/05. Ordered to pay 75 bi-weekly payments (3 years) and half of any tax returns. Well I have paid in the tax return money, made 85 payments so far. I was 'about to close' on 13 data center until I asked for a review. My time was up in 12/08. My plan is less than 100% paying back 18.3%. I have a balance of $1500 with the trustee.

Well today I check and I am back to an active case, my percentage has changed to 29.5% and now I owe a whole lot more. I will be paying for another 3 months.

Is it typical for them to keep extending your case? Will it ever end?

This is getting to be downright cruel!!

[BigJohn]

Where there extra expenses to your case such as extra lawyer fees?

[justbroke]

Is it typical for them to keep extending your case? Will it ever end?

The case is only extended until you pay back certain things. For example, you may have unpaid administrative fees (Trustee, Attorney).

Yes, it is downright cruel. Trustees will always up the percentage when they take money from Tax Returns. The Tax Return money doesn't count towards the Administrative Fees! The Tax Return money is used to pay unsecured creditors.

[deerme]

Well, technically I owed the money from my tax returns but the payments continued and I had enough in my account to cover that amount. Now they are re-adding it on top of this.

In summary; I owed an additional $1000 for taxes, so I paid that plus an additional $1000. Now they are adding an additional $2000 on top of that.

If that is what they are doing, then I guess I am screwed out of my extra payments.

I sure wish I knew how to 'work' this system.

[justbroke]

I sure wish I knew how to 'work' this system.

Umm... the system works you.

[deerme]

This is getting out of control.

Two days ago 13data showed I was paying back 18.3%.

Yesterday 13data had upped it to 29.6%...

Today 13data has upped my percentage to 45.7%.

I should be closing and now I owe an additional $6000.00!

They have added an additional YEAR to my plan!!!

Why is this happening?

I am getting no answers at my lawyer or at the trustee.

[StartingOver08]

Was your plan confirmed at 75 bi-weekly payments? Has there been any motion or notice from the Trustee on Pacer regarding a change in your plan?

Just based on what you have posted, I would go to my attorney's office and sit in the office until I got an answer from the attorney as to why the plan was extended one year without any notice. JMO.

[justbroke]

Sounds like someone didn't tell you something about your case... like you had to pay a minimum back to the unsecured creditors.

I'd be all over my lawyer right now. Standing at the door to his office if need be. This is a money issue now.

[deerme]

Yes, I was ordered to make 75 bi-weekly payments (36 months) and to date I have made 83 payments at the ordered amount, plus 3 payments were made before I was confirmed that don't seem to count for anything.

I was not allowed to be in 401k and its value has lost a lot in the last 3 years, my heloc has had higher monthly interest than what my payments were, so I owe more here and I have had no money to fix anything on my house. It has definitely lost value in this economy.

I have most certainly made adjustments in my lifestyle in order to continue to make my budget. The last 3 years were the worst for anyone on a fixed budget (just with the price of gas alone). I never asked for any adjustments in my budget. I quit smoking, stopped using the dryer (I hang all my clothes to dry), managed to buy a 3 year old gas hot water heater for $150 and got rid of my electric one. That saved me so much money that the Electric company owed me money twice!

Right now I really wonder what the point is with this; I am worth less now than when I started and yet they want more!!

Thanks for letting me vent! I don't know much about the options here and I really appreciate everyone's input. Believe me, I learned much more about BK here than I did from my lawyer!

[arkienurse]

Deer, do you still have a copy of the plan confirmation? Go back and re-read it, and any modifications. I had thought I was in a 100% payback plan, then right at the end I pulled the modification out and found out that when we modified, the lawyer kept the original language for length, which meant that I was still in a 36 mo plan, and was not at 100% payback like original plan called for.
It has been so long that you may have missed something, or forgotten about it. You can also find your plan on pacer. If the trustee is changing the terms of your plan without approval I would be calling my lawyer to find out what is going on.

[ready2puke]

Thats ridiculous and a lot of money. Im so sorry..Go see your attorney today and find out what the hell??? Dont worry another day without finding out whats going on

[deerme]

Thanks for the input everyone; I will be checking my plan as soon as I get home from work.

I am so depressed right now...

[rrockinggramma]

the other possibility here is that you did not send in your tax refunds to the trustee as was required. The IRS reports refunds received by individuals to the trustee's who are in a chapter 13. So I wonder if your plan wasn't "exteneded" by the trustee to have you pay back what the IRS has reported to your trustee. But it does seem that you should have received some communication from the court reflecting this fact. have you changed addresses and not notified they court?

[deerme]

I did send the trustee my tax returns, but I was getting only a little for my refunds and it was no where near $5800!

Have not moved either.

[deerme]

My original file date was 9/26/05

341 meeting was 10/28/05

And I was confirmed on 11/30/05

I think I should be under the old law so I am not sure if I am missing something here.

Thanks.