13 Data Center-New Trustee Payment Center

[Maximo]

Wow our Trustee decided to switch to a payment center in Memphis TN, as in a previous post I said the first payment took over 25 days to register, the 2nd took about 4 days and now again it has been over 1 week. I do not understand why these Trustees are so money starved that they feel the need to go out of State and all of a sudden payments take forever to post. They also do not follow court orders and seem to be oblivious to what is happening. Is there anything that holds Trustees accountable? Do we just have to live with these people who apparently have no business sense other than what is in their pockets? I ran my Trustee through a website and their prediction is that they bring in 1.5 million a year, outrageous! I am so sick of this Chapter 13, no return emails from attorneys, no accountability from the trustee. I would recommend that no one file for 13, it is really maddening!

[lillymarlene]

I'm only 10/48 payments into my 13, but I hope I can keep it. It is tough, watching every cent, but I probably should have done this years ago. My payments have always gone to TN and the one time I just used a stamp, the payment didn't post for about 14 days later. Since then, just for my own peace of mind, I have started using certificates of mailing, only about $1.49 with your First Class Stamp.

[lrprn]

Wow our Trustee decided to switch to a payment center in Memphis TN, as in a previous post I said the first payment took over 25 days to register, the 2nd took about 4 days and now again it has been over 1 week. I do not understand why these Trustees are so money starved that they feel the need to go out of State and all of a sudden payments take forever to post.

Trustees are not money-starved. It's more efficient and effective overall to send your payment to a centralized payment "funnel" set up to do all the accounting necessary to post your payment to your trustee's account in a timely fashion.

Our trustee switched from sending payments to his local office over to the Memphis payment address about two years into our 5-year Ch 13. We've been sending our payment through our bank's bill pay every month since then without a single lost or delayed payment (we send at least two weeks before our payment is due on the 1st of each month). Many trustees across the country have switched over the last few years to use Memphis as their Ch 13 payment drop point to make the payment process as efficient and error-free as possible. It's to OUR advantage as filers, too.

They also do not follow court orders and seem to be oblivious to what is happening.

Please provide examples from your case or others.

Is there anything that holds Trustees accountable?

Our local court trustees are held accountable by the US trustees who are held accountable by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Do we just have to live with these people who apparently have no business sense other than what is in their pockets? I ran my Trustee through a website and their prediction is that they bring in 1.5 million a year, outrageous!

I can't speak for your trustee, but ours has been fair and followed the rules emplicitly for the entire five years of our plan. From what most (not all) of our members post here, their trustees have been fair and above-board as well.

What website did you run your trustee through to get such an estimate and how did you arrive at the figures to use?

I am so sick of this Chapter 13, no return emails from attorneys, no accountability from the trustee. I would recommend that no one file for 13, it is really maddening!

Sick of your Ch 13 - after five years in our plan that I understand. However, not all attorneys and not all trustees match what you are describing. If you are having a rough ride, then I certainly have sympathy for you. But please don't generalize your individual experiences to condemn every bk attorney and every Ch 13 trustee. The personal stories shared here in the forums by our Ch 13 files for many years make your statement about "no return emails from attorneys, no accountability from the trustee" gross exaggerations at best.

Since you obviously are struggling a great deal in your 13, what are the primary sources of your struggle? It would help us help you better if you share more details about what is making you so bitter and angry about what is happening in your 13. We would like to help if we can.

[notalooser]

lrprn, how did you work it out that you don't have a payroll deduction? we are hoping to file 13 (of course, we are playing the waiting game...watiting to get hold of a broker that our attorney "recommended" for a home appraisal. as it is now, what the county has our house assessed for, we have more than $90,000 in equity, and certainly couldn't afford the monthly payments), and my husband owns his own company and handles payroll himself. out attorney said the trustee would probably prefer the payment to be deducted from my paycheck. i work for a small medical office where the doctor has fired the two employees that have been served garnishments after they were told to "handle" it before the garnishment was to start. so of course, if my pay has to be deducted, i can kiss my job goodbye.

[fslady]

I'm not lrprn but I don't have payroll deduction either. My BK13 payment is due around the 25th of the month but I get paid once a month - on the last working day of the month. The trustee agreed to let me mail in a Money Order because of the timing. So I've sent my M.O.to the trustee's office every month around the 1st week of the month for the payment due around 2 weeks later. I've always sent it certified with an electronic return receipt (around $4.50) and had no problems.
And I'm 45 down and 5 to go!