What should I do???

[nervousSC]

OK....I'll be the first to admit that I can be quite the moron at times...and unfortunately it seems to have happened again today. A little background first....in January of this year all the phone lines at work changed the prefix...this wasn't a citywide thing, just my work b/c we changed phone companies.....so I gave NO ONE this new phone number. Today the phone rang and it looked like it was from the receptionist...but it wasn't, it was a transfer from her to me...and it was Bank of America. I was caught completely off guard, b/c until now I hadn't spoken with a CC company since about January. Anyway he was very nice, a ploy I'm sure, and said he wanted to work with me and was sorry I had run into financial trouble. He asked me what I can afford to pay and I said $200/month......which I cannot, so he said that was GREAT, and could I give him my bank info so he could arrange an automatic draft this month. I told him I didn't have my bank info or checks with me at work. He gave me his number and told me to call him tomorrow with the info. SO.....my question is what do I do? I am going to file June 30th but didn't think I should tell BOA. I don't want them to rush a judgment, or try and sell it before then....I'm just nervous b/c I know he will be calling me tomorrow if he doesn't hear from me. Any advice???

[aa06a47]

OK....I'll be the first to admit that I can be quite the moron at times...and unfortunately it seems to have happened again today. A little background first....in January of this year all the phone lines at work changed the prefix...this wasn't a citywide thing, just my work b/c we changed phone companies.....so I gave NO ONE this new phone number. Today the phone rang and it looked like it was from the receptionist...but it wasn't, it was a transfer from her to me...and it was Bank of America. I was caught completely off guard, b/c until now I hadn't spoken with a CC company since about January. Anyway he was very nice, a ploy I'm sure, and said he wanted to work with me and was sorry I had run into financial trouble. He asked me what I can afford to pay and I said $200/month......which I cannot, so he said that was GREAT, and could I give him my bank info so he could arrange an automatic draft this month. I told him I didn't have my bank info or checks with me at work. He gave me his number and told me to call him tomorrow with the info. SO.....my question is what do I do? I am going to file June 30th but didn't think I should tell BOA. I don't want them to rush a judgment, or try and sell it before then....I'm just nervous b/c I know he will be calling me tomorrow if he doesn't hear from me. Any advice???

One thing I told Chase when they called wanting banking information, I told them there was no way in hell I would give that information over the phone....and they kept trying to tell me it would be ok...finally, I just said, your talking to my hand, I'm not listening and I'm not giving that information over the phone.

Are you past the 90 days for luxury goods purchased or 70 days for cash advances over 500?

[nervousSC]

Are you past the 90 days for luxury goods purchased or 70 days for cash advances over 500?

Well past it. Haven't used this card since last September. Does that make a difference in how to respond?

[anonymuse]

1) Do NOT give your bank info out for automatic withdrawls--First Card/Chase took out more money than I permitted them to!!!
2) Request that you are not called at work and they must abide by that.

[SinkingFast]

They may not abide by a verbal request to not call you at work. CYA yourself and send them a letter to that effect as well. Debt Collectors are not allowed to call you at work if you tell them not to. And can only call you during certain hours at home.

[aa06a47]

Well past it. Haven't used this card since last September. Does that make a difference in how to respond?

Yes, since your well past the "abuse" provision, tell them you are having financial difficulties and are filing BK. If you were less than 70 days for cash advances or 90 days for luxury purchases, then they could say you were planning BK all along and might get something form you.

Next time they call your home, and you answer, tell them you are seeking the advice of an attorney and plan to file BK. Next time they call your business, when you answer the phone, do not identify yourself. Tell them you are the supervisor and that employees are not allowed to take personal calls at there desk. That might work, who knows?

[nervousSC]

All of you are SO awesome....I was so stressed out about this earlier...and now thanks to you guys I have a plan of action.
1)NO WAY am I giving bank info over the phone.
2)Faxing & Verbally telling them not to call at work.
3)Pray they hold off until June 30th before they take any kind of legal action.

I got a letter today, sent Priority mail from BOA saying that since I have not been in contact with them, they will have to either had the account over to their attorneys or sell this to a collection agency. How long do you think I have before any of this happens? I have 53 more days until I file...

I was thinking of telling the guy, when he calls back, that I absolutely cannot pay until July 1st and that I have to receive something in writing. Do you think this will work?

[aa06a47]

May I ask why your waiting so long to file? BOA will more than likely do something within 30 days of the letter they sent.

[SinkingFast]

I haven't seen a letter like what you're talking about from any of our Creditors, so I'd bet you're getting close to some major action on BoA's part. We got one from MBNA via regular mail threatening to turn us over to collections. But nothing has come via Priority Mail. BoA sounds serious.

First they tell you that you missed a payment. Then they turn you over to internal collections. If that doesn't work, then you're off to an outside Collection Agency. A 3rd party. Then, depending on how much you owe, they'll either sue you themselves or sell your debt to a Zombie Debt Collector. If you have a decent paying job and/or own a bit of property, the ZDC will come after you and get a wage garnishment or a lien on your property.

Did BoA give you a time frame?? Did they say so long from the date of the letter?? Or, so long from receipt of the letter?? Generally they give you 2-3 weeks to 30 days to respond. They are dotting their I's and crossing their T's legally speaking.

[nervousSC]

I won't have enough money saved up to pay my attorney until June 30th...$950.

Here's what it says...please edit if I am violating any board rules:

Dear nervoussc,

We have made every attempt to resolve you past-due account with us. Since you have been unwilling to resolve the issue, Bank of America will now need to pursue further action. One option is to refer your account to our attorneys to enforce your obligation under your credit card agreement. Litigation proceedings could result in an award, which could be entered as a judgment and enforced to the fullest extent of the law.

Other options include placing your account with a third-party agency to pursue 100% collection of this account. Collection methods could include phone calls, letters, and possible legal action.

If you feel you have additional information that would allow us to pursue a different course of action, we need to hear from you. Please call..... Our knowledgeable associated are ready to assist you.

Sincerely,
Customer Assistance Department

[SinkingFast]

Sounds like you might be able to stall them a bit with a phone call. May work. May not. Worth a try to see what happens.

Did you have a life altering event that put you in this postion?? If so, you can use that to your advantage. When you call, you tell them your SOB story. Then you say you expect your earnings will soon return to normal soon. At that time, you'll be able to address your shortfall with them. Don't say pay, cause that's lieing and we don't lie.

It can't do any harm to try. May put them in a delay mode to give you an extra 30 days or so that you need.

Interesting that they didn't give you any sort of timeframe notification. If they started legal proceedings immediately, you're looking at approx 30 days before you'd go to Court. Give or take. Depending on the laws in your State. But I would think a 3rd party Collections Agency would give it the old "College Try" to harange the money out of your first before they actually moved to sue you. So you might be able to make your timeframe without actually being sued.

That's just a guess on my part. They count on us debtors not knowing the process and being scared and shaking in our shoes when we get those letters. Hard to say what's actually going on.

[nervousSC]

Well, I went over my pitiful finances and figured I would be able to move the date up to June 16th, the absolute earliest, which means I would have to make an AM appointment with atty to get it filed by afternoon. That's about 39 days away. So how does this sound...

ME: "I will not be able to address my shortfall with you until June 18th."

BOA: "Why?"

ME: "Because I won't have enough money until then." (Which is the honest to goodness truth...)

I do know that in SC they cannot garnish wages.

[Rover]

The letter you received from B of A is standard boiler-plate. There is nothing B of A can do between now and June 30 that would cause any real problem for you. So, if you are filing June 30, just ignore B of A.

It's my understanding that some BK attornies will let you pay their fee in installments. You should ask your attorney about that.

Rest easy, and don't worry.

[aa06a47]

The letter you received from B of A is standard boiler-plate. There is nothing B of A can do between now and June 30 that would cause any real problem for you. So, if you are filing June 30, just ignore B of A.

It's my understanding that some BK attornies will let you pay their fee in installments. You should ask your attorney about that.

Rest easy, and don't worry.

They might be able to get a court date by then, depends on how busy the court system is there. One thing they can and will do is pester the crap out of you. I would suggest the following between now and then:

1) Take the pre-bk credit couseling....get the certificate
2) See a few attorney's for a free counseling session.
3) When you find one, put down a down payment (if that is possible).
4) If it is a chapter 13, your down payment may be good enough to start the process, you can finance the rest in the chapter 13 plan.
5) If it is a chapter 7, once you give the attorney the down payment, you can start referring all the creditors to the attorney. This will more than likely stop them from contacting you for a month or so.
6) Don't expect that you will see an attorney in the morning and have you case filed by the afternoon. It can take anywhere from 1 day to some have said 4 weeks for the attorney to get the paperwork completed and filed. It depends on the work load of the attorney.

[alh]

If they started today getting almost anything done by June 30 would be impossible. Even if they filed the lawsuit it would take awhile and you can delay things if you want (see the book "Money Troubles" by Nolo.)