Verizon service question

[grammaw13]

I have a Verizon account with multiple devices that are in various stages of payment plans for family members. Once my bk7 is filed, will the payment plans on the phones be discharged or will I have to reaffirm each device? I’m planning next months bills with an eye on possible bk. Should I be planning to pay my Verizon bill or wait? I hadn’t even thought about this.

Thanks for any input.

[justbroke]

The payments will be discharged. Interestingly, the Verizon payment plans do not have a "purchase money security interest" (PMSI) in the devices. It's just a simple unsecured 0% loan. I had a couple of devices on Verizon. I directly called them and ask for the BK department. They zeroed out the payments and my account.

[grammaw13]

Wow, that’s good news. Thanks!

[grammaw13]

Good morning to everyone,

I have another question about Verizon. Will they shut service off when I file or do they keep it on until after discharge? Do they allow me to start another account with them or would I have to go with another provider? I’ve seen many posts about Verizon, but none since they stopped contracts and switched to paying for phones instead of giving them with a contract.

I very much appreciate the help. This board is such a rich resource and such a source of support!

[justbroke]

Once they receive notice of the bankruptcy, they'll close the old account and then create a new account for you. I personally contact their bankruptcy department and they were super helpful. As I wrote earlier, they even wiped out my remaining installments.

[grammaw13]

Hi JB,

I too thought of contacting them directly, but didn't know if it would cause any problems with service since I haven't yet filed. After looking at the dates of the posts about this, I started wondering if the policies had changed any since they stopped plan contracts and went to phone purchase contracts. After looking at the pro's and con's, I would like to stay with Verizon.

Glad to know they won't discontinue service as the phone number associated with the lines are ones that have been established for years. When they start a new account, I imagine I would also have to go with a current plan rather than my years old plan that has a lot of perks that I picked up over the years such as free gigs of data each month for each line for lifetime. Since I very recently began thinking about bankruptcy, I keep coming up with what if's.

I must say it has been an eye opening experience to look back at finances for the last couple of years and reflect just how I got here.

Every one has a back story and here is mine, although the details are sketchy because I still am coming to grips with the fact that I am filing bankruptcy.

The death of my husband and loss of his income, support of a chronically ill close relative who became homeless because of that illness, and fostering and ultimately adopting 2 children and finally, retirement. Another loss of a part of my income. These are my life changes.

The things my husband used to take care of had to be hired out. Plumber, electrician, replacing a rotten bathroom floor, etc.

The expenses of raising 2 children is enormous and costs more than the subsidy that is paid for them. I'm not complaining, this is just my story.

When the adoption was over, daycare costs for the kids was out of my budget. I retired because it was financially more feasible than to work with daycare.

I had a plan, but there were too many factors that were out of my control, or so I thought, that blew my budget, but with a credit card, it was easy to ignore.

I paid each month much more than my minimum payments. As I became less able to do this, and new expenses popped up, I took out a consolidation loan. That worked for a while. Then I had another loss of income. All my life when I needed extra money, I got another job. Now, to work again isn't feasible because of daycare costs. I also have health insurance to pay for that I didn't before. Also, I have a life insurance policy that I didn't need before.

I'm really not sure precisely what I would have done differently since the last 5 years have been chaotic and much of it not within my control. Being more aware of my spending is a given and one I am currently working on. I find it extremely difficult to discuss these matters. I'm hoping that by sharing some of this, maybe someone else who is still too embarrassed to post thinking that somehow someone will see their post and match it up to their life story and figure out who they are will reconsider and post. I imagine when I walk out the door of my home, all noise will stop and it will grow dark except for the spotlight that is shining on me with a siren much like that of a car alarm going off to show everyone around just how much I screwed up.


I think there are a lot of us out there. For every one there is, I see someone on this board who jumps in to post to answer questions, give moral support, and have our back.

Thanks to the moderators and the other posters here. Special thanks to JB who patiently answers my questions, sometimes more than once.

[justbroke]

I would only contact them after filing and not immediately after filing. i would wait a week for them to receive notice of the bankruptcy. They were very nice to me. Surprisingly nice and professional... unlike some debt collectors that wanted to argue with me.