Fib to creditors to keep them hanging on, or ???

[whatamess]

First, like said never promise or tell them you will pay later. Its better not to talk to them at all until you have retained a lawyer. Then you can direct call to him or her.
The one creditor that it is good to talk to is Discover. With one month of being late they started calling my husbands work, my mother, then they found the cell number we never gave out. They were relentless. Once I told them I would file they stopped. They said they would cease calling for thirty days unless we retained a lawyer by then and could give his number. BOfA also stopped once we retained. Chase refused to stop calling and only stopped once we filed. They were so nasty too.
Make sure you have your name on your answering machine as to try to avoid skip tracing as much as possible. Make sure they know they are calling YOU, as to avoid them calling your neighbors and relatives.
Good luck! I know how nerve wracking it is.
WAM

[Lindsay]

Discover calls me about ten times a day. I'm afraid to pick up the phone, but I really should. I'm wondering if it is good to tell them that you are looking into seeing a credit counselor or just tell them that you are filing for bankruptcy. We haven't talked to any lawyers yet but I'm planning on talking to a few next week.

[familyof7]

Dont talk to them until you have either obtaind an attorney of have filed.

[CityGirl]

I'm emailing my atty this question and I will let you guys know what he suggests as well. Thank God I my last 2 employers aren't listed on my credit report and the one before that I worked from home and they are in Pennsylvania so who cares! I also had all the addresses I used to live at deleted from my credit file ( including my parents from 25 years ago that was still on there ) Hopefully, I'll be ok, because I'll only be a month late at most with a few cards.

[PaKettle]

How did the creditors get your work number. When I apply for any CC, I NEVER put work # on it. I always put a cell or something.

Well, they always ask for a work number, and I stupidly gave it to them. Actually it wasn't really stupid, it's just that I didn't know I was going to file bankruptcy when I filled out the applications!

Anyway, for some reason, after the first couple attempts to reach me there - and luckily I was at lunch - they have not tried again, to my knowledge.

Now, the question is, will some of these credit accounts go to Collection Agencies before I file, in September. (That would be about 4 months after I stopped making payments.) If they do, then I'm sure they'll be calling my work, and the numbers of friends and relatives I also stupidly gave as references.

[PaKettle]

As far as AT HOME calls, the best advice I got from this forum which I'll repeat here, is to have an answering machine where you can monitor all calls, and put a message on it stating your name so that they know it is you they have reached and don't go looking elsewhere for you (parents, friends, etc.).

We keep the ringer off and message volume on and as soon as I hear it's a creditor I ingore them and delete them immediately.

As for talking to them, I have had a couple attorneys tell me it really doesn't matter, but most say it's best not to talk to them. I figure "what you don't say, can't hurt you", in this case.

This probably should go in the Collections forum, but I'll just mention here that some of the creditors have tricks to make you think it's a friend calling. They will play light jazz music in the background, then just say something like "[your first name]... Are you there?" so that you might think it's a friend and pick up. It's funny because they always use the exact same music and sometimes they switch to a female voice.

I just hope the Collection agencies don't start in with me, before I file. Those people are really unpleasant and make you feel like a criminal!