CC closed acct after less than 60days...

[cj0203]

I'm nervous now. We stopped paying in Jan, filing in April/May. They already closed our acct!! Which is of course fine, but I am SO freaking nervous they will sue us before the baby is born so we can file!!!

Please tell me it takes more than 60days for a lawsuit to happen

[magyar123]

Closing your accounts is just the first step. From now on expect letters, notices, demands, harrassing phone calls. This is already March. The "wheels of justice" don't turn that fast.. If you are on unpaid maternity leave now, you might even qualify for a Chapter 7 now. See a bankruptcy lawyer now.

[ejny65]

Cj, I am not quilified to give advice, and this is by far a BK advice. But, we are a bit like you. DW is going to have baby. We have stopped paying too. I am worried sick too. For the sake of baby, calm yourself down. Whats the worse thing that can happen? For us, they can sue us (yes its stressful) and get a judgement( yes its scary) but then what? We don't even have enough to pay for regular expenses. I think judge will cry after looking at my recent income and expense. Worse case, a couples of months garnishment 25% of disposable (if there is any) and then we will file Bk and it will end. So, Don't stress that precious baby of yours. take care.

[PaKettle]

Good advice, EJ!
I wouldn't worry, cj0203. We stopped paying in June and did not file until November. We had almost $100k in unsecured debt with all the fees and penalties added in. But none of the credit cards got around to getting any kind of judgment. Only 2 out of the 15 or so banks we owed even turned us into collections by the time we filed.

Make sure you have an answering machine that you can record your name(s) (i.e.; "You've reached Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Jones" (so that they know they have the right place) and that has volume control so you can turn off the ringer. Let it answer, and as soon as you hear it's a creditor just turn down the volume so you can't hear it. When they're done talking, erase it. Don't even listen to it.

Don't stress yourself out. If your attorney says you will qualify, you have nothing to worry about. Let the attorney handle everything and trust him to do it. (But DO make sure your petition is accurate before you sign it and do check pacer to make sure papers are filed on time and received etc.)

[Flamingo]

We filed in April 2002 and stopped paying in February 2002 pursuant to the advice of our attorney at his retention to file. The calls got really bad after the first missed payment. Our main concern was our vehicles getting repossessed (and may be yours if you have vehicles involved). We actually called the bank holding those loans/titles and told them what was going on and when we were filing so they would not come take the vehicles. You don't have to worry at all about the CC's; but the calls will get bad - if you have caller ID, you can just ignore the calls and not answer if you wish.

[danaf]

I was worried too. Stopped paying in Jan. Would love to file tomorrow to get this over with but trying to hold out until the rebate checks come in May. Even though I know I can exempt it I'd rather use my exemptions for other things if need be.

Calls started within a month of stopping however I just let them go to vm. I couldn't care less if they've closed my accounts by now. And also, my credit at this point must not be very good but I also switched to a car insurance for much cheaper than what I was paying. Go figure?

I realized what I already knew. If they try to sue me, then I will file sooner. I'm ready. I've got my creditor matrix done. I've got my budget done with IRS standards in mind. I put my student loan into forbearance a few days ago so that when I file, I will not have paid any one creditor $600 over the 90 day spread although I will still pay as much as I can $1 short of $600/90. I've got no assets of any value, no house, a car that is upsidedown but new (since last July) and will last me for a long time. I found a document preparer who can turn my paperwork around in 48 hrs, even though I could probably do it myself at this point. I've also chosen who I'm going to do the ed course with but holding off on that until I need to take it.

And finally, I'm living within my means. Granted - I don't have alot to spare. But at the end of the day - I've got a job, a roof over my head, medical insurance, stable transportation, and food on the table. Not so terrible.

As another member told me, and was right - just have your ducks in a row and start preparing. I was panicking but no need.

God-willing, I will have a successful pro-se bk7. I've been paying creditors for years and due to difficult circumstances, I could not get caught up. How I got so much credit with the little I make is beyond me. I must have SUCKER written on my forehead. But no more!

[cj0203]

Thanks for the replies!

We'll just hope for the best. We could file now but it's a sure thing that we'll qualify if we wait, so I'll just be hoping they take more than 6weeks to put any lawsuits in motion. The one that I"m concerned about is a CC from a small Credit Union that is more on top of things than the biggies like our other one (Chase).

But I guess all we can do is wait and see!

[Cali]

I was worried too. Stopped paying in Jan. Would love to file tomorrow to get this over with but trying to hold out until the rebate checks come in May. Even though I know I can exempt it I'd rather use my exemptions for other things if need be.

Calls started within a month of stopping however I just let them go to vm. I couldn't care less if they've closed my accounts by now. And also, my credit at this point must not be very good but I also switched to a car insurance for much cheaper than what I was paying. Go figure?

I realized what I already knew. If they try to sue me, then I will file sooner. I'm ready. I've got my creditor matrix done. I've got my budget done with IRS standards in mind. I put my student loan into forbearance a few days ago so that when I file, I will not have paid any one creditor $600 over the 90 day spread although I will still pay as much as I can $1 short of $600/90. I've got no assets of any value, no house, a car that is upsidedown but new (since last July) and will last me for a long time. I found a document preparer who can turn my paperwork around in 48 hrs, even though I could probably do it myself at this point. I've also chosen who I'm going to do the ed course with but holding off on that until I need to take it.

And finally, I'm living within my means. Granted - I don't have alot to spare. But at the end of the day - I've got a job, a roof over my head, medical insurance, stable transportation, and food on the table. Not so terrible.

As another member told me, and was right - just have your ducks in a row and start preparing. I was panicking but no need.

God-willing, I will have a successful pro-se bk7. I've been paying creditors for years and due to difficult circumstances, I could not get caught up. How I got so much credit with the little I make is beyond me. I must have SUCKER written on my forehead. But no more!

Great advice!

[parsoc48]

I got a summons from Chase on 10/30 and first court date is 3/14; tghe summons had to be answered within 30 days, which I did (long story there); in meantime decided to go BK7 and we hope to squeak by before the 3/14 hearing. So, lawsuits take a while! relax and take care of the baby

[FreshLikeADaisy]

CJ, you've gotten absolutely wonderful advice on this thread! I hope you take it.

The only thing I would add is that in regard to creditor calls -- which WILL get hellaciously bad, there is no exaggeration here -- if you can retain your bk atty sooner than the time you file it will be of great assistance to you, because you can then direct any creditor call to the atty and they have to stop calling per FDCPA. They may not, they're not the most law abiding folk in the world, but it will definitely cut down on the volume.

I was so amazed at how much less heart-pounding stress I had once I realized that there was nothing to gain by talking to the creditors and let everything go silently to voicemail. Just not having people screaming at me every day, preaching at me through the answering machine and telling me what a lazy dishonest fly-by-night piece of s**t I am for not paying my bills helped SOOO much. These people are absolutely beyond any standard of reasonable conduct, especially when your debt goes to credit agencies. But there's nothing you can do about that except sweat, so don't worry about it. If you can get the bk atty sooner, do it, turn on the answering machine, and turn down the volume. Good luck, and best wishes for a healthy happy baby!!!