time btwn stopping cc payments & filing?

[coolmom04]

How long did you wait between stopping cc payments and filing? I stopped payments this month and we aren't filing until July. We'd originally planned to file in March, but then found out DH wouldn't be eligible for 7 alone and we can't file together until the first of July b/c I filed ch7 and it will have been 8 yrs as of June 26th.

So... now I am worried about getting sued in the next 7 months!! Can we still make small payments... under the minimum balance due... and be hopefully keep from getting sued.. should we continue NOT paying? If we get sued and DH has to file immediately, he'd have to go 13 and he'd have WAY too much DMI b/c of a bonus he received in August that needs to drop off!. Ugh.

I don't know why (maybe things were different in 2002), but I remember my BK attorney telling me to stop paying the cc, send HIM the money I was paying on those to cover his fees and that he'd send letters to all the creditors the day I retained him (before all the fees were paid in full) and that the automatic stay would be put into place at that time. And... the calls stopped! I had it in my head that would still be the case, but I guess not. Maybe I just didn't know what was really going on back then!

If it's not one thing for me to worry about, it's always another!

[albacore44]

No do not make any payments. once you have chosen this road stay with it. save you money for filing. I stopped paying in February, and have not been sued, but expect one soon. but i will be filing Jan-Feb. i am defaulting on 25 C cards. yours will charge off at 6 months first before going to collections, then a law firm. mine are just now hitting the Law firms. this doesnt happen in all cases, but I would say the majority.

[frogger]

So... now I am worried about getting sued in the next 7 months!! Can we still make small payments... under the minimum balance due... and be hopefully keep from getting sued

Anything less than the minimum payment is not considered to be a payment. It will probably take at least 6 months before any of the cc companies want to sue.

If they sue, then you can probably delay the court hearings a few more weeks. You can also advise the court that you are filing for bk on a certain day and they may postpone a hearing even more.

[mtbc]

Yeah, some of our CC's have been unpaid for a few months and are just now hitting debt collectors, not even law firms yet.

[LimpDisc]

Stay the course. When you get anything in the mail from a creditor\collector contact your attorney or ask questions in this forum for guidance.

We didn't pay for nearly 4 months and I am quite sure we could have made it 2-3 months longer.

So many have already taken the same journey you are about to start and will help you along the way.

[mtbc]

I should add, I don't think any of our myriad medical bills ever went to a law firm despite many being unpaid for years. None of those was over a few thousand dollars to any one creditor.

[Naomi]

I'm at 120 days overdue now and don't plan on filing until sometime in 2010. We're going to put filing off as long as possible. Or keep ignoring the million phone calls a day as long as possible.

I haven't answered any of the phone calls. All of my credit card statements say: You're account is seriously past due. That's about it for now, guess I'll see if/how that is going to change...

[wantout]

6 months.

[liz417]

I stopped pay a year before I filed (see my signature). Lots of threats but never sued.

[DeadManCrawling]

It was three years between our last payments and our filing date, so you can ride it for a while, with a little luck and determination.

We were sued after 2 years and filed just before things were about to get serious. Had 2 default judgments on filing day.

[coolmom04]

Wow! Thanks so much everyone for all the info. I definitely feel a LOT better now about waiting 7 months.

Should I also stop paying the cards I used at the beginning of December? I wasn't sure if I should keep paying them for another month or so... but I don't want it to look like preferential payments or whatever it's called. I'm drawing a blank I am concerned about one in particular b/c it's through a credit union and we had cash "transfers" of about $1500 total from September through the end of November to pay for car insurance and a couple bills. The bill was $200/month and now it's $275/month. I am not late on it yet.. it's due on the 11th, but I am not sure if I should pay it. There is another card that I charged maybe $200 the first week of December that I haven't missed the first payment on yet either, but it's only a minimum of $10.

Are credit unions more quick to sue? With my luck, they probably have MIL's info too and will call her... which means she will then be in our business and we are not ready for that yet... seven months of listening to her wrath may be worse than seven months of credit collectors!

[midnight]

We stopped paying in May '09, received summons from Chase Nov. 09. You should be ok.

I have no idea why some get sued and others don't. We just our our 341 today.

[Violet]

I stopped paying December 2008 and just got served by Discover this month. Of course it's the account I owe the least on.

[gamecockfan]

I stopped paying in November 2008. I am filing in Feb of 2010. I have not been sued.

For me, I started getting calls once they were about a month late. After about 4-6 months the calls started getting ridiculous in number. They contacted my parents since that was my previous address (from years ago). They called me at work. There were threats of garnishment (can't in my state). There were threats of putting a lien on my home (they were caught off guard when I informed them that the house had been sold almost a year prior). Some of the collectors are actually pleasant and seem to really want to help while others are down right nasty.

After about 3 months of that the calls slowed down. I may get 1 or 2 per day now.

I've had a few letters that have come from what appears to be a law firm. Many of them start the call saying they are from the "legal department" but they are just collectors.

What I find odd is the cards that I owe the least on are the ones that are the most harassing. I have one card with a substantial balance and I just get an occasional letter from them.

[DaisysMom]

I stopped paying in Feb. 09 and have not been sued yet. Have 26 K in unsecured. One thing that may have helped is that I retained an attorney and am making small payment towards my BK and I gave all of them my attorneys name and #. (He said I could do that.) After that the calls decreased dramatically. I will be filing probably in March 2010.

DM