Settlement offers

[kydiv]

I filed chap 7 back in October under the new laws. I had my hearing a couple of weeks ago, and after the hearing my attorney received a letter from CapitalOne asking for a settlement. He has recommended I not sign their reaffirmation.

Has anyone else experienced this? I think my attorney believes CapitalOne will drop their arguments, but my fear is that they will continue. Is my fear justified?

Thanks,
D

[StaciMM]

What is the background on the account? Did you use it shortly before filing, or have relatively recent cash advances or balance transfers? Or was it opened right before filing?

[kydiv]

Charges

I had the card for three years previous and yes there were some charges prior to the filing. I think that's what they're trying to recoup.

[bkfiler]

you need to provide more information so we can take a guess about your questions.

what it is the total balance?
how recent and how much were the charges?
what were the charges for?
what did the complaint letter ask for? just a total reaffirmation? or for a specific amount?

[SinkingFast]

You are someone I've been waiting to hear from!! Someone who's filed under the new law and a ways along in the process.

We have charges on CC's. I've been keeping the bills for months now. Anyone can tell when they look at the CC charges, they are groceries, gasoline, utlities payments, etc. I also did a couple "balance transfers" in December. I used convenience checks to pay bills. Smaller amounts. Like minimums due, the car payment. Nothing huge. Couldn't be anything huge as we didn't have that much left on the LOC anyway. The charges show on the statements exactly who was paid and how much.

We've had consults with 4 different attnys. 1 was very cautious. We cannot file until the magic 70/90 days have passed. Cautious attny said, "You risk jeopardizing the entire balance on each card you charged on if you file any sooner." The other 3 don't think the charges or balance transfers will be a problem. We are wondering are they thinking old law and how things used to be??

Please let us know what happens in your case. We are in the same boat.

[bkfiler]

the laws that changes didnt change when why and how they come after you except for 60/70 day rules. and that just means the court will rule in favor of the creditor if you made charges within those days.

everything else about this is still the same as old laws.

what attorney told you that you risk the entire balance? please give me his name and number. i want to call him and speak with him lol

the creditors come after you if they can make money. think abbout it a littel bit. do you think they will spend over $500 to start with and easily over $1000 real soon to pursue a few charges less then $50

you have to think about it that way cuz thats the way they think about it.

and only those charges they can prove fraud (so to speak) will be negotiated if your attorny things it might be best.

[SinkingFast]

I know it's each and every Creditor too, BK. But you'd have to look back over my bills. Last month, on one CC, I charged $700-$800 in December alone. They would add in the November charges, and anything I'd charged in October to the 25th or so?? Just in charges alone on that one card though, we could easily exceed the $1250 allowance.

I've been basically rotating 3 or 4 cards to buy necessities for months. Every day that goes by another bunch of charges potentially drop off. WoooHooo!! Now granted, I have other cards with high balances that haven't been charged on in quite some time. Basically dormant except for minimum payments. Those shouldn't be an issue at all.

I didn't take that one attny seriously. He's the geeky/nerdy one who obviously lives in fear of the Court and what the Trustee might or might not do. He's scared so he scares potential clients. But still, I'd like to know. I'd rather be safe than sorry if you know what I mean.

[StaciMM]

My understanding is that cash advances, balances transfers, and transfer checks WILL be an issue if they are close to filing. Those are very likely to be contested, but worst case scenario is that you pay back those amounts. It doesn't mean you pay back the entire credit card balance.

If you did transactions as recently as December, would be better to hold off on filing for several months. Would be good to stop making payments to cards with no recent activity, not pay the house or anything associated with it (as long as it won't result in fines, etc. that wouldn't be dischargable) and use that money to pay living expenses going further.

[bkfiler]

most of us waited way over 3 months anyways. so we dont care too much about their 60/70 day rule.

nothing drops off. its still on the radar when you file. its just that the longer the time between charging and filing and the smaller the amounts the less likley it is they will do anything about it.

its a money game. you have to play it too. my own advice is wait 6 months at least. but that is not possible in all cases.

[SinkingFast]

I just pulled the check stubs on the convenience checks. Only wrote 1 on one CC for $160 so no problem there. Well under the $500 limit. Wrote 3 on another for a total of $472.48 (car payment, cell bill, and a minimum due on another CC), not including the fees, so that one could be a problem.

Charges are a whole different story. And we won't go there right now.

We won't be able to wait 6 months. In Missouri, the lender can come after the house as soon as 2 payments are missed and foreclose in as little as 60 days. So our hypothetical clock is already ticking unless I send in another payment on the house. Haven't decided that one yet. I didn't wanna do anything until the new numbers came out, and we have all our docs to file taxes as well. That way, we'll know how much we owe Uncle Sam too.

[kydiv]

Charges

The total on the card was over $14K and they're offering to settle for $2000 (monthly payment with no interest until the amount is reached). Yes, I know I charged on it up until I filed and not all were necessities. The more I think about it, the more I want to accept the settlement and get the whole thing over with. I just didn't know if this was standard practice or not.

[StaciMM]

What were the total of the non-necessity charges before filing? (The entire balance is not the issue.)

[bkfiler]

i agree, most cant wait that long due to the house issue which i smore important sometimes.

rememeber that they have to prove each charge was made after you knew you couldnt pay, etc, etc, bs, bs, etc but that they wont lump everything together always and make you pay. unless they target a certain date and try to prove you knew at that point that you couldntn pay. then they go after anything that was charged after that time.

besides, even if they did, you could negotiate a much smaller amount to pay (i.e. 80%, 75%, 60%-%35) and even on payments and even without interest sometimes as well.

what is the total amount of all charges in the last 30 days? 60 days? 90 days? 6 months?

[StaciMM]

Something to discuss w/ an attorney, I think if the charges happen in the presumption period, the creditor does not have to prove fraud.

[bkfiler]

The total on the card was over $14K and they're offering to settle for $2000 (monthly payment with no interest until the amount is reached). Yes, I know I charged on it up until I filed and not all were necessities. The more I think about it, the more I want to accept the settlement and get the whole thing over with. I just didn't know if this was standard practice or not.

lol, hell no you dont. thats 14K.

what were the charges made for you case 30 days before filing? 60? 90? 120 and 6 months?

what were the largest charges and for what? and when?