Should I work out a payment plan with the cc company or just not pay ............

[Babybear]

I am sure this has been discussed but I am still trying to resolve in my mind what is best to do now.

Should I work out payment/hardship terms with the credit card companies til I file or just not pay and see if they sue. If they do sue I can file bk or just wait it out longer I guess.

I suppose I am under the impression that if I pay til I file they wont sue but maybe I am just wasting money and should not pay now and than settle latter and pay if I have to.

So whats the worse that can happen. I mean now that I know the house is protected and I have time to reply to a law suit. I guess I just need to resolve in my mind that I wont die, I wont go to jail and I wont lose the house. I guess I am just scared. I mean if they dispute the bk under fraud or saying we had more money or whatever we can settle than if we have to Or if I play my cards right now and I less likely to get sued or have a dispute later?

your ideas and experience is appriciated.


I am referring mostly to macys who I paid several 1000 so far since july and amex who I paid again many 1000 since june. This is when the charges started. The charges stopped on both in sept and dec.

Other used cards where home depot last used in dec but payment is low so I can handle it now still and lowes also low.

more recent charges to care credit and chase as of oct-jan. so I figure I better pay on those a while longer but with care credit owed 10k the payments are at 300 a mth and I dont know what will happen if I try to lower them so soon.

The people at these companies are so mean once you tell them you cant make the full payment. It makes me feel like they dont even want anything if they dont get the full amount.

I keep getting tons of bills and not sure what to do.

[AlmostAmos]

If you work out a payment plan, they will still ding your credit as you will not be paying the full amount (the account is not current). If you are open to BK & will ultimately go this route should they decide to sue you, don't pay a cent. You're throwing money in the crapper.

I paid over $100k to CC companies over a 4 year period while I "decided" if I was going to file BK or not. What did that get me? My credit didn't look the greatest as I had totally exhausted my available credit but the payments were current. When I finally stopped paying, my credit got slammed by 6 months of no-pays prior to filing.

[Jacey]

Stop charging, stop paying and file when you have at least 90 days clear of charges. That's the advice I got, so I hope it was right. I wouldn't mess with the heartache of payment arrangement if you're going to file soon. You'll need that $$ for a lawyer.

[Babybear]

ok I guess I need to just be strong and wait it out. I get scared when they call and harass me. I guess I need to just ignore it. I mean it cant get worse when I file. right? they cant end out suing me for all their charges plus legal fees etc and than I have to pay more than I own now? chances are they will just settle for less. right? So even for the cards with recent charges, just dont pay and settle when I have to?

Also when they say"this call is being recorded". Is that ever brought up in court or used against you? For example to state that you overestimated your income to get a higher line of credit?

[frogger]

If you're going to file, stop using, stop paying, and stop answering the phone. When the collection calls start coming, answer a call every now and then to verify that they have the correct phone number in which to reach you.

Don't tell them anything, don't make any promises, just tell them that you're exploring your financial options or something like that.

But then, if you're not going to file, my advice does not apply.

[Babybear]

I am going to file. I cant afford not to. I just want to know a few things. Can they charge me with fraud based on an overestimated estimate of income? Can they get a lien against the house? Can they make me pay interest and legal fees and owe more than I do now? Or if I respond to a law suit in time and I file bk in a short time after they try to sue than I will be able to settle for less and wipe out most of the unsecured debt.I guess I just want to be sure nothing terrible will happen to make us lose the house. We have 80k equity and under NY or california exemptions it would seem its protected for up to 150k in homestead. we have nothing else. the car is in my name. this would be my mothers BK. She only gets social security so there is no way we can fail the means test, even know I have no idea whats on it. If the bills are 3k a month and she gets 1100 a month than we are way behind the amount needed for bills each month. we only barely get by now because I contribute my 1700 a month to her 1100 a month to pay the bills but thats not her income its mine. why they extended her so much credit was mostly due to her high credit score and maybe that she had cash in the bank and owned a house. I dont know. But do they banks ever use the phone conversations as testimony that you lied about income. Most of the credit lines were given just with a soc. sec. number and didnt even ask for varification of income at all. Just wondering what the creditors will say or how they will try to fight this at the bk hearing. I dont quite get the role of the trustee. Can someone explain a little more to me about this process and these issues. Thank you.