Is there anything I can do?

[iamsamantha]

I recently retained a lawyer and have not finished paying my retainer. I was planning on using my yearly work bonus to pay the remainder. However, I recently had to have surgery and I have a bunch of unexpected medical bills that I have to pay so I can continue my treatment. So I either pay my medical bills or I can finish paying the retainer this month.

The problem is that one of my creditors keeps calling, calling and calling and calling my work and they refuse to take the attorneys information? What can i do?

[Peeps]

Some things you can do:

1. Take care of yourself. If you need medical services, get them. If you have to pay medical bills in order to get ongoing services you could ask the biller if they have any payment options that could help you stretch those bonus dollars.

2. If a creditor calls you at work, tell them to not call you there. Follow it with a cease & desist letter (perhaps this is something your attorney can provide or at least review). As I understand it, they don't have to take your attorney's information but they do have to stop calling you at work if you specifically request it.

3. Turn the (home) phone ringer off. Works like a charm! There are lots of forum threads on how to minimize the disruption of collection calls that can give you some ideas - just use the search function and you'll find plenty of ideas on how to keep the peace.

[oregonpilot]

Ditto to what Peeps said. Good luck samantha. AND welcome!!!

[sealpup]

Tell them to quit calling you at work, otherwise you are going to lose your job and they won't see a penny if you are unemployed This worked for me on a cc debt. I think legally once you tell them in writing to quit calling you at work, they have to. Good luck- and I can relate to other things getting in the way of funding your bk!

[rogue22]

Yes, write a cease & desist letter telling them you only want to be notified by mail. This will stop the calls for the most part. You should be able to find a template to use for the cease & desist letter by googling it, it does not need to be from a lawyer. Don't be so worried about the collection agencies calling you, its not a big deal.. annoying yes. Even if they file a lawsuit, you still have plenty of time to file for your BK. I got served back in Oct. 2010 and I responded to the lawsuit. I just now got a letter from them wanting more detailed answers to my defense, but my point is that the court system is slow - you have plenty of time.

Your health comes first. Most medical facilities will have no problem setting up a payment plan. Also, ask for a discount if you pay with cash. Many medical places will give you a discount if you ask and tell them of your situation. They are willing to do a cash discount because if you paid with a credit card, they end up getting charged 2.5% just for processing the credit card.

[iamsamantha]

Thanks a million! Ugh, I've even been considering changing my phone number, but I think that would make things worse

[oregonpilot]

samantha..look at google voice.
I used it and it worked great. Lets you choose your number from a BUNCH of available numbers for your area. I choose one that was easy to remember.

I still use it cuz i can go online and forward the number to whatever number you want a call to go to. Like any call coming into home i can just forward to my cell number.

Was able to customize answering messages to creditors (you put in each number as they come in) to a list) . I went in to each creditors and deleted my home and cell numbers and replace with the google number. Some still came thru my home number but was almost 0 calls. good luck.

You can also go online and read a text of whatever message comes in. And also hear the message just like an answering machine.

[frogger]

The problem is that one of my creditors keeps calling, calling and calling and calling my work and they refuse to take the attorneys information? What can i do?

Why should they call your attorney? You haven't paid him and you haven't filed......

Not to give you a hard time here, but talk is cheap.

The others gave you good advice on how to handle the problem.

[iamsamantha]

I called and spoke to my attorney. He suggested the same thing give them his name and info and tell them to call him and he would handled it. However, this particular creditor has been up my assfor a while and refuses to take it, which I understand. When I mentioned this to the attorney he requested the creditors name, address, phone number and fax and stated that they would contact them totell them that I had that retained an attorney and all communications would have to go to him. I guess it depends on the attorney and the amount that you owe to him.

[iamsamantha]

I have google voice but I had no idea you could do that! Wow, I have to start paying more attn to it