Reaffirm a charge acct. or not?

[cridge]

I have a charge acct at a local jewlery store that had a $2,800 balance at the time I filed bk and it was current. My question is this acct. is actually serviced by Wells Fargo Bank and they showed a $0 balance for voluntary ch 7 after I filed. My atty says they might try to get my ring if I don't reaffirm. Why should I reaffirm if they show a $0 balance on the acct?

[AngelinaCat]

Usually debt from a cc, is an unsecured debt. Those are NOT reaffirmed. Now, a store cc involving jewelry can be another problem. Those types of debt CAN be considered a secured debt. However, jewelry has a larger depreciation value than automobiles do.

In my opinion, you should not reaffirm the jewelry debt. Include it in your paperwork, in the appropriate places. And then I would just leave it alone. The company may complain and bluster, and threaten to repossess the jewelry. But they have to go to the effort to petition the court to lift the Automatic Stay, to move forward. And that is a lot of effort and expense on the plaintiff's side to go after a piece of jewelry.

Now, having said all of the above, I am assuming that we are talking about an ordinary piece of jewelry, and not something akin to the Hope Diamond.

Good luck to you, and welcome to the Forum.

[btbeme]

Your Trustee will be looking for jewelry on your paperwork, by the way. Don't forget to list it! Pawn shop values, of course.

[bcohen]

The only things I would recommend reaffirming are the lease on an apartment which you wish to continue living in, or the loan on a car where the car is worth significantly more than what you owe. I would never reaffirm any credit cards, personal loans, or secured loans with negative equity. This includes loans for the purchase of jewelry, which is usually marked up so much that the loan balance far exceeds the value of the item for the life of the loan.