Private Investigators

[krispy12]

I haven't been picking up my cell phone lately because I don't have money to pay the creditors & plus I barely have any cell phone minutes left. Well I was at work with my mom today dropping her off & picked up the 2nd line. I couldn't believe my ears when this guy was looking for me! I said that person wasn't here any longer & gave them my cell phone number saying they no longer work here. He then said make sure to tell me that a Private Investigator is looking for her & hung up. WTH?

Luckily I picked up the one time they called but I'm scared they are going to tell my mom something. I'm not sure how they got that number but they did. Besides picking up all calls from now on my cell phone, what can I do to prevent anyone else calling my mom's workplace?

[magyar123]

Fess up to your mom, tell her what's going on. If they are discussing any debt related issues with her, you can sue them for violation of the FDCA provision about not disussing things of that nature with a 3rd party.

[sick of debt]

Are they looking for your car?

[AngelinaCatHub]

Fess up to your mom, tell her what's going on. If they are discussing any debt related issues with her, you can sue them for violation of the FDCA provision about not disussing things of that nature with a 3rd party.

Yes but the damage is done then. Krispy Kritter does not want her folks to know of these things. She is doing so well now and needs another worry like a hole in the head. BTW, I have heard some very bad collectors use that ploy. I can legally claim I am a private investigator as well. Doesn't mean a thing. 'Hub

[BigJohn]

When the repo man tried repossessing our car, he claimed he was a private investigator.

[krispy12]

Are they looking for your car?

I'm not sure who they are or what they want. I am guessing I will have to pick up some calls tomorrow & figure this out.

Meanwhile, besides fessing up, how do I keep my privacy about this? I certainly don't want people knowing my financial business. It's already bad enough I'm going through this, I'd rather not have other people know.

[justplaintired]

Ok your going to have answer these calls. You're going to have to find an attorney and get something started. Your avoiding the inevitable. Don't put it off any longer. You don't have to file immediately, but avoiding the calls is only going to lead to more aggressive steps by the collector. Calls to neighbors, to family, anywhere they have to try and find you.

If I was you, I would first off find an attorney who will allow you to make payments. Then ask this attorney if you can refer calls to him/her. You are not going to quit being hounded until this bill collectors find out what's going on. They have a job to do, and they won't leave you alone, cause that's their job.

Good luck!

[krispy12]

If I was you, I would first off find an attorney who will allow you to make payments.

What type of payments? Credit card payments or the lawyer fees?

If we're talking credit card payments, I don't have the money nor was I advised to pay if I'll be filing in the future. Lawyer fees, I do have money set aside for filing but I know I will have to wait 2 years due to some family transfers done recently.

My next step right now is to get a few consultations with some lawyers over the next few weeks & pick who I'll be going with. I think alot of my problems & worries will be lessened once I know I have a lawyer to fall back on. Thanks for the help everyone.

[justplaintired]

No not cc. Don't pay those if you intend to file. Yes meeting a few lawyers is a smart move. Start paying them is what I meant, not the cc. Once you have a lawyer, who by the way, make sure and find out if the take the calls if you retain them. Mine did and being able to give those cc his number and name was a huge relief and the cc companies took the info and were basically nice to us. I think it's important especially since you will be waiting so long to file. I hate to see you hounded like this and I know how stressful it can be.

Good luck krispy, and who knows maybe the lawyer can find a way for you to file sooner. 2 years is a long while to wait. We are on month 6 of our wait and hopefully will be filing in less then a month now.

[krispy12]

Since I'm waiting 2 years, I wonder how that goes with paying the lawyer? I will soon find out when I go to some consultations I suppose.

Btw, since I will be filing in 2 years, is it a good idea to tell the credit card companies I will be filing bankruptcy? Or should I hold off on telling them?

Thanks for the good luck wishes, I certainly will need them.

[justplaintired]

Your best bet is find an attorney. I am not sure I understand the 2 yr wait. Have you already talked to an attorney who suggested this wait? I think if you wait 2 yrs and don't pay, some of the cc will take legal actions against you. Your best bet in my opinion is yes meet with a few attorneys find a good one and see what they have to say. We are waiting almost 8 months, but that's a far cry from 2 yrs. So get some good legal advice, because there is no way you can hide from cc that long.

[liz417]

Krispy Kritter does not want her folks to know of these things. 'Hub

It's NOT Krispy Kritters....oh 'Hub, what are we going to do with you?!?

[krispy12]

It's NOT Krispy Kritters....oh 'Hub, what are we going to do with you?!?

LOL I guess that's better than Krispy Kreme (my fave donut place)

[AngelinaCat]

In defense of 'Hub, on another thread krispy12 was getting hammered pretty well about some inside family money transfers that is necessitating the 2 year wait before she can file. 'Hub came to her defense and that was his 'pet' name that he called her.

[GoingDown]

Yes, sometimes a long wait is necessary to make sure that creditors won't be likely to file an objection. In those cases I suggest that the debtor make themselves as judgment proof as possible, and learn a little bit about filing an answer to a lawsuit to try to drag out the about of time in between the filing of a lawsuit and the judgment. Some people have been able to extend the period of time of by filing the right motions in court and give themselves enough time to wait to file bk. Go to your local university law library and ask some of the students for help. It's free and some of them like the challenge of taking on a creditor.

In my case, only one creditor has bothered to sue me and it was for the smallest amount owed-- about $300. They sued me in small claims court, but so far they have not been able to collect even one cent of that judgment. They don't want to spend the money on filing a garnishment on me because I keep changing jobs from month to month. It would cost them more than it's worth. Temporary jobs are easy to get, and since they don't last long, creditors can't do much to garnish them. And I go to the free state of Arizona D.E.S. Job Service to find these temp jobs, so it doesn't cost me anything.

All of my other creditors haven't bothered to file a lawsuit against me since they can't call me at work. They don't know where I work. I think the number one predictor of who will be sued by a creditor is whether or not the creditor knows where you work. That's the first thing a collection agency tries to do-- call you at work. If they can't do that, they call you at home, and if you talk to them, one of their first questions is "where do you work?" Garnishment is the main way they get paid from a judgment. So if they can't garnish your wages because they don't know where you work, they probably won't sue you.