BOA stopped calling

[crazychristo]

I entered into a chapter 13, paid my attorney and had the paperwork filed. Because my income was high, the amount I was supposed to pay was $2600 a month. This seemed high to me so I checked into settling my credit cards and letting a house I no longer live in be foreclosed upon. BOA was the first to agree to a settlement ($7000 on $21000) ,they provided a settlement agreement in writing, but I had to have the BK dismissed before they would accept payment. They said that once they saw the BK was dismissed they would contact me. The BK was dismissed in late November and I have not heard from them. Question: Do they know that it has been dismissed, or have I fallen through the cracks? If I have the settlement money to pay them, should I contact them, or wait for them to contact me?

[Trixie007]

I agree that the 33% offer you got from them is not good enough - they offered us 15% and were going to let us pay it over 6 months.

[pcn]

So someone please tell me again why its so bad to take a settlement, if you can get it down to 15%? Yes, the hit on your credit report is bad, but so is one from bk, right? I understand there are taxes on the settlement, yes. But aren't there ways around that too, such as by showing you were insolvent? Seems like the settlement is over "now" but the ch13 lingers on for 3-5 years before you can start rebuilding your credit.

[catleg]

I think the basic dilemma is that if you have more than one creditor and you can't get them all to settle and have to file BK anyway, then any settlements you've paid are wasted money. In particular, by settling with some creditors initially you actually "improve" the prospects for the other creditors to recover if you have income or assets (thus reducing their incentive to settle)

[BigJohn]

If I was a creditor and realized that other creditors were being paid so much on a dollar, I would suspect the person should be able to pay me the full amount. Isn't thatthe object of the game?

[tbon]

See, I think it would be okay to do a settlement with what is left with my creditor's.
My C13 may be dismissed very soon I fear... but, what if I just settled out with what is left of my debt, instead of doing the 13 again.
My balances, according to my claim sheet is $84776.00.
The total of that at 15% (assuming they all would settle at 15%, but the way the economy is going, I would think they would at this point...) would leave me owing only about $12,716.00...
would take me maybe 6-7 months to get that cleared up. That's better than going through another 13 for another 60 months... but what would I be looking at in settlement taxes?
Would that mean I would be taxed on the difference? How would I find out what taxes would need to be paid? And when for that matter?

[treehugger1]

I think it needs to be all or none. I tried this path. There were some local folks who didn't want to play along and immediately went for small claims. Some worked with me in small claims mediation, but others went for judgment and wage garnishment. Then, the entire plan went into the crapper. I get a few calls from the 9 or so creditors/CA's remaining, and its pretty easy to answer their question of "what happened?" Once I tell them I had my wages garnished, the conversation on their end gets quiet. My credit reports are full of redlines, CO's, collections, and judgments (some marked satisfied, some are not.)

I would think that if you were in a high monthly BK 13 payment plan, the creditors can figure this out. They'll know you have/had money, so why should they be in a hurry to settle? Once the stay disappears, they could go back to running up the fees and interest and sit on the sidelines waiting to see what you will do.

[tbon]

LOL, hoping they have better things to do!
I can wait them out, they've already got quit a bit in my 13. They should feel lucky to get that...besides, I'll tell them that I'm working on a 7 !!
How can they garnish (CC co.) your wages if it's unsecured debt?? I only have unsecured debt now, in my 13, all secured has been paid.

[treehugger1]

If you are dismissed you lose the protection of the automatic stay. Creditors/CA's then have the right to revert back to non-BK laws of your state. If you are sued over CC debt and a judgment is obtained, they have the right (in most states) to garnish/levy wages/bank accounts.

[StartingOver08]

LOL, hoping they have better things to do!
I can wait them out, they've already got quit a bit in my 13. They should feel lucky to get that...besides, I'll tell them that I'm working on a 7 !!
How can they garnish (CC co.) your wages if it's unsecured debt?? I only have unsecured debt now, in my 13, all secured has been paid.

When you are dismissed the creditors can go back to the beginning of your filing and add interest, penalties and fees so the amount you are showing in your 13 will have no relationship to what you owe now.

Once the BK court has dismissed, they can take you to court for judgments and garnish your wages.

[BKINAZ]

I agree that the 33% offer you got from them is not good enough - they offered us 15% and were going to let us pay it over 6 months.

How behind were you before they made that offer? We basically have two creditors...B of A ($15k) and 3 chase accounts...I would think we would have a real shot at settlement...no?