Ridiculously Nice

[BkinTX]

I have been getting calls from CitiGroup several times daily since we missed our payment 2 weeks ago.

I have not been answering but we got our case number yesterday, so today I answered.

We have two CitiGroup cards (Sears) and with both cards the collector (2 different reps) was incredibly nice. I told them we had filed bk and they asked for our lawyer's name and number and were so polite and friendly.

I am shocked.

[Recessionist]

It's funny, but since all of this national financial crisis has come about, the collectors I have spoken to have been nicer and adhere to the law a bit better than they used to.

[hopeforus]

many of ours have been nice as well. honestly the snottiest person who calls is from a loan mod help place haha

[BkinTX]

I guess they're nice because they have to be?

I was so scared of getting evil calls all day long, but it hasn't been bad. Right after we missed our payment I got a call on my cell that I answered. The guy was very nice. I just told him we are unable to pay and didn't know for sure when we would be able to. He accepted that as an answer but did warn me that they would call again.

And they did. Every day.

This time they both brought up our "excellent payment history" -- but an excellent pymt history won't make money appear out of nowhere.

[hopeforus]

Yeah they always bring up our wonderful credit. As if we would choose to destroy it if we didn't have to? Trust me people... I'm well aware of how great our credit was until the last 6mos thank you.

[ready2puke]

the calls from Citi were really nice also but I dont answer them..They are almost begging me to call them back that they really want to help me blablabla.... I thought if they really wanted to they can pay me bills....
BTW Citi has stopped with all late fees and interest for the last 3 months now..zero everything

[ready2puke]

I also forgot to ad that I have it recorded that one of the gals said she knew I didnt mean to do this...so if I get a objection from them ..I guess I can use that recording...lol

[mamaof2]

how do you guys "record" the phone calls?.......just incase they start for me!

[ShouldWeFile]

how do you guys "record" the phone calls?.......just incase they start for me!

You need a phone or answering machine capable of this - they will beep every so many seconds to indicate the call is being recorded.

Another alternative is this device available at your local radio shack that should plug in to the mic jack on most tape recorders...

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103876

Oh, and a note on exceptionally nice collectors - Mercedes Benz Financial was by far the nicest - they gave me 3 extra months of payment extensions over the last several months, and then let me ride until I was 80 days past due (I drove about 6 months without making payments - or actually the car sat in my garage - it was not driven much anyways), then they simply stated the vehicle would no longer "be secure," which I took to mean that they could repo it any time at that point. All the while, the most professional businesslike attitude about it - I was always courteous and professional in return.

The worst was Wells Fargo - they did good for themselves though - I paid them in full thinking I could still get away without having to file BK... what a waste of a couple grand...

[albacore44]

The worst was Wells Fargo - they did good for themselves though - I paid them in full thinking I could still get away without having to file BK... what a waste of a couple grand...

Can you elaborate a little more about WF ?? How difficult are they to deal with ??

[ShouldWeFile]

Can you elaborate a little more about WF ?? How difficult are they to deal with ??

I should have elaborated a little more, Wells Fargo Financial. It was a 0% loan for appliances through a merchant. Just brutal about calling - many times daily. I would talk to them this evening, and then the phone would be ringing the next morning and it was them. "Well sir, the collateral can be repossessed and we can then sell it at auction and reduce what you owe by that amount" Oh really, you are going to sell a $2500 refrigerator @ auction, what do you think you'll get for it? If we get $50 for it at auction, you'll still owe the balance...

You know, just the usual plays in the play book of collections, but no interest in understanding your situation, that you are out of work, or they just spoke to you 12 hours ago and nothing changed... etc. etc. I think the worst was the condescending tone and offensive and charged manner that they would confront you in, it just made for a losing conversation where neither party was making headway. It didn't matter who you spoke to from Wells Fargo Financial they were all similar in their tactics and attitudes.

I could write an entire book about it...

I believe experiences with Well Fargo may vary greatly, but the "Wells Fargo Financial" end of their operations (and their WFF collections dept) is used to dealing with people who shouldn't have been lent the money in the first place.

[treehugger1]

As mentioned above, WF Financial was a high-risk lending venture. They knew the risk of lending unsecured money as well as the borrower did. CitiFinancial is another one, as is/was Beneficial Finance. These are/were all high-risk loan companies. Don't lose any sleep if they call you over and over. They knew exactly what kind of business they were involved in, as did many of their borrowers.

By the way, they are pretty kind. I have a CitiFinancial loan that should have charged off many months ago. They still keep sending me statements as if it's "business as usual." LOL

[albacore44]

As mentioned above, WF Financial was a high-risk lending venture. They knew the risk of lending unsecured money as well as the borrower did. CitiFinancial is another one, as is/was Beneficial Finance. These are/were all high-risk loan companies. Don't lose any sleep if they call you over and over. They knew exactly what kind of business they were involved in, as did many of their borrowers.

By the way, they are pretty kind. I have a CitiFinancial loan that should have charged off many months ago. They still keep sending me statements as if it's "business as usual." LOL

I was thinking it might be a WF Credit card of which i have one with a $15K balance. I kind of assuming they may be tough to deal with, it was tied to my checking account. This is the last account i'm stopping payment on, was due today.

Also have a Citifinancial CC for a mattress retailer, and Oh yeah, they are calling. Don't think they will want a nasty old used mattress back though.........but you never know.

[WillinVT]

I've received 2 letters in the mail. One from Capital One and the other from HSBC. Both letters said if I call there 800 number, they would do what they could to bring my account current without any negative effects to my credit report.

Sounds tempting, but I am going through with the chapter 7.

[BigJohn]

The collectors might be using a different stragedy - be nice and then you will let your guard down and tell them things you normally would not tell them.

By them being nice, I do not think it will not slow them down from trying to collect on the debt which is their job.