Need to share

[Ann]

I need to share this with you because I really cannot believe how rude and yes "stupid" these bill collectors can be. I answered a call knowing full well it was a bill collector just to "explain" my situation. She says I owe them (GE Money Bank) 514.00 for this payment alone. Asked if I wanted to take care of it with my debit or check. I said no... I won't be taking care of it today. She asks when? When will you take care of it? I said when I can get back on my feet that I was having a really rough time right now financially and she said she might be able to help me. I asked her why didn't she offer to help when I called them 2 months ago telling them I was heading for a really rough road ahead and asked if they could please lower my rate. She YELLED at me and said she is offering now... I said I don't want your help now... NOW is too late... she said that's your fault!!!... she hung up. WOW... Never did I ever expect them to get that rude! I guess that's what I get for trying to explain my situation. Just thought I would share.

[albacore44]

If I were you I just wouldent answer a single call. less stress that way. I'm passing 5 months pst due on most of mine, and I still have not spoken to a single creditor. Calls have dropped way off, I guess its the calm before the storm.

No need to feel bad for them, half the country is in a bad situation, she was in a bad mood probably because she is defaulting too.

Sit back, relax, have a beer, and put your filing plans together.

[poorold]

albacore44,

I did what you did--never talked to them. and you're right, they start to diminish over time.

but I think you are about to go to the top of the ist again because 5 months or so is when a lot of mine got sent to collection agencies/attornies.

I didn't answer those either.

lol.

[frogger]

Sit back, relax, have a beer, and put your filing plans together.

Now that's some mighty fine advice!

[albacore44]

albacore44,

I did what you did--never talked to them. and you're right, they start to diminish over time.

but I think you are about to go to the top of the ist again because 5 months or so is when a lot of mine got sent to collection agencies/attornies.

I didn't answer those either.

lol.

Yeah, I'm expecting that. I will probably go pay my Attourney this month, then start telling them I'm filing. I just need to hold them off until January to file....4 more months.

[optimistic1]

Ive been telling mine that I was gonna file a BK since I first defaulted almost a year ago, still no suits, just harrassment dealt with swiftly with DV's or CD's

[bluemartini]

Sit back, relax, have a beer, and put your filing plans together.

I'm liking this advice too!

[shado1021]

If I were you I just wouldent answer a single call. less stress that way. I'm passing 5 months pst due on most of mine, and I still have not spoken to a single creditor. Calls have dropped way off, I guess its the calm before the storm.

Hi...I haven't filed yet, but I will be soon. I made my last CC payment in April '08. Of the 58,000 (I'm exaggerating but not by much) calls I've had since then, I haven't spoke to a single one either. I don't have any money to give them, so I don't see any point in talking to them. I will say that out of all the messages left, there hasn't been a single nasty remark in any of them. They have all been very professional.

[albacore44]

Hi...I haven't filed yet, but I will be soon. I made my last CC payment in April '08. Of the 58,000 (I'm exaggerating but not by much) calls I've had since then, I haven't spoke to a single one either. I don't have any money to give them, so I don't see any point in talking to them. I will say that out of all the messages left, there hasn't been a single nasty remark in any of them. They have all been very professional.

Wow...thats well over a year. have any sued you yet and if so, who ??

[shado1021]

Hi albacore. Yes, I have been sued. I had 2 Discover cards. One won a default judgement in May. They filed in April, a year to the month that I stopped paying them. They garnished my wages in July but haven't got a dime because I don't make enough money. I've been waiting for them to freeze my bank account (nothing in there) or put a lien on my house, but nothing has happened. The other Discover card just filed suit - I was served by the sheriff today.

When I was served last April, I was so upset I thought I was going to throw up. Today? Eh. I looked it over and put it in the pile of papers on the kitchen counter. Carbon copy of the first one, just a different amount owed. I don't know if it's good or not that I've become just numb to all this.

I don't know what the second Discover suit hopes to accomplish that the first one hasn't. Maybe this will be the one that goes after my house? Maybe they just want to be first in line?

My other cards are (were) BOA, Cap1, Kohl's, Sears, Target. None of them have sued. Yet.

[SandyShores]

I defaulted on almost all my cards last month. At first, I was inundated with calls because I was ignoring them or defensive (when I did talk to them) or both. I decided that you catch more bees with honey so I started taking all their calls and was super friendly and now the calls have almost stopped. I commit to nothing and, in fact tell them during the course of our usually lengthy conversation, that I have nothing (Not even getting unemployment yet but have filed-long process, house underwater, drive a 12 year old car, on food stamps getting HEAP and LIHEAP (they paid for a new hot water tank), visiting food banks, no 401(k), etc) implying if you sue me you'll get nothing. It's called "collection proof." You can get as many judgments as you want but you won't be able to collect anymore than poor Fred Goldman has been able to collect against OJ. I always end every call by asking them to stay in touch so we can "keep the lines of communication open ." They always thank me for being so "pleasant" and promise to keep the calls down to a bare minimum after apologizing that they have to even call so much.

Will it continue to work six months from now? Don't have a clue. I just don't want them calling the cops to see if I'm still alive (as one poster reported) or my neighbors (some of whom I don't want knowing my business.) I know I'm collection proof, so as long as I don't commit to anything I have nothing to lose by talking to them and they have nothing to gain even if they do get a judgment; you can't garnish unemployment, my house has no equity and my car is exempt at this point. I am making some money but they won't be able to even touch 25% of that because I can prove I need it to live on. End of story.

So assess what you have to lose or not lose and decide for yourself to answer them or not. Remember you are in control. You're not an amoral dead-beat who intentionally ran up a ton of debt you had no intention of paying. You don't need to feel guilty or afraid and you don't need to beat yourself up. Handle calls like a business. Remember 50% of all business fail and guess what they do after they close shop? File for BK protection.

And, yes do sit back and have a beer and get those ducks in a row. Use your energy to find ways to live on less. There are ways. It's just we have gotten lazy and used to pulling out the credit card when we need this that or the other. I don't particularly like going to the county welfare office to get food stamps or waiting for two hours in the broiling hot sun to get food from food banks (I go to three.) but I do what I need to do. But at the end of the day I know I did something productive rather than destructive-use credit at 29% interest. Then I sit back and pop that long tall cool one I got on sale after recycling my empties.

SandyShores

[treehugger1]

Sandy, good advice, in my opinion. I always took calls from OC's. After nearly 30 months of final payments, I have yet to be sued by some big national CC's. I have to say it probably had something to do with my defaulting with everyone about 30 months ago, and the fact that I have no assets. Even my trashed credit suggests I would not be a candidate who would ever be in a position to have assets. On the other hand, my pension and optional retirement accounts continue to grow significantly; such are protected by state and federal laws.

BB, I just had a friend sued by M-Buttheads down in here in the Oregon Hinderlands. He/She asked the court for a 14- 60 day extension to file an answer. He/She was awarded a 14 day extension (no cost.) Perhaps M-B is beginning to starve since the NAF is pretty much on hold. These types of CA's tend to play the numbers game in my opinion, or perhaps M-B receives OC money to proceed to suit, without having the worry of commisions related to actual recovery.

I think the best interest for any OC and/or JDB in these economic times, would be to not proceed with suits without exceptional confirmation that a judgment will result in immediate dollars. But, who can read the minds of CA attorneys or CC legal firms? I'm sure it is all a game to the legal firms. And, they can just pull up nearly completed lawsuit forms with little or no cost on their part.

Would a judgment on your part change your direction? If not, why not tell them to proceed and pound sand?

JMHO

[jribe]

GE Money is notorious for being horrible. I actually have a care credit card through them- and had a doctor over bill my by thousands- and they wouldn't take it off my card. So that was kind of the last straw in deciding to file or not. Why should i pay another 2k in bills that i don't really owe? Even the doctor admitted that i don't owe the money but said "sue him".
So i have no problem with sticking it to GE! lol.

Good luck!

I need to share this with you because I really cannot believe how rude and yes "stupid" these bill collectors can be. I answered a call knowing full well it was a bill collector just to "explain" my situation. She says I owe them (GE Money Bank) 514.00 for this payment alone. Asked if I wanted to take care of it with my debit or check. I said no... I won't be taking care of it today. She asks when? When will you take care of it? I said when I can get back on my feet that I was having a really rough time right now financially and she said she might be able to help me. I asked her why didn't she offer to help when I called them 2 months ago telling them I was heading for a really rough road ahead and asked if they could please lower my rate. She YELLED at me and said she is offering now... I said I don't want your help now... NOW is too late... she said that's your fault!!!... she hung up. WOW... Never did I ever expect them to get that rude! I guess that's what I get for trying to explain my situation. Just thought I would share.