What is better sending $3.00 or nothing at all?

[merime]

I am being sued by Citicards. I only make $9/hr working part time. It has been suggested that I send my creditors something I can afford,(which is about $3.00 at the moment), in hope that when I go to court the judge will see I'm not a deadbeat. I don't know if thats a good idea for 2 reasons. One -will it make any difference and two , it gives Citi my checking account information if I write a check. Any suggestions? As always I get the best advice from this forum. Much appreciated!!

[ForumReader]

I am being sued by Citicards. I only make $9/hr working part time. It has been suggested that I send my creditors something I can afford,(which is about $3.00 at the moment), in hope that when I go to court the judge will see I'm not a deadbeat. I don't know if thats a good idea for 2 reasons. One -will it make any difference and two , it gives Citi my checking account information if I write a check. Any suggestions? As always I get the best advice from this forum. Much appreciated!!

What kind of lawsuit did you receive from Citicard? Was it a complaint or a summon or a court order that you have to show up? I am not sure if you have contemplated filing for BK since I did not read your prior posts so if you have not yet, then talk to some bk attorneys about how to approach this lawsuit. Definitely Citicard will have your checking account information if you send them a check so I would not give them a check at this time. Was this how you have been sending payments to them (using checks and not online)?

[DebtHater]

A three dollar payment might be a proverbial slap in the face.

Going to court isn't about whether or not your a deadbeat. It's about you owing Citibank money. It's about you breaking a contract to pay that money with specific terms. There is nothing in the contract that excludes you from paying if you can't afford it so they are suing you and will win because you owe that money.

Did you only make $9/hr when you got the loan or credit card? If so, shame on Citi. Regardless of the answer it takes two to enter into a contract.

Regarding you sending them a check and them getting your info, I don't know if they do it but I did notice this little disclaimer on my cell phone bill. "Bank account and routing numbers will be retained to enable future payments by phone or online". It then gives a phone number to opt out.

[merime]

Thank you. Yes, they gave me a very high credit limit maybe because oif household income. When I got the advice to send what I could, I started thinking about the checking account info they would receive. At this point I would be sending pennies to multiple creditors, and I didnt think it would matter. I do however never intended not to pay my bills. I simply ran out of money. When at first I was trying Citi would say well can you make a payment by 8pm of $286? It got so frustrating that I literally stopped answering phone and tossed all mail.

[BKOnce]

$1 = Symbol of Faith in Washington & God ...

[treehugger1]

As mentioned, not paying your agreed upon monthly payment amount is a breach of civil contract. I'm not convinced that sending a few dollars to your creditors makes much difference when it comes to decisions to sue you. If you have wages or non-exempt assets, then they will most likely proceed with suit. On the other hand, there is no way to know what will eventually happen. For me, Citi has sued twice.

Originally I stopped paying when I couldn't afford it. Eventually, they jacked my interest rates to 29.99% and doubled my payments. I never spoke with them again, out of principle.

In my opinion, not paying your debts does not make you a deadbeat. Not paying your bills and running and hiding is my definition of a deadbeat. If you are willing to address the civil consequences (bankruptcy or law suits,) then you are not a deadbeat.

Just my not-so-humble opinions.

[merime]

Thanks again!! I was thinking of sending small payments to all my creditors. I guess the price to mail would be more than the money sent. I do not own anything, and only have a part time job. Citi did the same to me. Minimum payments just went up and up.

[treehugger1]

Do what your conscience dictates. But keep in mind that your conscience and the laws are not on the same page. Somehow, we have let monetary actions take on a form of moral values. While I am not a religous man, I am quite aware of what various spiritual manuscripts have had to say about debt over the centuries. If there should be any moral consequences related to debt, then such consequences belong to both the lender and the borrower. There is probably good reason why failure to pay debts is a civil affair and not criminal.

Just opinions here.

[DebtHater]

I do however never intended not to pay my bills. I simply ran out of money.

I don't think anyone here thinks you intentionally didn't pay your bills. It's just another case of "life happens".

I think one of the "spiritual manuscripts" treehugger1 speaks of is Proverbs 22:7. "The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is slave to the lender". I personally feel that this is an all too accurate description of creditor - debtor relationships.

[wonderingrov]

I don't think anyone here thinks you intentionally didn't pay your bills. It's just another case of "life happens".

I think one of the "spiritual manuscripts" treehugger1 speaks of is Proverbs 22:7. "The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is slave to the lender". I personally feel that this is an all too accurate description of creditor - debtor relationships.

Speaking of spiritual manuscripts, the idea of forgiveness of debts was spoken of in the Old Testament as well - tied in with the concept of the year of Jubilee. From what I understand, this is part of where the concept of bankruptcy came from.

[merime]

Agreed, if I could play in 1 NFL game, I would be debt free.

[catleg]

As long as you don't make the minimum contracted monthly payment, you're in default under the contract and considered "late". Same thing whether you pay $0, $3, or the monthly minimum minus $1. So keep the $3.

[GoingDown]

As mentioned, not paying your agreed upon monthly payment amount is a breach of civil contract. I'm not convinced that sending a few dollars to your creditors makes much difference when it comes to decisions to sue you. If you have wages or non-exempt assets, then they will most likely proceed with suit. On the other hand, there is no way to know what will eventually happen. For me, Citi has sued twice.

Originally I stopped paying when I couldn't afford it. Eventually, they jacked my interest rates to 29.99% and doubled my payments. I never spoke with them again, out of principle.

In my opinion, not paying your debts does not make you a deadbeat. Not paying your bills and running and hiding is my definition of a deadbeat. If you are willing to address the civil consequences (bankruptcy or law suits,) then you are not a deadbeat.

Just my not-so-humble opinions.

Yes, exactly. Sending in $3 a month merely prolongs the statute of limitations in some states, so it gives them one more month to sue you. Not a good thing to do.

If you can't pay it, you can't pay it. Just stop making any payments to them and either prepare to file BK if that is right for you, or make yourself judgment proof as possible and prepare to simply wait them out if you have no non-exempt assets and no garnishable income (which would make a judgment worthless for the creditor).

[merime]

Thank you, that is what I am doing. I am getting my name off deed to house. I make $360.00 every 2 weeks. No car. So , I do not forsee me as being very lucritive to them. I even sold most stuff I bought on ebay, just to pay off the minimums!!

[treehugger1]

I don't understand. Why are you paying off the minimums? I don't even know what you mean.

Just stop paying anything.