Stoped payment on a Check to a CC

[Toby34]

My wife agreed to paying one of our CCs $700/month , i guess 6 months ago or so. She wasn't sure when the "agreement expired". I told her I'm sure it wouldn't.

Anyway....we stoped payment on this last one. And she got a phone call from the CC lady today, saying she got notice of the stop payment and that we needed to talk about this situation.

I've been putting off calling a lawyer for too long. Is the first phone call the hardest of the whole process??

We are over $80K in cc/personal loan debt. Wife is a teacher and I've been self employed for 6 months and haven't been able to contribute too much.

Man this is depressing.........as you can tell by me posting this at 3:45am. Can't sleep thinking about all this crap going on. We are getting multiple calls daily from different people and letters from collections daily.


by the way...we have opened a new Checking account at a different bank and plan on closing the current one we use. Just have to work out her Direct Deposit first.

[Boscoe]

Toby - the others will be posting soon telling you the same thing. Go see a couple of attorneys asap. Find one you are comfortable with, tell them everything, and if you like them, pay them a small retainer ($500 or less). Once you do that, any and all calls can be forwarded to the attorney.

You should also consider using your answering machine, screening all calls and letting the collection calls go to the machine. I would NOT pay this $700 that you stopped payment on. Assuming you file, which it sounds like you probably should, all this credit card debt will be discharged anyway.

What state do you live in and what would be the combined annual income between you and your wife?

It gets better. Believe us. We have all been there.

[guzzie]

good morning toby ....you have taken the first step in realizing you have a debtload problem that won't go away on its own....seems like you are close to taking the next step getting a few free legal consults....toby you are on your way to sleeping again....none of us wanted to file, but in most situations we had to...my first call to lawer was the easy part for me....
hardest part just waiting to get through the process....you have a lot of support here...
these people will guide you every step of the way with good advice...best of luck with your journey to your fresh start and god bless.......

[Toby34]

Thanks.....

by the way, I typed that we haven't opened a new checking account when in fact we HAVE opened a new one. It was late.

We live in Maryland.

My wifes makes I believe around $45kish (she brings home about $2400 a month I think).
I can't really say what I make right now though....I'm not sure myself. Cant' be too much, since I'm not contributing too much. I'm working with my Mother on my business books.

[Minnymouth]

Toby34,

Its okay to open another checking account to use starting the day after you file.......
Do not leave a large sum of money in your old checking account BUT DO NOT CLOSE IT OUT till after your bankruptcy.... the Trustee questions WHY if you do close out an account....

Also, a question for you. Is your debt load in both your names or just one of your names? If most or all of the debt is cc debt with only one spouses name on it, then possibly only one of you has to file in their name only..... leaving the others credit in tact.

Have you consulted an attorney yet? Do you have assets to protect such as property, home, autos, etc....??

Are you payments current on home, auto, etc.? Do you have student loans?

If you are planning on filing bankruptcy do not pay anymore on cc debt......only make payments on your house, auto, utilities, and insurance. If you plan on surrendering a home or auto - pay nothing else on them... SAVE THAT MONEY FOR THE ATTORNEY....

Give us a little more information so we can help you on what you need to do....

[Toby34]

Toby34,

Its okay to open another checking account to use starting the day after you file.......
Do not leave a large sum of money in your old checking account BUT DO NOT CLOSE IT OUT till after your bankruptcy.... the Trustee questions WHY if you do close out an account....

Hmm....I was under a different assumption. We have acouple automatic payments on CC's that were set up by my wife, that we need to stop. The only way to do this to my knowledge is to change banks, and I read this was perfectly ok (legal) to do.

Also, a question for you. Is your debt load in both your names or just one of your names? If most or all of the debt is cc debt with only one spouses name on it, then possibly only one of you has to file in their name only..... leaving the others credit in tact.

Yes, I believe all of it is in our name. Most of them were originally opened in her name, and my name was added to them so I could use them aswel when we got married. Some have been opened after we got married.

Have you consulted an attorney yet?
No....We havne't I'm having troubles making that phone call....keep putting it off even though I need to do it.

Do you have assets to protect such as property, home, autos, etc....??

No property or homes. We live with my parents in a basement apartment. We have 1 car loan that is current, always has been. Do not plan on giving it up.

Are you payments current on home, auto, etc.? Do you have student loans?

Yes we have student loans. Her's are current, mine I keep applying for extensions due to not being able to afford to pay them.

If you are planning on filing bankruptcy do not pay anymore on cc debt......only make payments on your house, auto, utilities, and insurance. If you plan on surrendering a home or auto - pay nothing else on them... SAVE THAT MONEY FOR THE ATTORNEY....

Give us a little more information so we can help you on what you need to do....

I think i covered all your questions.

[tiredofdebt]

i have payday loans that are automatically debiting my account..i tried to stop them but they will not unless i give them a new account number...and my bank stated there isnt anything that can be done until the account has been closed for 30 days.

[treehugger1]

There is nothing wrong with closing a bank account if someone is attempting to debit funds. You will have to report any "closed" financial accounts if you file, but it shouldn't make a difference. The trustee "might" ask for a few months of statements from the account. I closed two accounts last fall because PD loans were associated with them. Eventually I paid off those loans but did so on my terms, not theirs.

I find it interesting that the bank claims you have to wait 30 days. There must be something in your fine print. I closed both my accounts within a day after I knew I had no checks out.

You should also send a return receipt letter to the PD loan companies demanding that all automatic payments cease. When you open your new account, I would use it only to pay bills such as rent/mortgage, utilities, insurance, basic necessary expenses. For everything else, including creditors, use money orders and keep the MO receipt stubs.

[JRScott]

I understand you not wanting to file for bankruptcy or to talk to an attorney about the situation. We all hoped for better things, hoped the better job would come through. Hoped that we might find some way to pay off the debt. There comes a time though when we have to realize that we are in to deep and that we can't just keep hoping something will improve. Some of us come to that realization early, some of us struggle with it with months and possibly years of restless nights. As we struggle with the debt we find ourselves suffering both mentally and physically over time. I would not keep delaying the inevitable though on the hopes and dreams of better tomorrows. It just isn't that prudent.

I hope all will go well for you both and that you can find gainful employment soon. You will need paystubs for the last 6 months for both of you. I'm not sure how you are paid but a good lawyer will ask for that.

As for the 700 dollars per month, you are making the right decision. That sounds to be a heavy burden. Not to mention that you have to disclose if you've paid any creditor more than 600 dollars in the last 90 days. And if you have the Trustee has the power to go back and take that money from that creditor and distribute it to all creditors.

Changing banks is often necessary. If you close the account I'd make sure to have on hand the last three months statements. You will probably be questioned about it. So long as it seems routine and there isn't a large amount of money that disappears unaccounted for you should be fine. I would ask a lawyer in your area about it first, they know the trustees in your area and how much they'll push the issue.

I wish you the best of luck, though it is desirable for us to pay our debts, there are times in our lives when we cannot pay anymore and we find ourselves in bondage to a master we can never satisfy. Bankruptcy is there for those of us that find ourselves in that situation, to allow us to restructure our lives such that we can find freedom from the bondage and begin again.

Good luck