How did your pre filing credit course go?

[eli4625]

I am getting to do my pre filing credit counseling course you have to do. I am going to do mine on line and wondered if anyone else had done it that way and what can I expect? How long did it take, what do you do?

[DeadManCrawling]

It is easy and just one more stupid thing they make us do, almost as a mild punishment of sorts.

I played an mmo between questions, since they are timed to extend the misery as much as possible. And watched a little TV.

At the end, I received a phone call from a telemarketer-type person who went through the numbers and asked silly questions like: Do youknow what it means to file bankruptcy? Why are you filing? Were you honest in your answers? Blah.

Then printed out a graduation certificate that I had framed and placed next to my degrees on my office wall. One more milestone in the journey of life.

And 30 bucks spent for no reason.

[LuciluS]

It is easy and just one more stupid thing they make us do, almost as a mild punishment of sorts.

I played an mmo between questions, since they are timed to extend the misery as much as possible. And watched a little TV.

At the end, I received a phone call from a telemarketer-type person who went through the numbers and asked silly questions like: Do youknow what it means to file bankruptcy? Why are you filing? Were you honest in your answers? Blah.

Then printed out a graduation certificate that I had framed and placed next to my degrees on my office wall. One more milestone in the journey of life.

And 30 bucks spent for no reason.

Dang! We payed $50 last year for the 1st counseling class which was held over the phone. She started asking me questions about how much this and that were. I told her if she would hold on, I would go get my spreadsheet. She said no, just estimate. Lasted 18 min. and Certificate was mailed to us and copy to our Attorney.

We used CCCS which is also the credit counseling company who was kind enough to tell us we needed to see a BK Attorney instead of taking our money for Debt Counseling.

Of course, we will not be able to use the Certificate as it must be at least in the 180 days or less & we will be filing 9/09. Our Attorney has also recommended them for the 2nd course. It is a 4 hour course at their office. Impossible for Dh as he is a Truck Driver & is only home on Sat. So as the time to file gets closer will research those Cos.' who allow the course through the internet.

[Flowers]

I found it very helpful. It was done live and in person over the phone. This was the pre-filing.

After the filing and before the discharge, I was hoping to do it live and in person again, but it was on-line. It was reading short chapters and then answering questions. I found it a bit silly, especially since I could not print out the chapters for later reference, but it ultimately completed my obligation.

[tinfoilhat]

I got a CCCS card with the firm code on it. Did it online for free (in other words the attorney included it in the price)

[eli4625]

30?

If you don't mind me asking, where did you find it for $30? All I have seen is $50.

It is easy and just one more stupid thing they make us do, almost as a mild punishment of sorts.

I played an mmo between questions, since they are timed to extend the misery as much as possible. And watched a little TV.

At the end, I received a phone call from a telemarketer-type person who went through the numbers and asked silly questions like: Do youknow what it means to file bankruptcy? Why are you filing? Were you honest in your answers? Blah.

Then printed out a graduation certificate that I had framed and placed next to my degrees on my office wall. One more milestone in the journey of life.

And 30 bucks spent for no reason.

[kvangild]

If you don't mind me asking, where did you find it for $30? All I have seen is $50.

This is the one I used for the State of Iowa and I think it was around $30. But different courts have approved ones so i would go by that method of selecting one.

http://www.cccsatl.org/

[rpg1977]

It is easy and just one more stupid thing they make us do, almost as a mild punishment of sorts.

I played an mmo between questions, since they are timed to extend the misery as much as possible. And watched a little TV.

At the end, I received a phone call from a telemarketer-type person who went through the numbers and asked silly questions like: Do youknow what it means to file bankruptcy? Why are you filing? Were you honest in your answers? Blah.

Then printed out a graduation certificate that I had framed and placed next to my degrees on my office wall. One more milestone in the journey of life.

And 30 bucks spent for no reason.

Same here...it was pointless and another waste of $40. Too bad it was mandatory.

[doingpoorly]

Oh my goodness. I finished my pre filing course this evening and couldn't be more unhappy about spending $50 on something so useless. I have 20,000 other things that I could have spent that money on. Ugh.

My thanks go to George for making these courses mandatory. It has been so helpful. (Of course, I am referring to President Bush and my tone is a tad bit sarcastic)

[jadams]

I've joked that I should start a credit counseling agency after completing the mandatory course. That's quite the nice little racket they have.

I did the CCCS of Atlanta one, and how they can justify charging $50 for that is beyond me. It was only a handful of pages, pulled my monthly payments from my credit report, asked me to enter any additional, and then summarized that I pay more than I make. (Umm, duh.)

But then I was pleased to see I would be receiving a "personal evaluation by a certified credit counselor unique to my situation" as a follow up within a few days. I figured maybe they'd have some insight that could be more helpful than the computer debt to income calculation -- and my fee must be going to pay for that person to take the time to look over my file.

Nope. It was a form letter letting me know that my payments are more than I make, and if I were to do a cash out refinance on my house (which I don't have, and a quick look at my file would have shown that) I could pay off bills. Or I could get a unsecured line of credit from a bank and pay off everything in a lower payment. (Again, a quick look at my file would show my credit wouldn't qualify me for a Columbia House membership never-mind an unsecured line of credit the size necessary to refi my debts). Or, the best one, use my savings to pay off debts. (Again, the checking/savings/retirement/etc balances they asked for show I don't have anything to pay them with).

It was completely vague and unhelpful.

Anything taught in the pre-filing course I took could be given in a single page brochure that the court requires you to read, sign, and submit with your petition.


Here's hoping the management course is more enlightening....

[Over our heads]

We actually went to another lawyer's office, paid 50$, he crammed about 13 people (6 couples, 1 single) into his office and went on about how stupid it was for us to be there for about 30 minutes.

He then said Have a nice day, hope to never see you again, Secretary will hand you your certs. on the way out.

We did the after filing course last night online, and it took just a little over 2 hours. Hub actually watched it, cause he likes Dave Ramsey, I crocheted and half listened.