CC payments prior to Filing

[LadyInTheRed]

I did a little bit of internet research and found this: "The FDCPA, under 15 U.S.C.§1692c(a)(2), expressly forbids debt collectors from communicating directly with debtors they know are represented by legal counsel. If you tell a collector that you have an attorney he should be reasonably aware that you have retained one, then he is not allowed to communicate with you directly anymore. Future communications have to be submitted to the attorney whose name you have provided to them."

So, it appears to be a violation of the FDCPA for a creditor to continue to contact a debtor whom they know has "retained" an attorney.

Do any attorney's here know of anything different? Thank You.

That applies to debt collectors, not the creditor. Some states have their own debt collection acts that may be more broad. So, check your state laws to see if there is such a provision that applies to the creditor.

16 USC 1692(a)(6):

(6) The term “debt collector” means any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another. Notwithstanding the exclusion provided by clause (F) of the last sentence of this paragraph, the term includes any creditor who, in the process of collecting his own debts, uses any name other than his own which would indicate that a third person is collecting or attempting to collect such debts. For the purpose of section 1692f (6) of this title, such term also includes any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the enforcement of security interests. The term does not include—
(A) any officer or employee of a creditor while, in the name of the creditor, collecting debts for such creditor;
(B) any person while acting as a debt collector for another person, both of whom are related by common ownership or affiliated by corporate control, if the person acting as a debt collector does so only for persons to whom it is so related or affiliated and if the principal business of such person is not the collection of debts;
(C) any officer or employee of the United States or any State to the extent that collecting or attempting to collect any debt is in the performance of his official duties;
(D) any person while serving or attempting to serve legal process on any other person in connection with the judicial enforcement of any debt;
(E) any nonprofit organization which, at the request of consumers, performs bona fide consumer credit counseling and assists consumers in the liquidation of their debts by receiving payments from such consumers and distributing such amounts to creditors; and
(F) any person collecting or attempting to collect any debt owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another to the extent such activity
(i) is incidental to a bona fide fiduciary obligation or a bona fide escrow arrangement;
(ii) concerns a debt which was originated by such person;
(iii) concerns a debt which was not in default at the time it was obtained by such person; or
(iv) concerns a debt obtained by such person as a secured party in a commercial credit transaction involving the creditor.

[bcohen]

Once you have decided that you will file for bankruptcy, there is no reason to pay on any unsecured debts, especially credit cards. It's just money down the toilet at that point. As a side-note, if the reason you're afraid to stop paying is because you're worried about being sued, don't be. I quit paying on all my unsecured debts back in March of 2009, and although I periodically receive letters from collection agencies, I have not been sued. And this is for more than $30k in debt.

So quit paying, save your money (up to your state's exemptions, of course) or use it to buy exempt property such as food, clothing, household items, etc.

[help4mydebts]

bcohen, have you talked to any of the creditors (told them you have retained an atty, for example) or have you ignored them?

Thanks!

[bcohen]

bcohen, have you talked to any of the creditors (told them you have retained an atty, for example) or have you ignored them?

Thanks!

Hi. I have neither retained an attorney, nor have I filed for bankruptcy. I quit paying on all my unsecured debts--credit cards, cellphone, medical bills, etc--back in March of 2009. This was done out of necessity because my hours at work were being cut, and I though I would lose my job soon, so I needed to save my money to pay for rent, utilities, food, and other necessary expenses in the future. This ended up being a good strategy, because I was fired in August of 2009, and my boss was a real a-hole and decided to give me a bad reference to make finding a new job even harder.

At first, in the two or three months after I quit paying, I got approximately 1 or 2 calls a day from each creditor. They called on my personal cellphone, and also to my work phone. When they called, if I was not busy, I would answer and tell them very bluntly that my hours at work were cut and I simply do not have the money to pay anything at this time. Most of the collectors (many of whom were actually employees of the OC's) were polite and said to call them back if my situation changes. However, a few of my debts were either sold or assigned to collection agencies, which either bombarded my phone with "robo-calls" saying that I should call them back to discuss an "important matter", or dealt with me rudely when trying to collect. One of these was a medical debt which was assigned to NCO, which "robo-called" my phone at least 7 or 8 times a day!

However, after a few months of non-payment on my personal cellphone, T-Mobile disconnected the number, and when I got fired from the job, I became unreachable at that number too. I currently have an unlisted land-line phone and no cellphone. Therefore, I have never had a collection agency or other creditor successfully figure out my number and call me.

Back in January of 2010, I received a threatening letter from a collection law firm located in the same city as me, and because of that I decided to visit several bankruptcy attorneys and discuss the idea of me filing for bankruptcy. However, after I sent the collection law firm a dispute letter which made it clear that they were going to have to prove every penny of the alleged debt, they quickly folded like a paper tiger and the debt has been re-assigned to several different collection agencies since then. As a result, I decided that it was not worth paying $2k to $3k in attorney's fees to discharge less than $30k of debt at the time. Also, considering the fact that all of these debts were incurred prior to the end of 2009 (which is well outside of the lookback period), and that I really don't have any assets to protect, I could probably file alone.

[help4mydebts]

Thanks for responding, bcohen. My husband had surgery and was only supposed to miss a short time of work...well, he is in a lot worse condition than originally expected, so things are now coming to a head with NOT being able to pay credit cards, medical bills, etc. I am scared to death to be sued, but I have spoken with several bk atty's who have told me not to be, since we have zero assets. I hate the phone calls, dealing with creditors, etc. I can't wait til I don't have to deal with this anymore.

Best of luck to you!

[merime]

The most consistant advice here is do not put any money into unsecured debts. I couldn't agree more. I wish I would not have tried to delay the inevitable by paying minimums. It all comes out the same in the end. I have no idea however how so many people could debate a 78 yr old woman who yeilded the advice given on this forum.

[NewPage]

Once you have decided that you will file for bankruptcy, there is no reason to pay on any unsecured debts, especially credit cards. It's just money down the toilet at that point. As a side-note, if the reason you're afraid to stop paying is because you're worried about being sued, don't be. I quit paying on all my unsecured debts back in March of 2009, and although I periodically receive letters from collection agencies, I have not been sued. And this is for more than $30k in debt.

Ah, but there are many variables. I was sued by 2 creditors (Discover and Amex) a bit less than a year after I quit paying; those 2 together total about 19k (total debt to be discharged is 52k). They each got default judgments, and Amex sought to levy bank accounts (which I no longer had, but they were info seeking from the bank). I'm sure their next move would have been to try and put a lien on the house, even though the full equity is exempt.

If you know you're filing, don't pay.

[tmkats]

Our attorney advised us to quit paying CCs. It's just throwing money away. It was very difficult for me to skip that first payment. I've never been late in my life, but the first one was the hardest.

New here, but I am in the same boat. July will be the first month that ALL of my CC's will have missed a payment and my scores will tank. I haven't missed a payment on them in over 5 years, but I just can't anymore. It is going to be hard for me to go the 30 day mark and not make a payment on anything, but it is what it is at this point and I've come to accept it now.

[sunshinepa]

New here, but I am in the same boat. July will be the first month that ALL of my CC's will have missed a payment and my scores will tank. I haven't missed a payment on them in over 5 years, but I just can't anymore. It is going to be hard for me to go the 30 day mark and not make a payment on anything, but it is what it is at this point and I've come to accept it now.

I think we all understand that feeling. I never missed a payment from age 18 to age 60. Stressed so bad at first, my hair was coming out in clumps. Then I found this forum and never looked back. Everyone is right, if you know filing is inevitale, don't pay any unsecured debt. File ASAP, move on with a debt free life and learn from previous mistakes.

[tmkats]

I think we all understand that feeling. I never missed a payment from age 18 to age 60. Stressed so bad at first, my hair was coming out in clumps. Then I found this forum and never looked back. Everyone is right, if you know filing is inevitale, don't pay any unsecured debt. File ASAP, move on with a debt free life and learn from previous mistakes.

I'm just realizing that now after making minimums for I can't tell you how long. With over $45,000 in CC debt, I was fooling myself into thinking I would be able to pay all of it off. I am young and will recover but the peace of mind knowing that there is some light at the end of the tunnel gives me comfort. Already got the engagement letter from my lawyer and am going to send it back tomorrow with the deposit. Hopefully by the end of the year we can file and be discharged by February of next year.