If they say....

[mizg]

you should wait at least 90 days after using cc's to file, how do you deal with creditors hanging over your head for that length of time...or the fear of tow trucks coming after your car even though you are current..

[keepsmiling]

You get Google voice. It will save your sanity.
If you are current on your car payments, you don't need to worry about repo before filing.

[bcohen]

Ever watch cartoons when you were younger? Remember the scene in certain cartoons where a fist reached out of the phone and punched the guy in the face? Well fortunately, those are just cartoons, and creditors and collection agencies currently don't have that capability. All they can do is bombard your phone with robo-dialed calls and/or have a live person call and try to nag you into paying. They can also attempt to apply guilt and/or make threats, but at the end of the day if you can't pay, you can't pay.

I quit paying ALL of my unsecured debts--credit cards, cellphone, medical bills, etc.--back in 2009. I have kept the creditors at bay a LOT longer than the 90-day lookback period. How did I do that? When the creditors started calling--which was several times a day--I simply told them that I was unemployed, that I didn't have the money, and I could not pay them. (In fact I was still employed, but I did not tell them that.) Eventually, my cellphone got canceled for nonpayment, and that was the only number that my creditors had. I got a home phone with an unlisted number, and so far more than 2 years later not a single collector has found me!

BTW, with regard to your car loan, those kind of contracts do not include "universal default" clauses. Therefore, you do not need to worry that your lender will consider you "in default" and attempt to reposess the car simply because you defaulted on other debts. As long as the loan is kept current, they won't bother you.

So therefore, all you need to do is quit paying the credit cards (and any other unsecured debts) and wait a minimum of 90 days--though 6 months or more is recommended--before you file for bankruptcy. Since it takes 6 months for a credit card company to charge-off the account, and usually much longer to sue, you should not have a problem.

[Drazil65]

Another vote for Google Voice, it will make this whole process tolerable to say the least. Research it, set it up, then contact all your creditors to "update/change" your profile information and give them the new number (will run through your computer). You will then have all the calls stored in your computer and you can listen to them if you want to or read them or just store them.

I would say that the closer to 6 months out you can get on filing after last CC use the better. Gives you time to get all your ducks in row and the more time the better for you. Good Luck!

[basketsbears]

I agree - LOVE Google Voice!!! You can see on your email how many times people are calling & read their messages if you want. It is great.

[Flamingo]

you should wait at least 90 days after using cc's to file, how do you deal with creditors hanging over your head for that length of time...or the fear of tow trucks coming after your car even though you are current..

Don't answer your home phone and advise your friends/family to call you on your cell phone. Hopefully you did not provide your cell phone number to any creditors. As to vehicles, as stated above if you are current up to the point of retaining your attorney and your attorney advises you to stop credit card and car payments, you will have no worries as to the bank/lender coming for the car. However, it you are behind before filing, one is in breach of contract when the first payment is missed so in actuality, a car can be repossessed at any time thereafter - it seems the majority of folks on here have posted receiving calls and notices in the mail starting at around 60 days late. Thereafter it's anyone's guess when the repo people will show up.

[SweetGeorgia]

About the time I stopped paying my unsecured bills, I switched our cellphones to MetroPCS. My husband actually got a new phone from work, but I could have just as easily gotten him a new phone with a new number. We had no home phone.

For months and months I got creditor phone calls, which did not bother me, since I added their numbers to my contacts list and set the ring tone to "none." My husband, on the other hand, would have been much more annoyed by the constant phone calls. So I kept my husband's old phone (still active with voicemail) and threw it in a drawer. As long as the creditors could reach active phones, even if just to leave voicemails, they didn't look for any new numbers.

It did cost me $40/month for a phone that never got used. But it was worth it because my husband wasn't getting hassled and so we didn't need to rush into bankruptcy just to stop the calls! (Sounds silly, but it's a major reason for a lot of people. They just can't stand the harassment any more.)

[Jf24]

Stopped paying in oct/nov and got most calls through google voice but some I couldn't change. Lawyer said last week to tell them all attorney has been retained and give their name and number. No calls at all since I told them but was planning to file in feb but may wait till march. Wonder how long this will hold out.

[Diesel73L]

GV is a major lifesaver. I got my first call today and when I didn't recognize the number I knew what it must be and got a knot in my throat immediately. When I picked up I realized the call had come through GV (It was Citibank) so I just hit "2" to send it to VM which gave me an immediate sigh of relief. When I got to a computer I just set that number to go directly to VM and not ring my phone at all next time. Easy peasy.

[kornellred]

No attorney will file your bankruptcy petition unless you have not used your credit cards for 90 days - unless there are extenuating circumstances whereby you had no choice but to use credit. It is too easy for creditors to prove fraudulent intent otherwise. And if you are current on your car payments, you can be 100 percent assured that the car loan folks will leave you alone. The last thing they want is your vehicle, which is guaranteed to be far, far less valuable to them than the loan payments.
And don't let the creditors bother you. The only thing they can do is watch you file for bankruptcy. Be polite if you happen to pick up the phone and they surprise you. There is nothing to be afraid of.