AutoPays

[ksgirl38]

My student loans went into deferment and were not due again until after the discharge. I could not login to any accounts, but I'm not sure if they would've taken a check or not because I was too broke to offer.

Also, keep on top of things. I was told by all the loan companies that I would get a bill in the mail after they were issued a notice of the discharge (you don't have to send it). One company did not send a bill, so I called to see what was up and was informed I had been charged a late fee that they wouldn't waive. Never could get that straightened out (went many rounds on the phone and nothing), so just paid it and moved on.

That was one of the things I was worried about. I don't want to go late with anyone so I imagine I'll pay everything due for July before I file, if I file in July. Good tip. Thank you.

[ksgirl38]

The problem with autopays would be when you set up the autopay thru the creditor's website. Not thru your bank. Such as I have a mortgage with BofA. I could pay thru their website, or I could use my CU's billpay to pay the bill. If I had it set to autopay thru BofA's website, I'd expect that to be cancelled when I filed. The problem is not that the creditors can't accept payment, but they're not supposed to do any collection activity. Pulling money from your bank thru their autopay is a gray area - it could be considered collection activity.

Note: for utilities it should not be a major issue. When you file you must list all debts. Just make sure you don't owe a balance to utilities at the time you file, and you don't have to list them. Such as my gas is due around the 9th and electric around the 20th. If I were filing on July 5th I would want those bills for July already paid - so that each had a $0 balance.

I have a couple more autopays to cancel, but the goal is to have them all canceled by the end of the month. I'm switching over to a new bank so they had to be changed anyway. I'm just not going to set them back up with the new bank until after filing. The problem is I have a health club membership that is on autopay and when I went in to the membership office to explain that I was changing banks and needed to change my banking info I asked them what other options there were for payment and they said the autopay was the only option. I went ahead and gave them info for the new bank, but I just don't want to go in one day and find out that my membership was cancelled because they failed to do the autopay after I filed. I hope this makes sense. All my bills are current with the exception of my Chase and Citibank credit cards and I really would like to keep it that way.

[ksgirl38]

Student loans, even though they are not subject to discharge, are subject to the automatic stay. So expect those to go into deferrment for a few months once you file. You can voluntarily still pay them, as interest does accrue, or you could wait until discharge and contact them about restarting payments.

Is there a benefit to paying them during the automatic stay? I don't have any problem making the payments during the stay, but if it's going to be in deferment anyway then maybe I shouldn't pay. Do they not restart the payment process automatically once you are discharged?

[SMinGA2]

The only certainty is the automatic stay affects student loans. I would call them within 1-2 weeks of discharge to find out when the next payment will be due.

The health club probably will not be an issue. Its a payment for ongoing services, not a debt. So no need to list them as a creditor.