More stupid creditor statements...

[LostOne0069]

A couple of new creditors called me and said stupid things again:

Mind you, I notified both of these creditors 2 weeks ago that I am in the process of filing chapter 7... I haven't filed yet, but they have been told that I am and to call my attorney.

First creditor:
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Creditor one: Why are you filing chapter 7 and not chapter 13?

Me: Because I can't afford a 13

Creditor one: Well, from our calculations you CAN afford one!

Me: Well, I'm filing Chapter 7.

Creditor one: Then we'll continue with proceedings. (click)
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First, THEIR calculations???? What could they possibly be basing this off of? I haven't updated any income/expense information with them since I got the credit card, EIGHT YEARS AGO!!!

Second, Proceedings??? what are they going to do? sue me and get a judgement? I've already told them that I'm filing bk... which will wipe out any "proceeding" that they start against me.... oh and I'm below the median income and haven't used that credit card in over a year... so they don't even have any legal grounds to object to a discharge!!!


Second creditor:
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Creditor two: (blah blah blah, you owe us money)

me: I've explained that I'm filing chapter 7, we haven't actually filed yet, we're still gathering the required documentation, but we anticipate that we'll have everything done and filed within the next two weeks.

Creditor two: Well, if you haven't filed yet you are obligated to continue making your minimum payments until you have filed.

me: (speechless.) um, no?

Creditor two: Excuse me? What do you mean "no"?

me: Just that. I don't have any money to send you and so I will not be sending a payment. That's WHY I'm filing bankruptcy!
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I've decided to go back to not answering my phone... if they're going to call me even when I've given them my attorney info I don't want to have to deal with it.

I wish it didn't, but as stupid as these calls are... as much as I know they can't do anything and they're just trying to make me feel bad... it's working. I get one of these calls and it puts me into a really deep depression and I hate that. I can't function when I feel like that and I'm not fit company for a troll let alone my wife and kids. My daughter has already cried several times when she sees "daddy feeling so sad"... which makes me feel even worse.

[SinkingFast]

Hubby's in a funk. Who wouldn't be. We're insolvent. Filing BK. And, we're rolling up on 50 years old. No retirement monies left. A life's work down the tubes. It is depressing.

But Hubby doesn't deal with all the Creditor calls and such either. I've done that. I do it so that the Creditors will at least speak to a "nice" person and not think we're lunatics.

When Hubby answers the phone, he's beyond being reasonable with them. He just tells them to go "F" themselves before he hangs up.

It's how he feels. And I know it. But I still think about the impressions left with the people on the other end of the line.

So I handle the calls. To salvage at least some scrap of dignity.

[LostOne0069]

I deal with the creditors as I'm the one that knows all the information about our finances and my wife doesn't like to have to deal with them. I'd rather it be me that gets depressed than her. She has a hard enough job taking care of 4 small children all day, every day.

I'm always polite to the creditors... I never yell, and I even try to reason with them... but when I refuse to send them any money... THEY get rude with me and start the threats/insults. So I'll just stop answering... it's only going to be a couple of more weeks before we get filed anyway... our attorney is waiting on us to gather together all the documents/documentation that he requested. I expect that, like many of you have said, I'll have several hundred pages of materials to give him. he's been waiting for it for about a week now... we'll get it done this weekend and get it to him first thing next week. We'll also get our "credit counseling" done by then so he'll have the certificates for that at the same time. I figure that it shouldn't be more than a week or so after that before he actually gets the bk filed.

[katze]

I had caller ID and if I didn't know the caller I wouldn"t answer the phone. I just turned the ringer down and ignored it. This went on for a year before I filed bk. Now the phone never rings. Sweet silence.

[Minnymouth]

Creditors do not like answering machines, get you one while your in the process of BK............. save your sanity and your ear drums.........
Bad enough that we have to file - but then also have creditors make us feel like crap over it..... Yes we do feel bad about it - but can't do anything else about it..............
They'll get tired of dialing and getting an answering machine.....

[doinbetternow]

love those calls

Most of my creditors were very understanding and once I told them I was filing, that was it, no more calls.

Except for one....MBNA.

Oh the joys of MBNA. I learned to despise that company and it's reps.

I was told that what I was doing was immoral, that is was people like me that were making life hard for everyone. "We know what your income is, and you can pay us no problem". Ok then, me, my wife, and my kids will stop eating just for you....whatever. Now I was already having trouble accepting what I was doing (filing). I was raised to believe that bk was exactly that....immoral. But in a momment of truth I realized that the incredible intrest rate they were charging, somewhere around 25% at that point and the extra $6k they had tacked on to my account in wild charges wasn't exactly the nicest thing either. They were the first people I called when I recieved my warn act papers (required in LA 60 days in advance of job loss due to hostile takeover,etc). I begged them to work with me. at that point it was manageable. But NO. They didn't budge and in the end were one of the biggest factors in my decision to file. A call to my lawyer to explain the situation put a stop to it.

So I ate my humble pie, and am better for it in many ways. So did MBNA, but I don't think it did them any good.