Hello, I am a newb and I am in deep debt because of a variety of reasons including my own stupidity. I have about $60,000 in revolving debt, in 10 accounts, that are either in collections, charge off or just demanding payment. They are all at least 120 days past due on my credit report. I have been and still am unemployed. I have been asking for validation from CAâ??s whenever I am contacted by one. None of the CAâ??s have responded. I have sent a second request to one of the CAâ??s after no response for 30 days, and am ready to send 2 more second requests out this week. Anyway, the further I get into dealing with the debt I am wondering if Bankruptcy may be the best bet for me. How do I work with the original creditors once the debt has been sold into collections?
See a competent bankruptcy lawyer.If your pay is below your state's median income level you will qualify for a Chapter 7. Once you see a lawyer and he/she files your case, creditors & their collection goons will no longer be allowed to contact you.
Thanks Greg I just looked up the income for Oregon, my state, and for 3 people it is (Myself, my wife and son) 58,033. I believe we are slightly under it if you add my unemployment benefit to my wife's salary. So it would be better to declare bankruptcy rather than fight the system?
You should still see a BK attorney - I know little about the new laws, but I believe they go back 6 months??? Need to make sure if you qualify if you were employed during that period. Nobody can tell you whether its better to BK or fight the system, but IMHO $60k in debt, with what I would refer to is newer debt, you aren't out of the woods for 3-4 yrs (depending on your state's SOL for collections). You are at risk of being sued, wages garnished, etc. etc. What industry is your employment in? Is credit going to be a factor? So many things to think about before making a decision you should grasp the risks of filing vs not filing. BK attorneys generally offer a free initial consultation. Take some time and visit with more than one, and get their thoughts on the matter.
Well, the credit's already trashed. So BK isn't going to preserve a pristine FICO score. That option is only for those suddenly hit by a debt asteroid and who are astute enough to run to BK court immediately. BK lawyers will sell you a BK because a BK is what they have to sell. It will be difficult to find a truly unbiased opinion about the BK versus take 'em on one by one approach. BK doesn't accomplish the "fresh start" that the constitution (and congress) intended anymore (search for an article called "prisoners of debt"). So BK is best used to prevent or undo some intolerable creditor action that has either happened or is definitely in the offing (asset seizure, wage garnishment). With $60k in debt and no employment, creditors may realize that trying to fit through the litigation door all at once is going to result in a traffic jam. It's possible none will ever sue. The thing you do not want to do is allow defaults. What you do want to do is collect FDCPA violations, perhaps after doing limited C&Ds to cut down on the phone calls. Don't deny the debts, don't flat out refuse to pay, but don't cooperate either. Those creditors who don't sue will be motivated to sell the debt down the river to the next JDB. Along about the 4th placement (sale of the debt) you will have a JDB of either the "Buffalo School" of abusive collector tactics (phone calls to relatives and other nasty things--all fairly distressing but also fairly harmless unless the relatives, friends or employers are sensitive in one way or another) or the micro-JDB owned by an attorney (this kind sues). With luck, you will find that those 4th placements occur after SOL has run. But you always fight JDBs on lack of documentation as a threshold issue, and you use SOL only secondarily because it causes forms 1099-c to issue. Buffalos are hard to ID correctly, much less sue for FDCPA violations, despite the fact that they are veritable erupting volcanoes of violations. Attorney-run JDBs seldom violate the FDCPA.
Could you explain what you mean by this? I am a newbie and currently being contacted by two JDBs with accounts that are out of my state's (FL) SOL.
Make 'em validate, and no matter what you get as validation it doesn't satisfy you. If they sue, attack every piece of paper they claim is evidence (but do plead the affirmative defense of SOL, just argue the failure of documentation first and foremost).
