MJ: Yes, even a BK 13 will shut down garnishments and one can void a judgment. The issue with a 13 is that a trustee will control all of your finances for five years under the revised laws. Filing for either a 7 or 13 is no harder than before the "reform," however the rules for whether or not it will be 7 or 13 drastically changed. If this were me, I'd make a few free initial appointments with BK attorneys and lay out your story. I came close to filing a 13 eighteen months ago, but managed to work with every creditor except Cap1. I have several CAP1 accounts heading for charge-off, an dI'm attempting to negotiate a reasonable payment plan. So far, Cap1 won't give me the time of day. I guess I have not found the right Cap1 representative to speak with. If they eventually want a judgment, they will definitely have to work for it.
I would advise against ch. 13. A ch. 13 stays on your credit records just as long as a 7...ten years. Yet, filing a 13 requires you make monthly payments, usually for 3 years. Sometimes these payments are faily hefty - and if you end up being unable to make the monthly payments, then your case could be "dismissed". Then you end up with a BK on your credit file but you no longer have the protection of BK. I would tell anyone who is considering filing bk - try for a ch. 7 and after two years you are on your way back to credit "health". A ch. 13 won't be discharged until you complete the payment plan and that usually takes three years. With a ch. 7 you won't have to make any payments.
NO WAY do JDB's EVER pay so much. on a 25K debt, MAYBE 1K . They will sue for any amount as they play the odds. Even a 200 debt, that is defaulted in court, well they just may get their money and then some eventually. I have been sued for as small an amount from Palisades as $126 and as high as 30K . Both were dismissed with prejudice. : ) Woofer
Summons Received I have been on social security disablity for the past 3 years and when i found my credit getting in trouble i sent letters to my creditors stating i would pay what i could and have done so for the past 3 years. Yesterday i got a summons that i am being sued by Bank of America, yet, I have consistantly sent a payment each and every month and they have cashed the checks. True i have only been making $10.00 payments but it all i could do on a fixed income. as i stated to them, i was not trying to get out of my obligation of the debt. so i have gathered all my paperwork to answer the summons. I know of people who have either filed bankruptcy or didn't even bother to send a dime. I made an effort to do it the right way, so I thought. Let's not even mention the 9-10 calls a day from 8am to 9 pm. And on one occassion when i did answer the call, they left me with heart palpatations because they were so rude to me. So am i doing the right thing? and how should i address my cover my letter. I have all letters from me to them, all letters from them to me and all payments I have made trying to honor this obligation.
I am sorry but sending 10.00 a month wont even cover the interest on your account let alone the late fees.So even if you are making a payment every month it does not matter because your account balance keeps rising.If you think sending such a small payment will keep the wolves away from your door think again.
I didn't think 10.00 would keep the wolves away sir, i was making an honest attempt to send something, rather than as lots of people do, do nothing, send nothing, care less.
Why do you think that sending in something is more "honest" than sending in nothing? What sending in something has managed to do is reset the statute of limitations again and again, but more importantly it has allowed the card company to hit you with overlimit and late fees (after all $10 isn't enough to make your payment not late) that coulld easily be $80 a month. These fees have continued for longer than they would have had you not sent anything in. I'm not sure that "honest" is the right word for what you did.
