My wife and I have 34k in CC debtâ?¦ $23,000 with Chase spread between three accounts. With my doctor-reduced 32 hr week and her part time status, we make about $200 less of what we need each month just to break even. Our minimum payments are roughly $734 a month.. $500 going to Chase. BofA holds our mortgage and checking accounts. We researched bankruptcy with a lawyer two months ago but found that because Iâ??m listed as a co-signer on my elderly momâ??s BofA checking account, the creditors could attach her funds and try to force payment. Besides the embarrassment, her health could suffer if she ever became aware of these actions so itâ??s important to me that she remains unaware of our dilemma. Last month I called Chase and explained our problem but because we have no lates, they put me on the phone with a rep who offered a pay down plan of just $100 less per month with an interest rate HIGHER than what our current 2-yr. promotional rate is. I was hoping for more. We have to do something because weâ??re drowning. Weâ??ve decided to stop payments to Chase since weâ??re so closely tied to BofA. We realize that Chapter 7 is probably a better alternative but given the situation, we donâ??t see any other choice. Believe me, weâ??re not trying to salvage our credit because it will be ruined regardless. Will Chase be prone to settle with us after six months or will we be sued immediately? What about wage garnishment? Last year we made 37k. We have no savings, a small amount of equity in our home, and drive 9 year old vehicles. Thanks for any information.
Chase Chase will come after you with a vengeance and within 3-4 months you will be sued. If you're in California, the lawyers representing Chase are located in LA. You need to plan your strategy immediately.
It's not unjust enrichment in any fair sense. But you are right, they will likely go after that money. Is it possibly only monies that are protected from attachment or is it commingled with other funds? The lawyer says there's no way that you can take your name off the account safely? Dumb Bob would make sure on this because if there are substantial and important funds that aren't really yours there, that makes the right decision even more important. There really isn't any reason for them to give anything given that you have shown you can pay and you seem to have assets. They'll probably offer you a settlement that takes away the lates and some of the fees that they've imposed in the six months you are talking about. But you are trying to deal with the current problem and the new problem will be that plus those lates and whatnot. Also, expect your interest rate to go through the roof. Look at your contract, some default interest rates today are 35%. It should go without saying that if you can get a home equity loan or some other loan at a rate you can pay back, you should look into that. Obviously that's impossible for many because of the loss of value of their homes. But investigate all options now before you consider not paying anyone since you will have a better credit rating for that point. Whatever is legal in your state and makes sense to get them paid is certainly possible if not likely. You should look at what you can protect in your state from attachment, the rules in your state for garnishment, what you need to do if anything to protect perhaps part of your home.
Thank you for responding Bob. She's been with BofA for probably 40 years now, with me as a co-signer since my Dad's death in '78. She doesn't carry more than $2,000 in her checking account at any one time. However her Schwab account holds about a half million in stocks and I don't know what ties (if any) are in place between the two companies. The lawyer suggested removing me from the account when BofA was initially part of the BK. I don't know what she would suggest now but I'll ask. If Chase went after my checking account they would no doubt find the tie to the account, in which case she'd be notified. Surprise! It would take an extraordinary reason to have me removed at this point. Sheâ??s older but not dumb, and a red flag (and her blood pressure) would easily be raised. I donâ??t want to disappoint herâ?¦ especially now when she may be only a few years from passing. I like the equity idea. I hate trashing our credit this way. Our scores are both above 700. I'll research credit unions. Maybe there's a shot...
No they can't touch the Schwab account. I'm not part of that. Is it through a judgement that they're able to infiltrate our BofA accounts? How is that done?
But be careful, any monies that are connected to a checking account, such that they automatically back that checking account if a check is written, can be taken, or something like that, consult the lawyer for exact details. Dumb Bob is thinking of lines of credit that can be used to protect against overdrafts on the checking account. It would seem like this would apply to any account that is essentially acting as a line of credit to the checking account, so it's probably a good idea to make sure that that's not true of the Schwab or any other account. There was a case that went something like, company has million dollar line of credit and essentially nothing in checking account. The line of credit is connected to the checking account, therefore that money can be taken for the judgment. Once they have the judgment, they will likely file a sworn statement with the court claiming they just know you've got money in the bank that is available and that they are allowed to garnish. Lately there have been some questions about these sworn statements, that they can violate the FDCPA because they are often not based on any actual knowledge of anything and are often simply wrong about availability of funds. If moving against the most obvious of your accounts, the ones they know about, doesn't satisfy their judgment, they will likely drag you into court and have you detail all your assets under oath. If you read some of the posts from others, you can see that even people without real estate assets like a home are being sued. So if you have a home that isn't 40 feet underwater, it's likely eventually you will be sued. If you live in a state with a three year SOL, it will likely happen more quickly. But quickly can be good because if the alleged debt gets to a JDB, they will almost certainly seek some interest rate that is the highest they think they can get away with, the "default rate". Some default rates today are 35%. If you consider what 35% for about six years on any alleged debt is, it's scary.
Thanks Bob, Well, I have no overdraft protection and certainly no lines of credit anymore. Yes I have a home.. with about 50k in equity (down 125k since purchase). Can they fund themselves through the equity? (pardon my lack of knowledge here) I spoke with a PenFed credit union rep yesterday. They're by far going to be my best chance at a HELOC. However with our equity, we probably don't have a snowball's chance in getting one. Still, she said there are many factors that go into their loan decisions so who knows? Our +700 credit scores and no lates may help. Probably wouldn't hurt to try.
