Are there any credit card companies out there (other than Sears) that can be expected to actively fight you in bankruptcy court, or do they just sit back and take the loss? Specifically, I am interested in Citi, MBNA, FirstUSA, and Merrick. And, does the amount owed affect the decision as to whether or not to fight you? I have two cards over $20,000 each.
When I filed for BK-7 in 1992 I owed Citi over $10k and Sears $5k and neither showed up at the Creditor's Meeting. From past experience I know Sears will show up. A friend of mine told me that Sears showed up to his Creditor's Meeting regarding patio furniture he had purchased 9 months prior to filing. They negotiated a payoff amount on that item and that was it. Unless you've gone on a charging spree over the past 60 days I don't think you have anything to worry about.
99% of the time the big companies just suck up the loss. The only creditor that I had show to my meeting of the creditors was a buy here pay here car place. They were upset because they gor crammed down (too bad). Cram down is when the trustee changes the amount they will get to the current value of the vehicle and lowers the interest rate to 8%.
Sears is the only one that came to the "meeting of creditors". They wanted us to reaffirm the debt. We didn't and we never heard from them again. They told us at the meeting that they were going to pick up our washer and dryer. I guess they threaten you to scare you into reaffirming.
Nobody fights just because they feel like it. They'll only fight if they think they can squeeze more money out of you. Sears used to object because they contended that their card was securitized, and they could use the threat of taking back the stuff to get some cash out of you. I don't believe that their card is securitized any more (although I could be wrong). If you file a C7 and the numbers look like a legit C7, they won't fight. If you file a C13 and the budget looks reasonable (or close enough that their potential financial gain isn't worth the cost of going to court) they won't fight either. I BKed on $70K in First Union/MBNA and they didn't object. AMEX was the only company to bother.
Quote: ====== Are there any credit card companies out there (other than Sears) that can be expected to actively fight you in bankruptcy court, or do they just sit back and take the loss? ====== I'm in the midst of a C7. The attorney representing me informed me that Circuit City will typically assert security interest in merchandise purchased on their card. Once I have my Section 341 meeting, I'll let you know about Circuit City. John
