SusieQ

Hi Susie, how long did it take (number of days past due) to get a summons from Advanta? They are making the 90 days sound set in stone and that the "account manager" can't offer help you with a low rate or hardship plan after that. Your thoughts? - Thanks

Yep, I agree... I get so worked up on the summons thing... you know what, though? If it happens, it happens. I know there are options out there, and that I won't be put into jail. That is the main thing.. my family will be fine. I know you said your's started to happen with your business, ours was the time our 2nd child was born. We knew something had to give. The needle, was the fact that the insurance company didn't want to pay my wife the short term disability that she qualified for. We wound up getting it a few weeks ago (Helped with the BOA)... 10 months after birth! crazy... There is a ton of info on here, but at the same time, there is a lot of confusion. So much is hit-and-miss, that when I saw your post, and your debtors with balances, I knew I was in the same spot that you are. Thanks again for your help. Citi is the reason I went with a company to help me settle. I knew that they were not going to be any fun. Just gotta make through October... all will be well then... Thanks.

Thanks for the reply.. Sorry, I didn't see this before today, and I posted another one on your thing... Yep, I sure hate that there isn't a cut and dry.. just the thing is, is that I am now in a settlement payment plan with BOA.. I will be done in October with them.. Once that happens, I am not too worried about Citi. My Comp. got me 30% with BOA, and so I was thinking that I may just send maybe a $100 here or there to the CA just to hold them over. I know it is money I will never see go to anything useful, but I kinda look at it stalling a summons as being very useful, ya' know? I feel for you. It takes a strong person to go through this.. and your situation is worse than mine.. If we can just get through October without a summons, all will be well. My wife's name isn't on any of the accounts, and she is now the bread winner of the two of us. 25% of my net pay is about like what their minimum payment was before I started this! Thanks alot for your help, not just to me, but to others on this forum!

I hate to bother you again... but, I did not see anywhere that you posted that you were sued by Citi... I have now gotten into a settlement with BOA that will end in October.. I just wanna keep Citi off my back until then... Thanks in advance!

It's been nearly a year ago, so I don't know if their info is the same with all the changes they've been going through, but I have these numbers: 1-866-823-1739, or 1740. They are off letters from the Senior Vice President of Collections, regarding the settlement they offered me. Sorry I can't remember names; I talked to a few people there, one was named Jane, I think another was Kathy. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Hello, first off... thanks for your posts! They have been great.. I just got a question for you... I have 18K with BOA and 20K with Citi. Citi has now gone to collections. It has been about six months for them. At what point do you think that I should be worried about them suing? I am in a debt settlement company, because with as much research I have done on this, it is still alot. I know that I am "in it" now... Thanks in advance for your help!

As a side-note; once it goes to court and settled IN COURT, you WILL have a judgement against you even if you agree to make payments. My cases were dismissed because they were settled before the court date. The debt was mine, I wasn't disputing it, and I know I owed it. So there wasn't anything for me to fight, I would've lost anyway. All I cared about at that point was avoiding a judgement.

It was dismissed because because it had been settled BEFORE the court date. If they decide it in court, you will have a judgement against you on the record, which can affect getting a job in the future, etc. So I wanted to avoid a judgement at all costs. Which meant settling and agreeing to terms on my own, BEFORE it went to court. Their attorney then told the judge basically "It's already been settled, we agreed on a payment plan between us, let's dismiss it, no need for court proceedings."

Hi,I am currently trying to figureo ut what i want to do with my credit debt. I was wondering did you have to go to court when you got sued? like civil court?

I am with a Debt Settlement company, but Advanta refused to have anything to do with them. They claimed they did not work with settlement companies. They were extremely agressive in their phonecalls, sometimes more than once a day, and they even kept calling my elderly parents, who I haven't lived with in over 25 years. I have caller ID so I stopped answering their calls after about three months. Then, the barrage of mailings started in. They sent me a ton of different mailings with various offers (most of which I ignored because they weren't very good) and finally all kinds of threats about lawsuits. My last payment to them was in December of 2006. In September of 2007, I received a summons. I was being sued. However, in the same week, I received the settlement offer. It came by email, regular mail, and in a cardboard priority mail envelope. It offered a last-chance attempt for me to pay, and if I did they would cancel the suit. Needless to say, I took the offer. It was 10% on a 22,000 account. The account had been around 18,000 when I stopped paying. It could only be broken into two payments, three weeks apart. They would not allow me any more time. I worked it out though, although it had to be done on my own, outside of my settlement program. There is no rhyme or reason as to what they offer different people, or why. No pattern at all. It's all a crapshoot. I've taken offers on other cards I thought were good, only to find out that other people got them for even less. And Advanta is getting harder and harder to settle with, from what I understand, as their company continues to go down the drain.

Yes, they and all the other cards I stopped paying on reported it to all three credit agencies. The Advanta account had originally been under my EIN number, and when that became invalid when my business closed, they put it under my social security number. So there are negatives for all the cards I defaulted on (nine) although I have 21 various accounts still in good standing, including my mortgage. I have settled six of those nine accounts; five of them have been reported as "Paid as Agreed, although for an amount less than full balance". The sixth one is still being paid on, in installments and I assume that will be labeled the same way when my payments are finished.

i agree, i was super stressed to the point i toss and turn and made myself sick, when she called time and time again and was pressing the "sue/legal" concept if i didnt come up with several thousand. I explained that i just didnt have that money, at one point i even mentioned that i didnt 'own' the business but was just the primary signer, to see how that would stall/work and it didnt. i called a local lawyer i trust and he said the same thing. that they cant take my house, they cant take my car and that i pay myself, so they cant garnish my wages.. its in my court, my credit has already been effected, so really i can only wait it out and see what happens. i dont want to be like that, but i just cant make their payments. i can make payments but not at the amount they want just because they want it that high..

It had been nine months since I had last paid them, or about 270 days. This was back in September; hadn't made a payment since the previous December.

well, like i told the lady when i was on the phone. she bitched at me because i wasnt making any 'effort' with them but with others. i told her, others have made an effort with me to work things out and try to get what is due. i have no problem paying back in time what I originally charged, but i am not paying back thousands in fee's and crap because they want to tack on charges.

thanks for all your post, you soften my heart and worries when i read them. i am a worry wart and never ever been late,but now i cant help but be past due. like you, some stuff just went the other way..

The offer I got from them just came out of the blue, I didn't even have to negotiate for it, but it was on a $22,600 balance. If you are willing to pay 20-30%, I would pick up the phone when they call, make an offer, make it short and sweet and say that's the best you can do. Start on your lower end. They may counter, or they may accept. Or they might say no, at this time. But keep trying. You have to talk to them to let them know what you can do. Play up the sympathy card if you can - let them know why you can't pay your bills any longer. (Although if you have other credit cards that you are current with, they will see this on your credit report and be less eager to settle if they think you are just not WANTING to pay them in full.) If you ignore them, though, they might do what they did to me: Called my elderly parents, who I haven't lived with in 30 years. Called a neighbor. Sent me all sorts of threatening mail. Just plain harassed me. No need for that, if you make your offer and let them know you're willing to deal, but only have so much to work with.

Dear SusieQ,This is mijiking and I was told my case will be dismissed but I will show up to the court to make sure. If my case is not dismissed, do you have any advice for me to do? I would like to settle my debt with some discount and monthly payment. Thanks for your advice!

I am in a debt settlement program. I started with nine accounts, and six have been settled in just my first year. On three of those, I have received a summons. What I did, was contact the attorneys and work out a settlement before the court date. You have a good chance of being able to do that. I have never had an attorney, although my debt settlement company has provided me with a lot of advice. But basically I got the ball rolling and started the negotiating myself. If you only have one account, or a small number of accounts you might want to settle, it's best just to work it out yourself, I think. I chose to go with a company because I had nine altogether, and a total of $90,000 in debt from a failed business. So I felt I wanted professionals helping me out. But a lot of people do settlements themselves, and save the avg. 15% fee that way too.

the bad thing I got a joint CD account with my husband and son. Thats over 100k there. Do you think they will find out about this? Thats what scares me the most. Most of the money are from my son tho.

Hi SusieQ Thank you so much for the details. What settlement amount would you suggest for my $16000 of debts? My settlement company ask me not to call the attorneys (I know that they want to do it so that they can continue to take money). Most importantly, what should I say to convince them for a settlement with me? I really want to get some details if you can private message me something? Thank you so much! Has anyone had experience with Hunt

Susie I just signed up with Superior Debt and was wondering how long it took before they started to settle with the first creditors? Did the "script" they give you help you stop so many phone calls?I am nervous (as I am sure you were) and guess I am looking for more reassurance. Thanks So much!!!

Mine? It's Superior Debt Services.

I am with Superior Debt Services in Fort Collins, Colorado.

When they settle for you, do you have to pay lump sums or is it just the same amount every month? Also, Is this business or personal debt? Do you have the contact info for your debt consolidator.By the way, thanks for all your help and insights on this forum. It has given me tons of hope.

Can you give me an idea of how much you pay out every month to cover things with that company? If you don't feel comfortable, I totally understand. I don't care so much about how much I owe, I just need to get it managable. I would love to settle, but I don't have money sitting around to take care of it either.

Hey SusieQ,It sounds like we are about in the same situation. I have about 90K in business debt from all my card companies. I am getting to the point where I need to get something serious figured out. My credit score recently dropped from a 720 to like a 530, so I am beyond the point of caring about my credit score. What debt consolidation company did you use? Is that the best option? I have cards with Advanta, Wells Fargo, Capital One, American Express, and Discover. Honestly, Advanta is the only one offering me serious settlements. The others don't seem to want to do anything. Any suggestions in working with all these?I am just at the point where I want to feel like I can breathe again. It is pretty overwhelming. Any advice would be appreciated.Thanks,Travis

Try to find mobile0311- he's posted on several threads lately - he's recently answered some questions about debt management programs and provided some links.

You shouldn't need collateral or assets when you are in a consolidation or management program - this isn't like getting a loan, it's through a company that specifically deals with people trying to pay off debt and speaks to the creditors on your behalf to get lower monthly payments and interests lowered, etc. If you type in DEBT CONSOLIDATION or DEBT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM in the 'search' box on this site, you will get a list if links to click onto. Just be sure you do a lot of homework before choosing ANY company to represent you - make sure they have been around a long time, have a successful rating with the BBB, with very little complaints, and have a proven history of helping people out of debt. Also be sure to research exactly how each program can affect your credit rating. Many of the site moderators here are very knowledgeable also - they're listed on the bottoms of the pages.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK END SUZIEQ.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK SUSIEQ.

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2009 WILL BE A WONDERFUL YEAR TO YOU.GOD BLESSES YOU.

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HAPPY 2009!!!

what is your settlement companythanks

Thank you very much will give them a call and make sure I am talking to who I think I am. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer me! my name is Erin by the way

Hi Susie, sorry to bother but, just wanted to make sure, I see that you are with Superior Debt reliefe? and I have checked out their web site and they look great but I just want to make sure I have the correct place as I have sent my info out to so many places would you mind verifying the web address or phone number for me? I am so affraid!! Thank you!

Judy, which settlement are you referring to? My two BofA settlements came through Superior, I think in May and July of this year. Chase came in October, also with Superior. They did the negotiating and it did not come through me at all. Advanta came directly to me, as they do not deal with a third party. The offer came in September of this year, nine months after I could no longer pay. I got it by email, regular mail, and by priority mail in one of those large cardboard envelopes. They wanted to be sure I got it!

I am with Superior Debt Services out of Fort Collins, Colorado.

what was their fee structure if you dont mind me asking?all up front?

I am with Superior Debt Services out of Fort Collins, Colorado.

he started as good people,but that entire thread was out of line.thanks for the support.

I am in a settlement program, with a Debt Settlement company, so I am paying a fee. But, my largest account, a business account with Advanta that was 22,000, I settled on my own for only 10%. They sent me the offer themselves, by mail and email. It had to be done outside of the program, because my funds I was paying in at that time were committed to paying another settlement. I have a lot going on in my life, and just didn't feel like settling my total 90,000 of debt myself - I wanted professionals to do it for me. In ten months, they have settled three accounts other than the Advanta - two Bank of America accounts that were originally 16,000 and 6,000 for 30%, and just got an email Friday night they just settled my Chase account of 11,000 at 20%. So I feel they are doing a good job, earning their fee, and I don't have to worry about it. But settling on your own is a good option if you have the strength to do it. After my business closed, I just wanted to hand the whole mess over to someone else, and am happy I did the research and chose a good, reliable company (Superior Debt Services.) But good luck on your own, if I didn't have so much debt or so many cards (9) I would've attempted it.

hello,how are you?

Hello. I read a reply of yours that you are doing business w/a debt settlement company. Could you tell me which one? We are starting the process and I don't feel comfortable w/the company we are starting with. Thanks!

what company did you go with? I am looking for a settlement company just not sure which one

No messages

Just wondering the names of these compainies everyone is so happy with? I dont know where to turn there are so many.