I'll try to make this a short story.
For the last two years, we have been struggling to make ends meet, thanks to my husband's job. We racked up $5000 in credit card debt to help pay the bills. Last year, he took a better job, and we began to climb back out of the hole.
We were several payments late with Capital One. I called to make arrangements and spoke with the biggest jerk ever. He convinced me that if I didn't come up with $1000 before hanging up, he'd call the attorney and tell them to take it straight to court. I foolishly believed him and gave him my mortgage.