Please reassure me...

lorri..it depends on how long you've defaulted. They usually don't start getting testy until you've missed several payments.
If you go into consolidation right away, you might head them off at the pass. You may even consider calling them all before you default to explain the situation.
It really depends on which ones you have. Some are nasty and others are not.

I know when I defaulted on m y pdls I went right to consolidattion. I only had a couple of pdls call me they never threatened or anything like that. A couple of them wouldn';t work with T&C so I made arrangements to pay them and one was paid off a couple of weeks ago the other one will be paid next Friday. 3 of the pdls wrote me off paid in full zero balance. I still have6 pdls with T&C. I am going to write to the others to see if they will write off my loans. I had 13 loans - paid off 4. It is a long hard process. I am just lucky I never got any nasty phone calls like some of the people did/still do on the forum. I guess I head them at the pass before they realized I defaulted on them when I went to consolidation.

like oh2benc2, I think I headed them off at the pass as well. I had six loans, none of them more than $300, and I didn't use a consolidation company, It worked out better for me to do things on my own. I never really had much of a problem, some of them were crabby, but I kept in constant communication, and even though my payments were small, they were regular. Anyway, I have been able to completely pay off 1 and get rid of 2, probably 3, so far.

Lorri, I recommend sending the companies a letter asking that they keep all communication in writing, and specifically they are not to contact you at work.

If possible, I would open a new acct elsewhere. Personally I found that once the company no longer has access to your account, you have more bargaining power. And it also prevents them from causing you NSF fees while you are trying to catch up on other bills.

thanks for all your advice. I am now concerned about my relationship with the bank---have been with them 28 years so I am wondering what they will do if I freeze my account and stop payment on these things. (do I do both or just one?) I guess when I call T&C tomorrow they can advise. I just tend to worry ahead of time.

a stop payment might cost as much as $20 per item, plus you often have to give an amount. The pdl companies at times have used varying amounts to get around this. A freeze can stop any debits (including ones you want to pay like insurance or such) but shouldn't cost you anything.

Since you have been with your bank for so long, it might be better to go in and talk to someone in person. An asst branch manager or such, that you can confide in and let them know that while you had problems in the past these companies are now being taken care of and you would like to continue your banking relationship with them.

thanks for all advise--is T&C a debt settlement or consolidation company?

thanks for that set4sail---I had thought about going in and talking to them. what do you mean though about "having to give an amount". do you mean in addition to the stop payment amount or actually say the amount you want stopped from being taken out of your account?

lorri,
yes, usually stop payments are for a set amt, say $90. So if the company finds they can't debit $90, they may try $90.01 and it would be paid. Some banks will stop ALL debits coming from a company, but you need to talk to a bank rep to see what your bank is able to do.

Dana

I see posts are appearing out of order again, or is it just me? :)

The posts are out of order cause I am still trying to figure out the site.