Stupid Creditors

Goudah ~ when we were filing bankruptcy a couple of years ago, our attorney would not actually file the case until we had him practically paid off too, but he told me to have my creditors call him and he would verify it to them to get them to leave us alone. It took us about 8 months to get him paid so he could file, but in the mean time, he did let our creditors know what we were doing.

You paid $2500 for a $100 loan and still they want more?? Holy crap!!

Goudah, why not you recite the laws of your state to this bugger and get your account marked PIF, since you have already paid way more than actual?

Well, I'm sure you'll appreciate the breathing room that the stay provides.

I have been having the same problem with a few of my creditors. I had one ask me why I hadn't filed ye t and when I told her that I was still paying off the attorney she said that I had plenty of time to pay him off and she needed a payment. I told her that if I could pay my attorney I certainly could have paid her. She then proceeded to tell me a bold face lie that the # to my attorney's creditor line was disconnected! I called my attorney and told his office about this and they were ready when she called them. I just don't have all of the funds to file as yet, but I am slowly sending money in and I will file.

I'm in the same situation . . . It's expensive to file.

The loan I was talking about isn't a pdl, it's an installment loan, but it's very similar to pdl's. It has super high interest. It is totally legal in my state so I can't do anything about it. I was stupid enough to agree to it, even though I thought I'd have it paid off in a month. A year and a half later and $2500 . . . .

How their loans work is you can "refinance" the loan if you can't make the payment . . . What I didn't realize but should've bothered to read in the contract is they don't refinance the amount the loan is currently at, but the amount you would pay if you only made the minimums. So a $100 loan at 299% ( I think, I can't remember the exact amount of interest, it varied, payable in 6 installments of $59 each, would be paying a total of $354. So when I refinanced it only 2 months later because I didn't want to be late on my payment, they refinanced a total of $236. That changed my payments to $89 for 6 more months. There were several other times I couldn't make my monthly payment, so I refinanced. That's how it got up so high. Really it was only up to $1050, but then I defaulted and now the interest has made it ballon to a balance of $2500.

They told me that every time they called my lawyer they referred them to their website. Which I know my lawyer did because I've had several creditor tell me that. Most of them did stop calling me, and the lawyer did send a couple cease and desist letters, but it's been 4 months now, and I thought I'd have the money to file in November 06, but my dog got sick.

So when I talked to this guy, I told him I'd be filing at the end of April at the latest.

Last night I recieved a summons. They are taking me to small claims court. Even though they know i'm filing for BK in a month. I'm so pissed off. If they get a judgement then I won't be able to afford to file for BK.

I have 14 days to answer. Is there anything I can do? Even if I save every penny from now til then I still won't have enough to have the paralegal do the paperwork, and the $300 for the filing fee.

Will the paralegal work with you on payments? If so, then they might be able to contact these people and verify that yes you are filing. I don't know if that would help or not, but worth a try. They are trying to get you before you file. I would do some checking though about the payments to the paralegal. Maybe if you give them something, they will start the ball rolling a little and may be able to help get you out of this. Worth a try.

Goudah...if you go to court and are in the active process of filing bankruptcy you should not get a judgement...HAve you told your bankruptcy lawyer? Once you begin filing you have an automatic stay on any collection activity until you case is either discharged or dismissed

I'm doing it pro se. The funny thing is that I told them 3 months ago I was filing and they contacted my lawyer then and left me alone.

I called them about 3 weeks ago to tell them that I decided to file pro se and am not using that attorney anymore, and now they go and sue me!

So they have verified that I'm filing with the other attorney. I think they are just trying to beat me to it now that I don't have a lawyer.

What does "active process" of filing for bk mean? Would saving up money for BK mean active process?

The automatic stay doesn't start until you actually file.

Hmm when I filed they told me that once you begin proceedings its an automatic stay and not one person bothered me....Hmmm

Maybe that is a state by state thing. No, aren't bk laws federal now?

I wish that were true . . . . I'm sure they are only doing this because now I don't have a lawyer. They didn't bother me at all when I did.

goudah,
Girl get yourself down to the courthouse and file.In emergency situations,they do allow you to file just a one page petition with a time limit to complete. I know I read about it on uscourts.gov,but don't quote me.

Where would I get more info on that? I can file something without all the BK paperwork? Do you know if I have to pay the $300 filing fee?

Go to http://www.uscourts.gov/ . Click on the bankruptcy section and read everything. You can use in former paupis to file. This is a additional form telling court you cannot pay fee at the present time. Now mind you I don't know what the 2005 amendment did to this so you will have to read up on it at the site.

I went there and read through everything really fast . . . It seems that if you file an emergency petition, you have to submit the rest of the paperwork within 15 days. I also couldn't find the cost of the emergency petition . . . If I use the forms to pay in installments, I think I could file for bk on or about April 10th . . . . That also depends on how long it takes for the preparer to do the paperwork. I feel I could do it myself, but I'm just scared that I'll mess up on something and get the whole case thrown out.

Since I have 14 days from yesterday to answer my summons, how should I do this? According to the summons I recieved I have 3 options:

1. Pay up
2. Demand a hearing
3. Demand a jury trial

1 is not an option. Do I demand a hearing and then tell the judge that I'm filing for bk? I'm just worried about timing . . . . .

I just got off the phone with the courthouse . . . . They said that if I request a hearing then it would be set 6 to 8 weeks from that date. That would give me time to file for bk . . . But requesting a hearing costs $75!

In my opinion,I would drag out that case as long as you can. That way your bk case will be filed and it will sink that court case.Sorry,I wasn't here earlier. I am getting bashed in collection agency forum and had to respond to that. I then posted about it in the pub.

That's what I was thinking . . . . If I wait til almost the 14 day to respond, then I'd have 6 weeks from then to get the BK filed, which shouldn't be a problem.

Cajun - Here's a odd one for you. I just tried to check my experian credit report and answered the security questions wrong . . . It asked me if I had a car loan and who through. I don't and haven't for years, so I said none of the above. It wouldn't let me access my report.

Now the creditor that is sueing me was listed as one of the options. But it isn't a car loan or anything to do with a car.

You gonna have to call them to get in.Some data from another person may have merged.Don't think they will admit to that though!

That happened to me, too. There was an option on the page that had them send me a letter to my address on file. In 2-3 days, the letter came, with either a link or a password that let me access my credit report online.

If I told you how often reports are merged or split,I may have to pickup both of you from floor. If you have a popular name or have family with similar names,it is very easy to get stuck with that. My wife had her moms debts listed and my sister in law had her fathers debt listed. This was back in 1997 when we did a pull before buying a home.

My last name is actually really rare . . . . What I think is going on is that the company that is suing me reported the loan as a car title loan, which it is not. It was an unsecured personal loan.

Check it out and if that is so they can either correct it or pay you,your option! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: