Losing my mind - please help!
Date: Wed, 11/01/2006 - 21:36
8 years ago I lost my job and ended up living on my credit cards for several yuears. I would use one to pay off another and eventually it all caught up with me and I couldn't juggle things anymore. I was under the impression that the credit card companies couldn't come after you after a certain number of years but have found out I was dead worng. I was served with papers last year on one card and found an attorney to represent me but he did a lousy job - he didn't negotiate and I ended up paying the full amount plus his fees. I was served 2 more times - one I negotiated and paid off myself, the second one I tried to answer the summons - sent all kinds of paperwork to the collection attorney and didn't get a response and they ended up taking me to court and won by default as they sent the notice to my old address.
Long story shortened, I am being hounded (letters and calls by other collection agencies and attorneys) and know things are just going to get worse. I need to find an attorney to handle this for me as I'm close to breaking down emotionally. I'm caring for someone who is dying of cancer and have to maintain my sanity to keep his spirits up and it's getting more difficult with every hour. There are tons of sights that advertise attorneys that specialize in this but I have no idea how to find one that's legit. Can anyone please give me direction? I also posted thois in the credit forum as I didn't know which one was most appropriate.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
RKS
There are options avliable to you that you most likely don't eve
There are options avliable to you that you most likely don't even know about.
Does your debt outweight your assets? If so bankrupcy might be an option you should explore.
credit counseling Services, there are several companies that are reputable in helping people manage their debt by negotiating with credit card companies to lower intrest rates and stop late fee's and a minimal monthly payment. It's not my favorite way to go because depending on the size of the debt you could be paying this off for up to 5 years. You will also need to make sure you have an accepted proposal for each company otherwise sending a minamal payment will not work. However it usualy does stop collections calls.
debt settlement. There are companies that actualy do this for you. You pay into a fund they set up for you to a set amount and they negotiate with your creditors. Again here you must find a reputable company. You can also dso this yourself.
If you choose debt settlement or pay off you might wish to consider selling off any nonviable assets. Get a loan from your bank or find a cosigner. Paying one creditor that isn't late already is less stressful than paying several. If your credit sucks try Benificial/HFC, yes the intrest rate is high but again you are trading off collections calls, higher intrest/late fee's. Take money out of your 401k or get an advance from your employer. Payday loan companies aren't the way to go. I wouldn't even advise my own debtors to get a payday loan. Ever. Do you have a life insurance policy? Can you defer a car or house note? You can defer credit card payments as well. Can you refinance your home? If you are over the age of 65 a reverse mortage is an option. There is a whole list of this that are possible options. It depends on if you have them and if so do you choose to use them.
Thanks for your reply FYI. My debt doesn't outweigh my as
Thanks for your reply FYI.
My debt doesn't outweigh my assets anymore so I don't want to do bankruptcy. It's too late to negotiate with the CC companies as all of my accounts have been sold off to collection agencies and attorneys and besides that, it's been a good 6 years since there has been any activity or payment on these accounts so wouldn't the SOL fall into play?
I'm hoping that a good credit attorney or agency like the ones that advertise on the forum could slam the collection attorneys/agencies and the credit reporting agencies with whatever correspondence it takes and get these put to rest because of the SOL. Am I incorrect in believing this is doable?
