Car repo....feeling very low....should I file bankruptcy?

[quote=needahug]I'm really just here for some support I think.[/quote]

Cool. We do that.

[quote=needahug]My financial mess is like a shameful deep secret - I am too ashamed to tell others - so here I am sharing my story here with others who can possibly relate.[/quote]

You might be surprised at the things some of us can relate to.

[quote=needahug]Now this repo has me considering bankruptcy again (the repayment plan version). After all - having a repo on my credit report is just as bad as having bankruptcy - right.[/quote]

Umm..... No. Not even. Have you considered talking with a consolidation outfit?

needahug - welcome!

I certainly understand where you're coming from. Let me point out a few things about bankruptcy that you might not be aware of.

Chapter 13 (the repayment plan you mentioned in your post) is hardly the answer to your prayers here.

In a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy...
-your income & debt has to go through a "means test" with the attorney. He/She will figure out what percentage of your "disposable" income needs to go towards paying off your debt. And trust me, your version of "disposable" and the attorney's version are going to be very different.

-the attorney's fees for a Chapter 13 are extremely high due to the paperwork, etc. that is involved. My own was $3,000. That gets included in the plan payments, but here's the catch: NONE OF YOUR DEBTS GET PAID - NONE - UNTIL THE ATTORNEY GETS THEIR FULL FEE PAID. That means that if you include your mortgage or another high-dollar loan, it will just continue to get further and further behind until the trustee finally starts paying on it, after the attorney is paid off.

-Most states allow the trustee to garnish your paycheck to make sure the Ch. 13 payments are made on time every month. So even though they aren't allowed to disclose it to anyone, your workplace is going to be aware you filed Ch. 13. At least the payroll department will be. And the amount of money you have left over after the Ch. 13 payments are taken out of your check may not be what you expected - you may find you can't live on what's left. And your plan will last for 3 to 5 years - so you will be living on a lot less money for a very long time.

Please reconsider before filing any form of bankruptcy. I realize that in some cases, it's the only possible choice. Sometimes it's really the only option. But please explore all other options first. Talk to a bankruptcy attorney to get all the facts, and find out what will happen before, during and after you file.

A couple of random thoughts, if I may..... Bankruptcy stays on your credit file for ten years, repos only stay for seven. Given the nature of the place, I wonder if they'll even mess with reporting it. Some do, some don't.

Also.... Have you asked the loan place if it might be possible to redeem your car? They might suprise you. Likely they'd just send it to a lot or auction, which isn't gonna line their pockets very well, and will take a small amount of hassle on their part. If you can come up with wholesale value, they might be real happy to hand it back to you. What kind of car was it?

Also, where do you live [state or general area will be fine, I'm not meaning to pry]? Have you checked with your local social service agencies? Here [Vermont] we have a place that will work with working people on car loans, repairs, etc. It's worth a shot, and it beats walking.

Hey - thanks for responding you two.

I'll be ok - I already got my car back. It wasn't a matter of not having the money - I just made the mistake of thinking one more day late won't matter.

It's a hard lesson....it's an insult to your pride handing some judgemental repo people $500 to get your car back. It's even harder telling the kids the presents under the tree will be scarce this year. Luckily they are understanding & are telling me not to worry and to not get them anything at all. My 15 year old son said "Hey - you still got me, isn't that enough?" God bless 'em for that!

Yesterday was one of the worst day of my life - Murphy's law, you know? My son's friend let me use his car to go pay the title loan place, but I had to get back by 2pm. I had to wait for title loan place to get everything in order - which wasn't until 11am. I finally get up there at 12pm only to find that they don't take cash, so I had to run to the post office & get a money order. I go back, pay & call the repo people who tell me the person I need to talk to just left for lunch - nobody else can help me. Fine - in the meantime I need to pick up my xmas bonus from work, which just came in that day. I pick it up & go to Walmart to cash it (my bank will hold the funds for 5-7 days because it's an out of state check) - Walmart says they can't cash it & give me a number to call. I go a Currency Exchange - they cash it & by now an hour has passed so I call the repo people. Talk to someone who tells me I need to schedule an appointment to get my car and I have to wait until tomorrow - very irritating since I'm 5 minutes away from their office with the cash - yet they would not budge. Just then I realize my cell phone battary is low and my charger is in my car. While I'm trying to set up the appt I get disconnected. I have to call back & schedule my appt...just before my phone died for good. I go home with a huge headache. I call the number Walmart gave me & they said they have no file on me & do not know what happened.

Then my day went from worse to worse. My army son calls to tell me that he's going to Iraq on 12-28 & he doesn't even know if he can come home for Christmas. Out of all the stressful things I had to deal with this was the one that just killed my spirits & drove me to tears for the rest of my night.

My financial mess seems so unimportant compared to the news my son gave me last night. I feel like him going to Iraq is no different that having him play Russian Roul*tte with a loaded gun.

Now I need a hug for a totaly different reason.

Sorry to ramble on....thanks for taking the time to read.

needahug....

You're having quite a year - but please know you are not alone. We're all here with you, and always willing to listen or talk when you need it.

Please feel free to register with the site so you can use the PM feature to message members privately, and you can earn points, which can be cashed in after you build up enough points. Points are worth $0.01 each, which may not sound like much, but it does add up over time. :-)

Lots of military personnel go to Iraq. Including a lot of my friends and my oldest son. It's part of sserving in the military in this day and age. They come back. It's not an automatic death sentence, despite what the liberal media tells you. I know people who've deployed there several times. They're still here to tell stories about it.

Now, stand strong and be proud of your son. He's voluntarily taken on a responsibility that few people will. And thank him for his service, from me, would ya?