Chase lawsuit already????????

Be sure to mention to CHASE that you have already spoken with a Bankruptcy attorney and that if they are unwilling to work with you some sort of settlement or payment arrangement you will be forced to file bankruptcy and then they will get nothing. These stupid collectors will try and say anything to collect money. I wouldn`t file bankruptcy until they actually serve you papers. 99 out of 100 times they are bluffing. I hope this helps :D

Thanks, mobile! I did tell them that I don't have the funds to bring the account current, and that if they file suit, we will be forced to file BK, even though we are trying to avoid it. Her response was "if you have to file BK, that is a decision that you'll have to make." My response was "if you have to file suit go ahead." Nevertheless, I'm still hoping that we can avoid going that route, at least this early in the game.

Here is the thing alias1958 . Bill collectors are paid on commission on what they collect and they will say ANYTHING even if it violates the law so long as they get that commission. They are trying to scare you because they don`t want to charge the account off and sell it to a 3rd party collection agency. Don't sweat it . Stop talking to them and let them do what they are going to do. In the mean time save your money for a potential settlement later down the line or for a bankruptcy lawyer if it comes to that. Good luck and hang in there :D

Hello Alias, so you were called by in house collections? Have you received anything in the mail from them about taking further action on this account yet? If not, and you simply do not have the funds they are requesting in order to bring this account current, I would wait until you receive something through USPS. Making agreements or negotiating via telephone isn't a wise choice in my opinion, unless of course you are recording it. As I said, if it were me, I would wait until you receive something USPS about further actions being taken, then you will have a paper trail in case you need it in the future for one reason or another. But that's just me! :D

i had chase,i agree with the others.mine too went seriously behind,but i kept getting bills.of course with late fees and charges.until they send you something in the mail about further action i would just try to see what you can do to become somewhat
current.

Wow! I'm really surprised that they took action that quickly. I am currently negotiating a settlement with them & I am 7 months behind and my balance is $15,825. I agree with mobile0311 and save your money until you receive something in the mail.
Some of these collectors will tell you anything to scare you into giving them your hard earned money. You did the right thing by checking into their tactics first.

Thanks everyone! I havent' received my mail for today yet, but supposedly something was mailed by them on Tuesday. I will definitely insist that any agreements be in writing, but since they've been calling my house non-stop for the past week, I decided to answer the phone today, hoping that would give me a couple days of peace. Kimberly, was your account ever sent to their in house pre-litigation department? We also have two other accounts with Chase, and up until now everyone that I have dealt with there has been very understanding and kind. Our base income barely covers our mortgages and modest living expenses, but I am trying to save any overtime or other extra income towards future negotiations. It's slow-going though since any little emergency (car repairs, dentist bills, etc.) also takes money out of any fund that I try to build up. If we are going to start encountering lawsuits this soon (we have twenty different accounts, amazing, huh?), then there is no way that we will avoid BK.

If we are going to start encountering lawsuits this soon (we have twenty different accounts, amazing, huh?), then there is no way that we will avoid BK. I really feel they are bluffing , they almost always wait years before lawsuits. You do have time to save money for settlement. I would bet my life on it :D

Thanks, Mobile! I do hope you're right! It's great hearing opinions from other people who have been down this road before instead of just listening to the collectors threats!

alias1958 - no, my account was never sent to pre-litigation dept, just their regular collections dept. Stay positive...you are on the right track.

When I was a collector I would always get the threat "I'm going to file banko if you don't do what I want" I would laugh and tell them to go ahead and call me with their attny name and number and until then I would be in touch in a couple of days.

With the way the economy is today it wouldn't suprise me one bit if creditors started to sue much earlier in fear that their profits are in jepordy.

ALIAS DO NOT BE AFRAID.
IF YOU HAVE NOT MONEY TO PAY CHASE.
DO NOT GO TO BANKRUPTCY.
CHASE TOOK ME AND MY HUSBAND TO THE COURT BUT
THEY HAVE TO PAY EVERYTHING AND WAS GREAT!!!
I LOVE THE COURT.
MY HUSBAND CLOSE 3 CREDIT CARDS WITH CHASE AND WHEN HE BECAME DISABILITY BLIND AND MENTALLY ILL THESE CHASE BANK HAVE NOT ANY COMPASSION FOR HIM.
CHASE PEOPLE VANISHED FOR 2 YEARS AND GIVE BACK ALL HIS CHECKS EITHER.ACADEMY COLLECTION HELP CHASE BANK AND TO INCREASE OUR BILL TO 5000,00 TO 11.000 WITH ALL COSTS OF COURT.
BELIEVE ME OR NOT SINCE 2004 WHEN PAPERS WAS SERVED TO COURT IS VERY PEACEFUL HERE.
THEY LOST FRIEND.
IF YOU HAVE NOT A HOME IS BETTER.
IF YOU HAVE AN OLD CAR IS WONDERFUL.
GOOD LUCK ALIAS.

AFTER THE COURT IN 2004 WAS A PAPER GIVE TO US TELLING ABOUT BOATS,HOMES AND CARS AND
WE PUT 0(ZERO)IN EVERYTHING THERE.
WE WENT TO THE COURT AGAIN WITH THE PAPER BUT A EMPLOYEE IN THE COURT
TOLD US SHE DID NOT NEED THE PAPER AND PLEASE SAID HER:-PUT IN THE GARBAGE PLEASE.
WHAT A WONDERFUL SURPRISE!!!
I PUT IN THE PAPER THE AUDI CAR OF MY HUSBAND THAT WAS IN THE GARAGE BROKEN AND OLD FOR 12 YEARS ALREADY.THEY NEVER CAME FOR HIS
CAR.

Thanks everyone! We do own a home, but the mortgages on it are for more than it is currently worth. We own vehicles, but the newest one is ten years old. We own an 18 year old RV that's not worth much, though we would still hate to lose it. The biggest issue is that we can't afford to have our wages garnished, so if Chase does decide to file suit, we will be forced to file BK. I guess we'll just have to see what their next move is.

Also, we have twenty accounts totaling to about $140,000. I can't imagine how any of our creditors think they will end up with anything if we have to file BK.

Have you read the bankrupcy laws lately?

I'm familiar with the new BK laws. I also used an online calculator, and we do meet the Chapter 7 means test, based on our base income. We occasionally have some overtime or side work, so that is my concern. I'm not sure whether it's enough to put us into Chapter 13 instead. It's not regular or predictable, so it would probably depend when we end up filing since they look at the previous six months. That's one reason why we are trying to avoid BK, because we really don't want to end up in Chapter 13 and having the courts control our lives for five years.

If you are certainly going to Bk don't negotiate anything let the courts decide your destiny

if they will negotiate for a lesser settlement that you can pay by all means work with them

if you are almost at the brink of BK do not even talk to them and let them bring you down

I just thought I would add a quick update. The letter that was supposedly mailed from the pre-litigation department on Tuesday, June 3rd, still had not arrived as of Tuesday, June 10th.

lol , I told you. :D All bark and no bite. Hang in there.

Thanks, Mobile!

OK, we finally got the letter from Chase. "Chase hereby demands immediate payment of the entire balance. . . If you fail to make payment of the entire balance, Chase has the right to start a lawsuit against you. . . To avoid a lawsuit, contact one of our representatives within 15 days to schedule your paymnet. Otherwise, and without further notice, the bank intends to instruct its attorney to commence legal action against you . . . If you and Chase agree upon a repayment plan, please remit all promised payments on or before the agreed date to avoid legal action." So is this a standard letter or is it really a precursor to a lawsuit?

I wish I could actually see the paper work to see if its legit or a bluff. I would again call them up and explain to them that you are not refusing to pay and that you do want to fulfill your financial obligations but you are having financial difficulties.You are working on getting them some money but just don`t have it right now. Explain to them that if they file suit that you may have no choice but to file bankruptcy and then they will get nothing. If this is not a bluff and they do serve you papers to go to court be sure to show up . If you don`t they will get a default judgment. When you go to court be sure to have a budget showing your inability to pay and explain your hardship to the judge. I have seen before where the judge threw the case out and told the lawyer for the creditor to work thinks out and not waste his time. Even if the creditor wins the suit you can still settle on the judgment or work out a payment arrangement.

Mobile, they did call me again a couple of days ago, and I pretty much told them everything you suggest. They said that since the interest rate is now at zero, anything I pay will go against the account balance and help reduce the debt. I reiterated that I can't pay the 90+ dollars per month that they offered because I barely have enough for my mortgages and living expenses. I asked whether $20 or $30 wouyld forestall a lawsuit. They said that it wouldn't be enough of a payment to maintain a $9000 account, but that when (if) it goes from pre-litigation to litigation, it would at least show that I'm trying to pay something on the account. So another question. . . if it does go to court, and despite me bringing a budget and explaining our hardship, they do get a judgment, is it too late at that point to file BK in order to prevent property liens and wage garnishments?

No , it would not be too late. You could file even after you got a garnishment. Hypothetically speaking of course.

mobile, question. If the debt is only in 1 spouses name, and you get sued, how does the budget thing work in court? Do you have to show the household income or the person being sued?

Quote:

another thought....

If the debt is only in one spouses name, then it should only affect that persons credit, however, you may want to speak to an attorney for clarification.

IF they take you to court, they will not AUTOMATICALLY get their judgment unless you just don't show up. Most likely the judge will tell you ( and or your attorney) and their attorney to go outside and try to work out a payment arrangement. If you can't, then you will probably be required to provide lists of income and expenses and the judge will decide what you can afford and award them that amount. Did they ask you a bunch of questions about your income and expense when they came up with $90 a month or is that just your regular payment? If they asked a bunch a questions to arrive at that number, they are probably pretty close to the number the judge would give them if it goes to the point of getting a judgment, which of course may not matter if you file BK.

Something else to think about (though you may have already). Is this the only account you have problems with or are there others? I only ask because using BK to get out of this one problem is kinda like using a stick of dynamite to kill a dandelion. Yeah, It will kill the dandelion, but it will do a lot more damage to the surrounding yard that can take a while to repair. If you HAVE to go the BK route, than make sure its really worth while and worth the repair work you'll have to do later.

Thanks LCW! The $90 a month is 1% of the outstanding balance, which is the least they can allow on a hardship program. However, they did ask a lot of questions about our income and expenses in one of our telephone conversations. Our basic expenses exceed our income and are under the IRS BK allowances in every category.

This is by no means our only creditor, just the most aggressive at the moment. We owe 20 accounts, between the two of us, for a total of approximately $140,000 (before all of the late fees and interest rate hikes once we stopped paying). That's why BK is most likely the route we will end up having to go, but I'm going to avoid it as long as possible. My husband does occasionally get some overtime and some side work, and I'm trying to save toward some settlements, but, short of a mircale, I don't see any way to save enough to be able to negotiate with everyone.

This particular card is in my husband's name only, but I also have two Chase cards in my name (neither started out originally as Chase). That is also tricky because I feel like even if I can make some minimal payment on this one, then they'll use the same tactics on the other two to try to get me to cough up more money that I don't have.

Also, if I make payment to any of my creditors, doesn't that show on my CR? Then my other creditors that didn't get any payments might feel that they need to be more aggressive since I'm paying someone else instead of them?

Thanks everyone for your advice! I called Chase today and talked to them about their letter. They gave me four choices to keep a lawsuit from being filed. 1. Pay off the balance of nearly $10,000. (I obviously can't do that. If I had $10,000 I wouldn't be late on my bill to start with.) 2. Pay off the past due amount of almost $900 and they will return my account to customer service to make payment arrangements. (I could PROBABLY manage to do that, BUT I have 19 other accounts, and I can't keep them all current, so I'm not sure what would be the point of trying to keep this ONE account current.) 3. Pay a settlement amount of $8000 to $9000. (I can't do that.) 4. Pay four monthly payments of approximately $500 each to bring the account current. (I MIGHT be able to do that for four months since my husband does usually pick up some side work during the summer. But I would still be back in this same situation sooner or later because, again, I can't keep all 20 accounts current.) SO . . . I guess I am going to start getting all of our information together and consult a BK attorney in the next couple of weeks. That way as soon as they serve us, which they seem pretty serious about doing, we will be ready to file.

A quick additional note. The Chase lady said that she checked and our credit is still really good (not for long because we are nearing 60 days past due on all 20 accounts now), so why can't we get a loan to pay them off? I explained that we owe more on our two mortgages than our house is currently worth. She then suggested a personal loan. I explained to her that we would just be trading one creditor for another and would still be unable to pay!

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PostPosted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 4:00 pm

When I was a collector I would always get the threat "I'm going to file banko if you don't do what I want" I would laugh and tell them to go ahead and call me with their attny name and number and until then I would be in touch in a couple of days.

With the way the economy is today it wouldn't suprise me one bit if creditors started to sue much earlier in fear that their profits are in jepordy.

fyi you laughed? wow hope no one laughs at you when they are attempting to collect seriously why would you laugh? if someone says they are on the verge on banko? :shock:

Bill collectors are evil.They don`t have blood like yours and mine. Their hearts pump a thick black vominous oil. They train bill collectors to be nasty. They are commission paid and will say anything to try and get that payment.