In major debt trouble with no way out
Date: Sun, 08/23/2009 - 09:17
I am in major debt right now and can't pay my credit cards. I get calls on my cell phone 7 days a week at least 3 calls an hour and I just can't take it anymore.
Here is some backstory - I was laid off in March 2008, found work in May 2008 at more then $3.00/hour less. I was laid off again in November 2008 and was out for more then 7 months having just finally finding permanent employment at the end of May this year. During all this my husbands hours and pay have been drastically cut. I tried to keep up with all my credit card payments during this time for fear of "their wrath". I ended up getting further and further behind on my mortgage and car payments to the point of almost losing all 3. I called all the credit card companies begging for them to work with me given my circumstances and they all said in no uncertain terms "No Way".
I finally made the hard decision over a month ago to cease paying these credit cards as I felt that trying to catch up on my mortgage and cars were much more important. I've contacted several debt consolidation companies for help but was told that we had way more debt then income and they were not able to help us.
I don't know what to do. I can't file bankruptcy as we did back in 2002 (it wasn't signed off until 2003). We worked so hard to improve our situation after that and we were doing great until I lost my job. Now we are worse off then back in 2002. We make just enough to pay our mortgage and cars each month (we are still a month behind on each), and the basics to survive. I can't work a second job as I work days and my husband works nights and we have a child who I cannot leave alone at night and there are no part time jobs around here.
Please someone help! I've been getting doors slammed in my face for a year now and no one is willing to help us. I am hoping someone on here has been though this and will give us some good advice.
Keep checking back for more replies and suggestions, I need to l
Keep checking back for more replies and suggestions, I need to leave now. Good luck. :)
I did try CCCS and unfortunately we were told that because our i
I did try CCCS and unfortunately we were told that because our income was lower then our monthly bills they couldn't help us. We've gotten rid of everything that we can and lowered/changed things that we still have in order to lower our monthly payments. All to no avail. So frustrating!
I'm sorry to hear that, well, do continue to check back for more
I'm sorry to hear that, well, do continue to check back for more replies.
I would need to know more specifics in order to determine if deb
I would need to know more specifics in order to determine if debt settlement may be an option for you. If you can't afford to pay your mortgage and car payments, which are more important then paying credit cards, then you will not be able to make payments towards settling your debts. I would make sure you don't have savings accounts or checking accounts with your creditors. If you have already tried to contact your creditors to explain your situation and they were not willing to work with you, you will have to wait it out until your 120 to 180 days past due. Most creditors will consider a settlement then. However, if you don't have it to settle with them, you may be sued. If you are sued, make sure you go to court and plead your case to the judge. The judge will look at your situation and most likely force your creditors to work something out with you. Your wages can only be garnished by one creditor and most likely this will not happen if you can show proof of your finacial situation.
Pay for the house and car and forget the credit cards, you have
Pay for the house and car and forget the credit cards, you have no choice. Change your phone number and stay in touch with them every 3-4 weeks and let them know what's going on. After a long period of time it is true, you might be sued. If you are what are they going to do, get a judgement. You can still settle after that, they will take whatever they can get. You might not be sued and you will have bought more time to save some money for a possible settlement down the road. Nothing is easy, you have to be strong and don't let them bully you into making those small payments, if you do the SOL will start all over again.
Concentrate on paying your mortgage and car and living expenses.
Concentrate on paying your mortgage and car and living expenses. If you default on those, the consequences are greater. Change your cell phone number; I did so I wouldn't hear from pdl companies. Get back on your feet first.
Thank you all for the advice! I'm trying to remain strong, espe
Thank you all for the advice! I'm trying to remain strong, especially for my son but it hasn't been easy. I keep my home phone off the hook (until my husband cancels it) so it doesn't ring all the time and I don't answer my cell. They can't get blood from a stone and if they take me to court they will realize that. Again, thanks for the advice and information!
Given that your household income is not steady and you are havin
Given that your household income is not steady and you are having trouble paying the important bills i.e. mortgage, auto and utilities, I would either cancel your phones or change and unlist the numbers. I personally would not call and update them every 3-4 weeks as the guest suggested but others here would disagree with me on that point probably. As the collection letters started flowing in I would send them limited cease and desist allowing only mail contact. While doing this try to save up cash as a settlement fund. Over time you can settle with them as they mail in good offers or if one of them decides to move forward with a law suit. If your work situation changes you can always go back and start working on cleaning your credit.
The reason many say to call, even just once per month, is to mai
The reason many say to call, even just once per month, is to maintain good faith and open communication...they do after all deserve to know what is going on. As far as any cease/desist letters, just know that by sending them you will increase the %'s that you will be sued...that is a fact. I am NOT saying that you will or won't be sued regardless of what you do, only that the letters increase that chance.
You mentioned car payments, maybe you can sell these cars, get rid of that monthly payment, buy a couple of paid-for reliable beaters, get on a monthly budget tracking every single penny, give up all unnecessary expenses, maybe get a pt job or 2 and put ALL of this extra money in an acct for the sole purpose of debt settlement...then stick to your plan. Just one idea.
It's not worth it to sell our cars as we won't get 1/2 of what w
It's not worth it to sell our cars as we won't get 1/2 of what we owe on them and we'll just end up having to pay money for nothing. I do regret trading in our SUV's for these newer "economy" cars but at the time when gas was over $4/gallon with no end in sight it made the most sense. But no sense dwelling on what was and deal with what is.
I can't do a pt job as my current job can have me working some nights and some weekends doing billing (how ironic is that) and with my husband working nights I am home with our son during the week. There are also no pt jobs in our area (I constantly check things out just in case). Any OT I get has been going to our property taxes as we are behind on those.
The whole problem is I was out of work for 7 1/2 months after my previous company closed their doors and got very little in unemployment benefits. On top of this only 1 of our creditors were willing to help us out so we got way behind on everything. Now that I'm working again I am trying to catch up on what I can, mortgage and cars are 1st paid. This leaves very little for the small things like groceries etc. My husband unfortunately has to spend over $200/month on gas and tolls (he even takes the long way to avoid most of the tolls). There is no one he can carpool with as he works the furthest of anyone on his crew. I've gone over our budget with a fine tooth comb and we have cut out everything we can.
I'm just not going to pay my credit cards until I have caught up and we are in a better position. If they sue me, well then we'll prove to the judge that we are in no position to pay anything. I keep hoping things will improve sooner or later, they have to.
honestly i really dont know what to say to this except for i am
honestly i really dont know what to say to this except for i am sorry! HOnestly im not sure which if any of the options would be right for you and this is why. dmp, thats out im under the impression they dont do anything that is in collection that is what i think you already tried for. and settlement you need to have some money to save to negotiate. without that they will either end up in court or expire with the sol in your state. you could hope for that but in all honesty the more cards you have the more likely you are to get sued. All i can say is getting sued in court is not as bad or as scary as most people think. I ended up getting summoned and i felt like such a looser. till i saw the docket and it was about 3 pages long. and i live in a small town the judge was very understanding and fair.
just hang in there!