CA-Divorce Decree Ordered Debt Payment

[insureme_2]

What is the name of your state? Illinois
I was divorced three years ago. The debts, many of which were credit cards held jointly by my ex-husband and I, were split by the attorneys in the divorce decree. Mine are paid off. The problem is that my ex-husband has stopped paying and now the accounts are in collections and they are calling me to get payment. I already told them to contact me by written document only....the phone calls are so stressful and serve only to belittle me. I am working with two of the companies to make monthly payments. I'm a firm believer that the debts need to be paid by someone. The problem is that the third account is being handled by OSI. They are not willing to work with me at all. I simply cannot handle anymore payments out of my budget. They have threatened to garnish my wages. The original debt was a credit card and the current debt is $1871. The only offer they have made is a lump settlement of $1260 or a one time payment of $300 and 1/2 of the remainder over the next three months. It may as well me a million dollars, I simply can't do it. HELP!!! What can I expect next? What can they actually do to me in the state of Illinois? Do you have any suggestions. The ex-husband route is a dead end, he hasn't worked in over two years and seriously behind on child support as well. Please HELP me!

 

[Ladynred]

Well, the bad news is they CAN garnish wages in IL, as well as bank accounts, and they can sieze any non-exempt property. However, in order to get that far, they have to sue you and win a default judgment FIRST. You would be served a summons and you'd get a court date, so this wouldn't sneak up on you with a wage garnishment one day. Any threats by them to do so, is illegal.

Whatever you do, do NOT talk to any collection agency on the phone, its pointless. If you can afford to make some kind of payment then send them a payment plan or settlement offer, certified, RRR and do NOT send them a single dime until you get an agreement in writing with a signature. If you don't get this, they will conveniently 'forget' you ever had any arrangment. In your offer, you want to negotiate for complete deletion of their entries from your credit report if they've placed any.

Its best not to talk to them OSI will only continue to bully you.
Are you certain this was a joint account ? Did you sign the papers originally ??

 

[insureme_2]

Yes, the accounts were definitely joint. The payment offers to date are unreasonable and unfeasible. I offered to pay them $300 for three months and they turned it down. I think I listed the two payment options that they suggested in my previous post. Neither is going to work for me. What do I do? I've worked so hard over the last three years to pay off my portion of the debt and now it all seem for naught. I DO NOT want to file bankruptcy; however, at this point with the three accounts in collections and affecting my credit report, do I have anything to lose by filing BK? I do have significant income, a house, and a car. That being said, my ex does not keep up on his child support. I am supporting our four year old on my income, making a house, student loan, and car payment. The amount of my income is misleading based on what is going out vs. coming in. What am I going to lose in a BK? Should I continue to work with the collection agencies. OSI will take payments of my choosing, but the caveat is that interest will still accrue and I will pay on this account for the rest of my life. I'm so stressed from dealing with this. My car is fairly new and I purchased my house a year ago before he stopped making his payments. Please make a suggestion. Do I play the sit and wait game? HELP!

 

[kevinss]

Yes.. sit and wait patiently.. Send them another settlement offer, and this time offer them less. Maybe $250 for three months.
Then wait.. they'll turn you down again.
Wait a while and send them the settlement offer of $300 for three months. Place language in your letter that makes it sound like you've sold everything you have and are in dire straits... this $900 is all you can come up with.
That will serve the dual purpose of showing them that you don't have assets they can go after, and making them feel great about themselves.. because they LOVE to hear that peoples' lives are RUINED to pay a debt. I'm not joking even a little there.
Since each back-and-forth communication will likely take a month or almost a month (both ways, not each), adjust amount of your "up-front" payments to account for the time passed, and reduce the amount of time until the settlement's paid off.
For instance, $500 now and $200 for two months.
You'll eventually get it. They paid PENNIES on the dollar for this debt, and making it seem like you need to pay almost the entire amount is their game - it's just profit to them.

 

[insureme_2]

Thanks for the information. I'll certainly try your suggestion. I've tried almost everything else. One more question, as I communicate back and forth with them, what other actions will they try to take against me? Thanks so much! At least I feel like somebody understands and empathizes.

 

[kevinss]

Oh, we empathize alright I'd say most of us are here because we've had to put up with the same or worse. We just got fed up with it.

At any time, they can file a civil lawsuit against you. If the debt is valid and yours, they will get a judgment. With that, they can start the proceedings to garnish wagesor sieze property. It might be a good idea for you to have a look at this URL:

http://www.thebankruptcysite.com/exemptions/illinois.htm

The exemptions for siezure/attachment are the same for judgments as they are for bankruptcy. If you have anything that is vulnerable, never EVER give the collection agency an idea that you have it. If they know you have assets, they'll likely sue. The less you let them think you have, the less likely they are to file suit. It's a waste of time and money if they aren't going to be able to recoup what they spend on the suit from you. If you do have vulnerable assets, chances are they aren't necessities for living. You might consider selling them and then using ALL of the money you get from the sale to supplement your "CA fund." Retain proof that you used the sale money for that purpose.
A final note... Never, EVER fill out the paperwork they send you that asks for your bank account information or real property location. It's not legal process, and the only reason they'll send you papers like that is to gain information about you should they decide to sue. Simply keep up with the settlement offers. Never send them a check or give them your checking information - send all payments by money order, and not from the bank you bank with. You're not obligated to give them anything unless they have a judgment against you, so do your best to make it seem like they'd have nothing to gain by filing suit (talk your assets down, make it seem like you're destitute.) They know nothing about you except what's on public record.

 

[insureme_2]

I have read alot of the posts in this forum. It seems that a cease and desist letter, as well as a validation letter is suggested to be sent to the CA? If you've read my previous posts and questions, would either of these documents be beneficial to my current situation? I have verbally requested that they stop contacting me by telephone. I noticed that kevins suggested making small payments and then up the ante after a couple of small payments. Will this help me as well? What if I present them with the scenario that I will take the $900 that I offered them and give it to an attorney to file BK instead? I'm seriously considering this option at this point, so it wouldn't be a stretch. Again, the BK would be my LAST resort. I want to pay this debt, I just can't afford what they are asking. Any suggestions or replies to the aforementioned questions are greatly appreciated.

 

[kevinss]

If you threaten BK they'll likely try to run and sue you right away, thinking that it's a bluff. Then again, the tactic just might work. You never know.
I'll leave this open for anyone else to respond with suggestions.

 

[bigun]

They hear the bk threat doens of times a day and very few people file. Don't threaten something like that unless you are 100% committed to filing. Kevin is correct. They {or another creditor} may call the bluff.

 

[KYSassy]

My experience

I wound up filing for bankruptcy in 1996. I initally tried to file a chapter 13 but the judge refused to accept it. He told me that due to my health problems (that led me to BK in the first place), he would only accept chapter 7. He said that if my health problems became chronic again that I would be in the same shape as before and be unable to meet my chapter 13 payments.

I had credit cards from different companies and a lease with GMAC. I decided to reaffirm my lease because I needed a car to get back and forth to work.

When I went to my bankruptcy hearing, the only creditor that showed up was GMAC. They wanted to reposess the car, even though I had signed a reaffirmation agreement. The judge told the GMAC rep to sit down and shut up. He told the rep that I was current on the lease payments and the reaffirmation agreement had been accepted so they had no right to repo the car.

Looking back, I wish that I had tried harder to get some other kind of vehicle and just let GMAC have their's back. I say this because at the end of my lease, I had to find another car anyway, because I could not get financing for the remainder of the loan. I found decent financing for another vehicle, but no one would finance the car I already had.

In my experience, bankruptcy is a drastic resort that might be the only way to go. It will give you a fresh start, but at a price you may not want to endure. I have reestablished my credit in many areas but I still cannot get a traditional bank loan. I am much wiser now...from learning the hard way. Good Luck!