Bank of America

[luvbskts]

What is the name of your state?Indiana
My mother has had numerous serious health issues, diabetes, stroke, and heart attacks, which has made it so she can't work. It also left her in debt. I've sold her farm to pay for the credit card debt and medical debt that she had. I'm down to only about 2000.00 left in savings and there's one more credit card. The balance of the card is approximately 3900.00 but by the time the fees and interest are figured in, it jumps to 6000ish. I talked to the collection agency today trying to come up with a settlement, I offered them $1500. The best they could offer was 3655.00. I told them that there was no way we could do that. After being screamed at for 10 minutes, the guy finally just said that they'd sue. My questions are:
What income can be garnished? She's 65 and only has Social Security.
Can they take her husband's car? It's in her name and my name.
Can they freeze her bank account?
Since my name is on as a signer, can they freeze my personal bank account?
What happens now? How long will it take for this to hit the courts?
What else do I need to be prepared for?

Thanks for you help!

 

[AlexandriaDumas]

I can't answer all your questions but I will tell you my mother's story. She had a mobile home (that she did not live in but had rented out and had been trashed by a former tenant) that she had been paying on for 20 years. Her loan was also at Bank of America. B of A had already made a whole lot of money on that deal. She still owed about $15,000 on it but paying the $150/mo was creating an extreme hardship. I suggested she write a letter telling them her situation and reminding them she had paid on it all those years telling them her only income was Social Security, and that she could not pay any amount on the loan and to take back the mobile home.

She was really worried about messing up her credit, but I said, "Mom, you're 75 years old, what kind of credit do you think you're going to need at your age?"

So, she sent off the letter and that's the last we heard. I highly recommend that in situations of this kind, never to speak with anyone on the telephone. Communication should only be done in writing and it should be real simple, something like: "Here's the facts, here's what I will give you (if anything) to close this out. Take it or leave it."

My mother's assets were the mobile home she lived in and an automobile. For the amount you mentioned I really doubt there will be any repurcussions. Trust me, if your mother has been carrying a balance on that credit card for a while, B of A has made a WHOLE LOT OF MONEY off her account already, probably quite a bit more than she owes. Do the math, it will make you feel better about walking away from this.

It's sad to say, but when we get older, sometimes we have to do these things just to survive.

 

[TigerD]

Do the math, it will make you feel better about walking away from this.

It's sad to say, but when we get older, sometimes we have to do these things just to survive.

Very sad to say. You should be ashamed of yourself. The OP is at least attempting resolve their issues -- you advocate stealing because of age.



FOR THE OP:
Social Security cannot be touched.
Bank accounts can be -- if they are she has to prove the all the money in the account came from social security.

Not sure what you mean by you name being on as a signer -- if you mean as a responsible party on the card -- yes they will come after you too. if you mean on a bank account -- they will freeze everything in her name. If you have a joint account the only exempt funds are the ones from her social security.

What happens now depends on the CA. You could be in court this month -- or it could take months. They may not even sue or they come back with a lower settlement offer.

You don't have to tolerate being screamed at. If that happens hang up or ask to speak with someone else.

Good luck helping your mother resolve this.

DC

 

[luvbskts]

Very sad to say. You should be ashamed of yourself. The OP is at least attempting resolve their issues -- you advocate stealing because of age.



FOR THE OP:
Social Security cannot be touched.
Bank accounts can be -- if they are she has to prove the all the money in the account came from social security.

Not sure what you mean by you name being on as a signer -- if you mean as a responsible party on the card -- yes they will come after you too. if you mean on a bank account -- they will freeze everything in her name. If you have a joint account the only exempt funds are the ones from her social security.

What happens now depends on the CA. You could be in court this month -- or it could take months. They may not even sue or they come back with a lower settlement offer.

You don't have to tolerate being screamed at. If that happens hang up or ask to speak with someone else.

Good luck helping your mother resolve this.

DC

Thanks for your help. I'm trying everything I can to get all of her bills paid. I'm down to two. One, helicopter lifeline people, I'm making monthly payments on and this one. When I mentioned that I was a signer, I was talking about her checking account. I'm not a co-owner, I can just write checks. I'm not for sure what the difference is.