How do I fix what I messed up?

[gsant]

What is the name of your state? Louisiana...I caused our credit report to hit rock bottom..I acquired several credit cards in 1998/1999..paid off one...then had major car accident in 1999...tumor found in lung,along with diagnosis of emphysema/copd around same time;was off work awhile but managed to pay bills.In 2000 had blockage in main artery of heart/heart cath;Health declined from there on,could not work, another heart cath (for blockage) in 2001;therefore could not pay my bills.I now have (5 )chg.offs on mine and husbands acct...3 of these aren't mine...and I've disputed them.. all of these are in my name ..but I know already that in La. he's held responsible for my mistakes. The last responce from the creditors was over the phone;in Dec.2004; was "get a lawyer...your gonna need one".Next thing I know it's all turned in on our credit report.(3) of these were turned in to credit report 7/04 ..chg.offs...and (2) in 8/05..chg.offs...My questions are.....How do I try to clear this up?..What's their next step towards us? Should I file bankruptsy? Keep our bank acct. empty? (which stays that way with just 1 income coming in now) Will we loose our home and (2)Vechicles?

[debtcollector`]

If the bill situation is as bad as it sounds talk to a bankruptcy attorney and quickly. You are runnign out of time.

DC

[gsant]

louisiana...Running out of time as in....SOL for La?....Their next step being? ...thanks for your advice..

[Debt Guy]

Most bankrutpcy lawyers will give you a free 30 minute consultation. That should be enough for you find out if bankruptcy makes sense for you.

I encourage you to call right away. The bankrupcy law is changing in October and will be much more tough.

[debtcollector`]

Originally Posted by gsant

louisiana...Running out of time as in....SOL for La?....Their next step being? ...thanks for your advice..

No running out of time for the bankruptcy law changes.

DC

[gsant]

Originally Posted by Debt Guy

Most bankrutpcy lawyers will give you a free 30 minute consultation. That should be enough for you find out if bankruptcy makes sense for you.

I encourage you to call right away. The bankrupcy law is changing in October and will be much more tough.

Thank you Debt Guy for the advice.....we are 57 and 61 yrs.old now....Is this our only recource? or the best recource?

[gsant]

Hello RachelTn....I am so new to this kind of thing and don't know which way to turn..what course of action to take.You sound like you might have a suggestion or two for me..I'm all ears ..We worked long and hard to get our credit in good standing and this happens..I would rather not file bankruptsy..A few items on our c/report are not mine and I have disputed those..but what I owe is appx.$12,000.00 on (2) c/cards and hospital/medical facility bills..One creditor has put the c/card down twice with two different $ ant.chg.offs and two different acct.#'s.I know I only had (1) card w/them..when I spoke w/him about this he laughed and said "prove it"..then demanded "post dated checks"..which I told him "no" and did not send..Threatened seizing averything we had..and throughout all our conversations he refered to himself as an attorney..our last conversation we had Dec.2004..he messed up and said "I'm not an attorney,but I know what I'm talking about, and you better get you one because the firm I work for is filling suit aginst you" I quit answering his calls after that.I wrote them a letter on what I could afford to pay per month..as of this date..no reply

[LSCAP]

Pay attention to Debt Guy and Debtcollector. They are experts, and they do not usually recommend BK.

I'm in my late 60s. Filed BK about 8 yrs ago. It is tough but like when we were young and there weren't credit cards. You know. Save money, then buy cash. You are still young.

If you want some stranger robbing your checking/savings account you will continue to stall.
Gsant says,
"they are generally authorized to collect for 25cents on the dollar"
That might be what they paid for the debt, but they will demand thousands over what you owe.

The new BK laws are horrible. If you wait and then try BK you will be paying for the rest of your life.

[debtcollector`]

Originally Posted by RachelTN

Remember if the company that has the debts is a collection agency, they are generally authorized to collect for 25cents on the dollar, sometimes a little more.

Very few actually. Never on debt within SOL. The lowest settlement we can go on the accounts I handle is 80 cents on the dollar. Personally I have only extended one settlement offer.

People want to settle for 25 cents on the dollar all the time -- when I finish laughing at them, I tell them that any settlement offer is off the table and to grab their checkbook.

DC

[Tayla]

Open Accts - (charge cards) for Louisianna-3years SOL. Your best bet is to consult with a consumer advocate lawyer on getting some of these accounts
remedied. Go here for a listing: [url]http://www.naca.net/[/url]
As debt collector stated most collectors willnot budge. Their goal is to get as much from you as they can, even if its outside the common collection period. They have a commission to make.

Also read up on your consumer rights here: [url]http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm[/url]

The more knowledge you attain the better off you are on making the decision that best suits your situation.

[Debt Guy]

I still say that my original advice is sound. Consult with a bankruptcy attorney right away. That is the only way you are going to know if it is a good choice for you. I think it is.

BTW, DebtCollector is both right and wrong on his answer about the percentage a collection agency will accept.

A creditor who places a debt with the collection agency will "delegate" a settlment authority to the CA. The amount the creditor allows depends on the philosophy of the creditor and the amount and age of the debt. It is common that an OC will delegate to the CA the authority to settle the debt for as high as 80% of the balance and as low as 50% of the balance. Authority below 50% is very rare.

So, even if the CA wanted to settle for 25%, they could not.

However, as the debt gets older and is eventually sold to a junk debt buyer, the new owner has the authority to do whatever they want. But, again, their goal is to maximize their recovery. It is possible to settle a debt for 25% but it is not very common. Most JDBs would rather just sue you and let the judgment bedevil you for a really, really long time. Their experience tells them that will collect more with that approach.

In the end, whether you are talking about the OC or the JDB, it is all really a numbers game. Mostly, they don't believe what debtors tell them anyway -- so, they just play the odds.

Remember that these organizations have literally millions of accounts. They don't much care whether they win or lose on a individual account. But, they have lots of experience with the law of large numbers and mostly they can predict with accuracy what will happen with a large pool of accounts. Their decisions and practices are governed accordingly

[gsant]

Thanks for the info ....will check into all on monday...can you tell me what these debitors next step might be?..Since our c/report says they were charge offs as of 2004..

[debtcollector`]

Originally Posted by gsant

Thanks for the info ....will check into all on monday...can you tell me what these debitors next step might be?..Since our c/report says they were charge offs as of 2004..

For the dollar amounts you are talking about I would expect to be sued beofre the SOL expires. Then armed with the judgement, they'll take every non-exempt penny and peice of property you have.

If you don't handle the process right, they'll probably take a bunch of exempt property too.

DC

[Debt Guy]

I agree with DC on this one.

[gsant]

So what should I do at this point?...contact the creditor and try to make arrangements?( Payment arrangements? ) My main concern is.."At what point do they latch onto our checking acct?". Before filing suit aginst us? Do they
"have to wait" until SOL runs out?