new here just hoping things get better

[kaylee8]

[keepmine]

Oh yeah, it gets lots better. Once you retain an attorney, you may refer all calls to them. Once the bk is filed, all collection activity must cease.

[kaylee8]

What I am most worried about is my car. I finally caught up with my payments; it will be mine come august. No one can take my car right? How else would I get to and from work?

[keepmine]

The car-it depends on how much equity you have in the car and how much your state exempts in bk.

[CPO]

It will get better in the future, but your on the edge of the storm right now.

Stay current on the car if you want to keep it. That will require a reaffirmation process between you, your attorney and whomever you have the loan through.

That does not take place until AFTER you have filed BK. So you want to remain current on your payments. Normally, the creditor won't repo on a loan in which the payments are current. They don't want the car, they want your money.

As far as collection calls are concerned, you are probably stuck with the calls. Get an answering machine, leave a greeting on it with your first and last name on it (so the bloodsuckers KNOW this is your number) and don't answer the phone. Let them leave messages. Screen the ones you want and delete the collector calls.

Remember, its your phone. You don't have to answer any calls or speak with anyone on the phone if you don't want to. YOU ARE IN CONTROL.

There is no good in you trying to negotiate with collectors. If you have money, call you original creditor and work something out, in writing. LEAVE COLLECTION AGENCIES OUT OF THE PROCESS. They are merely trying to make a buck off of your misfortune...

Not to mention the fact that many of these agencies operate outside the law anyways. There is nothing you can tell many of them to get them to stop calling you anywhere they can find you.

If your at work, tell them "I can't help you and please don't call here again." Then hang up. If the volume of calls gets to be to large, notify your supervisor that your getting harassing calls. They may be able to contact the local phone service provider and block known numbers. This may entail you revealing why your getting the calls in the first place, though.

Speak with your lawyer about referring the calls to his office. Some do, some don't.

The reason for leaving your full name on your home answering machine is to indicate to the few who do seem to operate lawfully that they do have the correct number. This MIGHT reduce the calls to your work.

There is alot of chatter here and on the net about "cease & desist" letters to get the level of harassment down, reduce the calls and force the collection agencies to stop their efforts.

For what its worth, I have sent a dozen, expensive, time-consuming, tailored letters of which each one has a proof of delivery card in my file.

Each and every creditor still calls my machine....daily...at least a dozen times a day, seven days a week. I still get calls at work.

All-in-all, the letters meant nothing to my creditors.

But, they will be very valuable in the near future. If you can afford the time, cash and hassle of sending the letters, do so. Just don't expect miracles.

I have a log book. At the end of the day I log each call in with time and date, any messages received and any other notes needed.

This is to build a data base that I will use in court when I sue each and every one of these morons called "collectors."

Get active, start educating and defending yourself.

In the end, if you are generally judgement proof, broke and/or unable to pay your bills, then time is on your side. Eventually, the collectors tend to give up. But, that can take awhile. Meanwhile, your credit is shot, which is probably okay since you probably cannot afford it anyway...

Meanwhile, study this site, visit the local library or book store and learn as much about the process as posible.

I think you will learn that you are not in as bad a situation as you have perhaps thought.

Regards.

CPO

AGAIN, YOU ARE IN CONTROL. IT'S YOUR PHONE. IT'S YOUR MONEY. YOU TAKE THE CALLS, YOU WRITE THE CHECKS.

DON't FORGET THAT!

[pv34pv3p]

WOW Chief!!!

Good to see some backbone in yer post! I hope, and it appears that you pretty much have... gotten a handle on things

pv34pv3p(Hate things without a handle...)

[CPO]

Thanks pv....glad to be of some assistance to others.

....thanks for remembering me.

Hope your well

CPO

P.S. Love that user name...