What do I say to cc when waiting out 90 days to file

[16 Tons]

Hello all,

Been lurking for a while now. Thank you in advance for all you guys do!

My question is. What do I say to cc to stall while waiting out 70/90 days?
Do I tell them I am filing Chapter 7 or string them along about working on getting money, blah, blah....?

[bcvw]

I just tell them the truth.

"I've retained an attorney and expect to file a CH13 BK around OCT. 1"

They ask for the attorney name and number and if it is a joint BK. It's been pretty quiet after that.

If you haven't retained an attorney, you're on your own and you'll have to be creative.

[BassBoy]

You can tell them you're doing the best you can, but be careful not to make any statements about how much you can or will pay.

If you have already retained an attorney, you can tell them this and pass along your attorney's information, but I wouldn't tell them when you expect to file. You can let the attorney handle that. You can tell your creditors which chapter you may be filing.

Keep in mind that until you actually file your BK case, your creditors can continue to contact you.

[duplantisjj]

I started answering the calls at first and tried explaining the situation but these folks in collections are ruthless and heartless. They tell you they'll garnish your wages and take you to court for everything you own.

I ended up just ingnoring the calls for almost 5 months. I set my phone's caller ID to not ring when their numbers called and I never worried about it much after that. I would typically get 20-30 calls a day towards the last few months. Once a collection agency gets your acct, it gets worse. So, depending on your situation, if you file Pro Se like me, then you just have to deal with it as best as you can. But know ahead, that they WILL call and it won't be easy to deal with them unless you hire counsel.

I checked my mail regularly for any possible court actions. The creditor letters did get creative towards the end, even coming in festive post cards w/o company logos or anything, just a person's name and number and a message saying "very urgent you call me." The 800 number was usually one of my blocked numbers from a collection agency. And the lawyer letters were really scary with all kinds of threats but unless it had US/State Court (blah blah blah) on it, I didn't worry about it too much.

[Keebler]

If you want to tell them anything, I would recommend telling them little more than "I can't make a payment at this time but I'm aware of the problem and I'm working to correct the situation as soon as possible. I have your contact information and I'll be happy to contact you as soon as I have any new information."

They won't really like the answer and they'll press you for more details like "when will you make a payment?" and you'll need to stick to "I don't know but I'll be happy to call you at that time."

In the end they'll be grumpy you didn't cooperate and they'll frequently tell you "I'm marking this as a refusal to pay" and "collection calls will continue." But you've also given them a chance to do thier job and justify thier existance. In my experience they'll happily follow this pattern for months.

[16 Tons]

I just decided to move forward with a Chapter 7. I still have to make the rounds with the attorneys and decide which to use. However, from what I have learned from this forum (which is a Godsend) and other sources, I will have to wait as I have recent credit card use. I just was not sure what to tell them when they call.
Hopefully, I will have a lawyer on retainer soon and I will be able to refer all the calls to him/her. Thanks for the info

[Mi Bankruptcy]

16, Did you make some big purchases with your CC? I talked to my attorney that I plan on retaining next week and he said we might have to pay back what we purchased using our CC. However, our purchases were small so we said fine. I guess I am wondering if your delaying because of the CC purchases? Good Luck.

[BassBoy]

A clearer picture

16, Did you make some big purchases with your CC? I talked to my attorney that I plan on retaining next week and he said we might have to pay back what we purchased using our CC. However, our purchases were small so we said fine. I guess I am wondering if your delaying because of the CC purchases? Good Luck.

These were my thoughts exactly when I read 16's reply. It could really help us if you give more details about what you used the CC's for.

[16 Tons]

Use of CC

I have some cash advances and living expenses on one card up to yesterday and I have a 5k bal transfer on another from middle of May 08. Everything else is at least 6 months or more.

So I am assuming that the lawyers are going to tell me to age it past 90 days.

[BassBoy]

Cash Advances and/or balance transfers could be objected to if you were not able to wait out the aging period. What could happen then is; you would still have to pay these debts. Basically, these debts (the amount of cash advance and/or transfer) would be excluded from your BK and discharge.

[halloweendmb1]

Cash Advances and/or balance transfers could be objected to if you were not able to wait out the aging period. What could happen then is; you would still have to pay these debts. Basically, these debts (the amount of cash advance and/or transfer) would be excluded from your BK and discharge.

Did you have a cc objection? From what I have read they are rare not that we shouldn't plan for them, but that is my fear

[epiphany]

How late are you (if at all) in paying those bills? If you are current, or not very late, my answer would be to retain the attorney and then just tell them you are filing very soon. When they ask how soon, say ASAP. If they ask you again, repeat that.

I was pretty late but did not have any recent charges. I first learned that I had to talk to my creditors when they called only after several started calling work and relatives. I could not stomach that.

I found that when I called them back at first contact and told them of my BK, most of them went away. Some for good, some resurfaced a few months later after morphing themselves into a nasty insect like collection agency but I just told them the same thing all over again. And they pretty much went away too. And so on, and so on, and so on.

There were a few mishaps along the way and a few things I wish I had done differently, but my advice to you, if you are truly sure you will be filing soon, is to just tell them and give them the lawyer's info. You don't need to answer any other questions.

Good luck.

ep

[Brookamy]

I've just told CC that I'm in the process of retaining an attorney. Sometimes they will ask what chapter and the name and number of the attorney. Most have been very nice. One guy even said..."I'm sorry to hear that. Good luck to you in the future." The calls have all but stopped.

[BigJohn]

I don't talk to my creditors. One of my wife's friends answered the phone last week. The creditor asked for me and she said I was out looking for gold and might be back in a week or maybe in a month.

[treehugger1]

"...Out looking for gold..." ROFLMAO