Wow... Less than 60 Days past due on my Amex

[ansky0007]

Received a nasty call from a collections company demanding money for the $190k that I owed American Express. I am just about 60 days late and I am already in collections. Amex moves fast... Just last week I told Amex we were represented and we were planning on filing bankruptcy. I wonder if they already sold our debt to the company that called since they knew we were filing.

Guess this collection company rep must get paid commission because in one day they called me over 7 times and based on their phone number this company looks very aggressive and unprofessional. If they already sold us I wonder how much they sold us for?

http://whocalled.us/lookup/3145763852

Lawyer is sending them a letter and he said after they receive it if they harrass me futher he will take action. I hope it works because I dont want them calling my neighbors and family.

[allavdj]

AMEX likes to dump the past dues fast, you'll see lots of people here that can confirm that (myself included). They also have the worst collection agencies, they hounded me non-stop from 8am till 8pm every day, even Sundays, until they finally gave up and sold it off to a law firm that was even worse.

Fortunately I am judgment proof so they just spit, scream, and whine a lot...but at the end of they day I just ignore them. Thank goodness for being self employed and being able to live off cash


On a side note, I'm in a real quite lull right now, I went from about 14-15 calls a day to 1 a day (the most recent AMEX collector)...I guess all the cards have been sold off again and are going through the system, in the mean time I've enjoyed my week long vacation from the phone.

[ready2puke]

I just got thru counting all the phone calls for today..I got 15 and thats just my cell. Home was about 4 and work 1..All AX...

[syn]

Wow, they sure do move fast.

Ignoring them is the best deal. That's what I do!

[ansky0007]

I am getting around 20+ calls a day from various companies and I am in the process of switching telephone companies. There are VOIP providers that offer you white and black lists... I can put all of the numbers of my friends and family on the white list and the phone will only ring if the number is on my allowed list. All others can be sent to voice mail or sent a busy signal. This will make my phone soooo much quietier. I just need to choose between 2 companys and get the ball rolling.

[ready2puke]

I have my cell on vibrate when I hear or feel it,I just click on the magic button

And Whalaa heres gone lol

Wow, they sure do move fast.

Ignoring them is the best deal. That's what I do!

[syn]

And Whalaa heres gone lol

lol, I wish I could do the same but alas they are calling my dad's business. Thank god for caller id!

[ansky0007]

Here is what I have learned from my lawyer...

How may a debt collector contact you?

A collector may contact you in person, by mail, telephone, telegram, or fax. However, a debt collector may not contact you at inconvenient times or places, such as before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., unless you agree. A debt collector also may not contact you at work if the collector knows that your employer disapproves of such contacts.

Can you stop a debt collector from contacting you?

You can stop a debt collector from contacting you by writing a letter to the collector telling them to stop. Once the collector receives your letter, they may not contact you again except to say there will be no further contact or to notify you that the debt collector or the creditor intends to take some specific action. Please note, however, that sending such a letter to a collector does not make the debt go away if you actually owe it. You could still be sued by the debt collector or your original creditor.

May a debt collector contact anyone else about your debt?

If you have an attorney, the debt collector must contact the attorney, rather than you. If you do not have an attorney, a collector may contact other people, but only to find out where you live, what your phone number is, and where you work. Collectors usually are prohibited from contacting such third parties more than once. In most cases, the collector may not tell anyone other than you and your attorney that you owe money.

My lawyer is sending letters to anyone that contacts me so we will see if this helps.

[rockyroad]

Hmmm...I owe Amex $190k as well. It's been about 5 months and for awhile I received one call per week. Haven't heard from them in several weeks now and nothing whatsoever in the mail.
I did NOT disclose to them that I was filing though. Wonder if that's the difference?

[jktrading]

I decided to turn off my ringer and call screening, so I don't hear a thing at home in regards to the phone. I get some generic messages like, "hello, hello" then a hang up. About 10 calls a day now. Most are hangups without any messages whatsoever.

I already paid my lawyer for a chapter 7 and am waiting for his office to get all the stuff filled out and filed. I hope it doesn't take much longer. It's been 1 week now since payment in full. I realize how lawyers can be and hope I hired the right one.

Anyway, why give creditors a heads up as to what you are doing? They only want their money, nothing more. They will only use whatever you say against you. If you are claiming BK, there is no need to talk to these people that I can see. Whenever I hear that someone told whomever that they had an attorney, then they write the debt off to collections. That doesn't help your credit report for later days.

If you can help it, don't tell your creditors squat. When you file BK, they will be informed. Why tip them off a head of time so they can make plans, or quickly sell you off to a collector. Screw them, this is a game now, and strictly business.

Game plan, be as quiet as possible, and try to stay off the radar.

[ansky0007]

I decided to turn off my ringer and call screening, so I don't hear a thing at home in regards to the phone. I get some generic messages like, "hello, hello" then a hang up. About 10 calls a day now. Most are hangups without any messages whatsoever.

I already paid my lawyer for a chapter 7 and am waiting for his office to get all the stuff filled out and filed. I hope it doesn't take much longer. It's been 1 week now since payment in full. I realize how lawyers can be and hope I hired the right one.

Anyway, why give creditors a heads up as to what you are doing? They only want their money, nothing more. They will only use whatever you say against you. If you are claiming BK, there is no need to talk to these people that I can see. Whenever I hear that someone told whomever that they had an attorney, then they write the debt off to collections. That doesn't help your credit report for later days.

If you can help it, don't tell your creditors squat. When you file BK, they will be informed. Why tip them off a head of time so they can make plans, or quickly sell you off to a collector. Screw them, this is a game now, and strictly business.

Game plan, be as quiet as possible, and try to stay off the radar.

I had my reasons for informing them. Lawyer actually suggested it since I had some questionable recent debt since my total credit card debt was $330,000. I guess its easier dealing with a collection agency that might have bought my debt for pennies on the dollar than dealing with the creditor itself. Amex was calling every few days after I missed my pay in full payment of around $130,000, After I told them we were filing they immediately stopped calling and probably rushed to sell off my debt instead of risking getting nothing knowing BK was coming.

[ansky0007]

Funny.. Received one more call today from the collection company for my Amex debt.... They called to ask if we would pay $40k to settle our $190k debt. Thats $150k less in only 2 months past due. I again told them to only contact my lawyer. Looks like these companies are getting desperate. Even had the nerve to try to feel out if we were going to do a CH7 or CH13, And again I responsed he would need to contact my attorney for any information. Guess if they knew we were planning a CH7 they would resell my debt quickly.

[allavdj]

Companies now-a-days (I'm southern, I can make up such words) can dig up enough info on you that they can pretty much tell what you're going to do. Between credit reports, checking employment, whether you rent or own, how much your property is worth, etc...They probably have a pretty good idea what you are going to do which is why they tried to throw out a settlement.

[heyu]

When all is said and done thought, some of these companies do come across as good folks, my example is Bank of America, I wish I had the money to pay them but I did'nt. I was in around $40,000+ with them on three cards and they would have cleaned my slate for $6,000+ and their reps did'nt give me a hard time when they called, when I explained that I had no recourse but to do a bankruptcy because of my circumstances I was wished a good future.