Do they have to?

[rykk2000]

On Tuesday of this week and today my parents received a call from a collection agency. The agency asked for me by name, however, my father and I have the same first and last name. On Tuesday, my mom answered the phone and stated, "Well I am his wife." The person on the phone who did not identify herself, stated the were calling to collect "X" dollar amount from "Joe Smith". Immediately my mom cut the lady off stating that her and my dad do not owe anybody anything. At this point the collector confirmed the address, only to find out they had the wrong person. My mom stated, "No that is my son." The lady then would not tell my mom her name or her company. The lady then hung up. Now here we come to today. Same agency calls my parents and my mom answers again. This time the collector asks for "Joe Smith". Again my mom says,"He is not here but I am his wife." She then told my mom, all of the details about the collection. She told the amount again, the CC company, and her name and the agency she was from. Isn't there anything I can do about this?

[optimistic1]

Sure, you can figure out which collection agency that it is, and then send them a cease and desist letter wrapped up in a big bow. The calls will cease, but litigation will not.

[rykk2000]

Sure, you can figure out which collection agency that it is, and then send them a cease and desist letter wrapped up in a big bow. The calls will cease, but litigation will not.

Oh believe me the letter is on it's way. I am actually working with a debt settlement company right now, however, I am meeting with a 3rd BK attorney next Weds. I guess i forgot to mention that I do not live with my parents and have not lived there in over 10 years. Can that tell them that information though?

[optimistic1]

You need to decide, BK, or debt settlement. I would not work with one of those "companies". There are attorneys who will help you settle your debt too. And often, the settling process can be done very easily without the help of a company.

[rykk2000]

You need to decide, BK, or debt settlement. I would not work with one of those "companies". There are attorneys who will help you settle your debt too. And often, the settling process can be done very easily without the help of a company.

I completely agree. I actually decided to use a debt settlement company because I really did not know of any other potential solutions and I really needed some relief. I have been sued by one CC already and have a wage garnishment now. I am definitely still not all that sure about the Mean's Test but I think BK is my best option regardless if it is 7 or 13.

[rykk2000]

Well if you have a wage garnishment in place now, you really don't have a lot of worries. I mean why bother trying to settle your debts and pay someone else a fee or percentage when no one else can get any more money out of you until your current garnishment ends. As long as you can live with the wage garnishment you have plenty of time to deal with working out a solution.

I am lost as to the relief you claim you need that a debt settlement company can give you.

My upcoming pay check is going to be the first one that contains an actual garnishment. With it being 20% of my check, it is definitely going to hurt me even more financially. I am seeing another BK attorney this Weds so I hope I get better answers then what I have received from the "chain" attorney's. What I am wondering though, does a wage garnishment getting applied on the means test? This is one of the confusing areas of that test; not sure if this would be a court ordered payment/deduction.

As far as relief goes, it was really from the perspective that I had "someone" there helping me... so I thought. They definitely paint a very pretty picture for you and it seemed like it would be a good way to stop the financial bleeding plus I would be done within 3 years. At the time I was getting desperate too. It got to the point where I could not sleep, I had incredible amounts of anxiety, couldn't eat, and generally felt like garbage. Well now all those feelings are back and even worse. My fear is that I may get stuck doing a chapter 13, which I really don't mind but... I am really at the point that is is becoming just harmful to my health. Honestly, it is not like I don't want to pay my bills, heck I am the one who created them, but I just need to wipe them out completely and have a fresh start. I know the damage it will do to my credit, but honestly it can't be much worse then what the settlement program has done to it. I don't really care if I can't get a credit card for 2+ years, I do not even want any. As long as I can pay my mortgage, have food to eat, put gas in my car, move on with my life and live a happy life on top of it all then I say forget credit cards!

I really wish I would have discovered this forum prior to my "this is the best option" idea.

[LuciluS]

My upcoming pay check is going to be the first one that contains an actual garnishment. With it being 20% of my check, it is definitely going to hurt me even more financially. I am seeing another BK attorney this Weds so I hope I get better answers then what I have received from the "chain" attorney's. What I am wondering though, does a wage garnishment getting applied on the means test? This is one of the confusing areas of that test; not sure if this would be a court ordered payment/deduction.

As far as relief goes, it was really from the perspective that I had "someone" there helping me... so I thought. They definitely paint a very pretty picture for you and it seemed like it would be a good way to stop the financial bleeding plus I would be done within 3 years. At the time I was getting desperate too. It got to the point where I could not sleep, I had incredible amounts of anxiety, couldn't eat, and generally felt like garbage. Well now all those feelings are back and even worse. My fear is that I may get stuck doing a chapter 13, which I really don't mind but... I am really at the point that is is becoming just harmful to my health. Honestly, it is not like I don't want to pay my bills, heck I am the one who created them, but I just need to wipe them out completely and have a fresh start. I know the damage it will do to my credit, but honestly it can't be much worse then what the settlement program has done to it. I don't really care if I can't get a credit card for 2+ years, I do not even want any. As long as I can pay my mortgage, have food to eat, put gas in my car, move on with my life and live a happy life on top of it all then I say forget credit cards!

I really wish I would have discovered this forum prior to my "this is the best option" idea.

Ask this next Attorney if you can quit paying the Debt Settlement Company. I was luck as I attempted to do a debt settlement with CCS in Sept. 08. They were kind enough to tell us we needed to see a Bankruptcy Attorney. A we had just moved recently, I didn't know any Attornies. I was able to squeeze the 1st 2 letters of our Attorney's last name from the debt settlement place.

I know how you feel about your health failing. I'm 100% disabled & after meeting with the Bankruptcy Attorney, I cried for days. Then, hubby found this forum one day and I've spent hours on hours reading posts and using the Search button. Hubby says I know more about a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy than a lot of Attornies. I used to be an Accountant before a car wreck in 3/05. So I'm very detailed oriented. I will have receipts for every purchase from
Oct. 08 - Aug. 08 except for DH's OTR Truck Driving Expenses. It took me until January to Finally get him to ask for Receipts and if he stops at a rest area & gets a coke & chips from a Vending Machine, I've asked him to write down where he was, date, time, products purchased and amount.

Hae you thought about a visit to your family doctor and seeing about getting an Anti-Depressant or Anxiety medication? I tried the Anti-D route, but because I'm on morphine 3 x a day & Ultram for breakthrough pain, Anti-D's could cause seizures. My GP didn't tell me that. My pharmacist did & then I came home and researched them on the Internet. Now my GP is mad at me & refused to give me my Ambien, so my Pain Management Doctor writes the script for it.

We are waiting for some income to drop off for Feb. and we will be filing a Chapter 7 in 9/09 based on our income for 10/08-3/09. If you pass the Income portion of your State's Median Income for a Chapter 7, then, surely you can come up with enough expenses to have a negative or a plus $100 DMI..No??

There are a lot of posts on this forum stating some expenses you might no think of (i.e., pet supplies, haircuts, oil changes & maintenance on your car, etc.).

Just some thoughts & Sending Mighty Prayers and Good Thoughts Your Way.

Luci

[rykk2000]

Ask this next Attorney if you can quit paying the Debt Settlement Company. I was luck as I attempted to do a debt settlement with CCS in Sept. 08. They were kind enough to tell us we needed to see a Bankruptcy Attorney. A we had just moved recently, I didn't know any Attornies. I was able to squeeze the 1st 2 letters of our Attorney's last name from the debt settlement place.

I know how you feel about your health failing. I'm 100% disabled & after meeting with the Bankruptcy Attorney, I cried for days. Then, hubby found this forum one day and I've spent hours on hours reading posts and using the Search button. Hubby says I know more about a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy than a lot of Attornies. I used to be an Accountant before a car wreck in 3/05. So I'm very detailed oriented. I will have receipts for every purchase from
Oct. 08 - Aug. 08 except for DH's OTR Truck Driving Expenses. It took me until January to Finally get him to ask for Receipts and if he stops at a rest area & gets a coke & chips from a Vending Machine, I've asked him to write down where he was, date, time, products purchased and amount.

Hae you thought about a visit to your family doctor and seeing about getting an Anti-Depressant or Anxiety medication? I tried the Anti-D route, but because I'm on morphine 3 x a day & Ultram for breakthrough pain, Anti-D's could cause seizures. My GP didn't tell me that. My pharmacist did & then I came home and researched them on the Internet. Now my GP is mad at me & refused to give me my Ambien, so my Pain Management Doctor writes the script for it.

We are waiting for some income to drop off for Feb. and we will be filing a Chapter 7 in 9/09 based on our income for 10/08-3/09. If you pass the Income portion of your State's Median Income for a Chapter 7, then, surely you can come up with enough expenses to have a negative or a plus $100 DMI..No??

There are a lot of posts on this forum stating some expenses you might no think of (i.e., pet supplies, haircuts, oil changes & maintenance on your car, etc.).

Just some thoughts & Sending Mighty Prayers and Good Thoughts Your Way.

Luci

Luci,
I really appreciate your input and I am sorry to hear about your situation. My single income is nearly 30k above my state's limit, so I definitely need to utilize the deductions. When I fill out the Means Test on the sites I have seen suggested here, I get extremely confused and probably just start over-thinking it. You know, I have a mortgage, I paid my car off with a 401k loan, I got all the CC bills kinda... because of the debt settlement company. I have utility bills, home & car maintenance, dogs and so on. So with you holding out to wait for your income to drop off, are you still able direct the collectors to your attorney even though you have not filed yet?

Again, thank you for your kind words. I too have spent many days and nights browsing this site and have gathered a ton of information.