MBNA judgement...HELP

I signed up with a debt management company who promised I would be able to negotiate my CC debt with MBNA. Well, this company was payed $1800.00 and MBNA hasn't negotiated. I have a $3200 debt which now has a judgement, and a $9500 that has climbed to $18000 with the MBNA penalties and fees. I'm so upset, feeling that this company is not helping with anything! I can't even tell my wife because she's been so supportive of me. I'm even thinking of doing a Quick claim deed to take my name off the house because I'm afraid MBNA might do something. I don't have any bank accounts in my name because of my business, which is why I ended up in this mess. I want to stop the calls and negotiate something, but I can only afford $200 - $300 a month. Is it too late? Any advice?

I signed up with a debt management company who promised I would be able to negotiate my CC debt with MBNA. Well, this company was payed $1800.00 and MBNA hasn't negotiated. I have a $3200 debt which now has a judgement, and a $9500 that has climbed to $18000 with the MBNA penalties and fees. I'm so upset, feeling that this company is not helping with anything! I can't even tell my wife because she's been so supportive of me. I'm even thinking of doing a Quick claim deed to take my name off the house because I'm afraid MBNA might do something. I don't have any bank accounts in my name because of my business, which is why I ended up in this mess. I want to stop the calls and negotiate something, but I can only afford $200 - $300 a month. Is it too late? Any advice?


OK, first things first...(Pardon the all caps)

1. CONFESS EVERYTHING TO WIFE. SHE'S IN THIS ALMOST AS MUCH AS YOU ARE. :angel:

2. GET A LAWYER. SCREW THE "DEBT MANAGEMENT COMPANY" They have obviously shafted you to a bad point. You can get after them later. :aggress:

3. The lawyer should be able to guide you through this. :angel:

4. Up to a point stay available to MBNA (Until the lawyer tells you to have them call them) :yahoo:

5. Keep coming back and keep us informed... :angel:

Anyone else?

(I am NOT a lawyer, but this is what I would do if I was you)

Thanks for the reply. The credit cards fortunately, are only in my name, so my wife isn't in it. What I need to know is 1) Should I contact MBNA lawyers and try to set up payments for the $3200 judgement 2) Can I take my name off deed just in case, or is it too late, and if it is too late, what can they do regarding my house? 3) How do I negotiate the $18000 with them. It's originally $9500, and I received a summons that they are going for a judgement 11/10/05. I can't believe this is happening...

Thanks for the reply. The credit cards fortunately, are only in my name, so my wife isn't in it. What I need to know is 1) Should I contact MBNA lawyers and try to set up payments for the $3200 judgement 2) Can I take my name off deed just in case, or is it too late, and if it is too late, what can they do regarding my house? 3) How do I negotiate the $18000 with them. It's originally $9500, and I received a summons that they are going for a judgement 11/10/05. I can't believe this is happening...


OK, I hate to tell you something, but in regards to the judgement and even if she's not on them(the credit cards) her name is on the house, which they may put a lein against. Therefore, yes, she's "In this too" after all, if they do put a lein on it, she'll find out soon.

1. No, talk to a lawyer, they'll know better "avenues" of reactions and the legal ramifications of them.

2. There "May" be a law about hiding assets (I know it's illegal in BK, and the creditors employ people to track assets that may be "Hidden")

and to take you name off the deed, may need her signature, which would lead her to ask why.

2A. They can put a lein against it, thus both of you may be "In the soup"

3. See number 1.

OK, Like I said SEE A LAWYER is about the best advice I can give. After all, if you get "Free Advice", you get what you pay for :) And of course, I'm no lawyer. :blush2:

pvpjohn - I am so sorry you are in such a mess. The debt management company - even the name is a joke - apparently took you for a ride. I know it is hindsight but I never believed in any of them primarily because they rarely do what they claim they can. I work for the BBB in Tennessee and we have received a lot of complaints on these types of companies. If I was even considering signing on with one(and I am not) I would call my creditors first and see if they would work with the company. These kinds of companies have been around for years so the creditors pretty much know who they want to do business with. What excuse has the dm company given you for taking your money and doing nothing? I certainly would demand my $ from them. I would also contact a lawyer. A friend of mine got involved in a similar situation with Discover card and they took her to court. Admittedly, she procrastinated and may have been able to avoid the court situation but they didnt and Discover won the case but the judge refused to allow them to tack on the zillions of dollars in interest. In their case it would have even transferred their case to a different court from small claims based on the exorbitant interest charges so I guess they won that part. My husband and I had a MBNA account about 5 years ago which we eventually paid off thank goodness because they can be as unbending as Discover. My friend hired an attorney for her case with Discover and I believed it helped her case. Lastly, dont keep things from your spouse - she is in this with you whether her name is on the house or card or whatever or not. It wont be pleasant and I applaud you for trying to shield her but it is what it is and you need each other now.

Thanks for the replies again. I spoke to the "Debt Advisor" yesterday and explained how upset I am that this thing has progressed as far as it has. I mentioned involving a lawyer and a manager got on the phone apologizing. He advised me that they want me to appear in court for the judgement hearing to contest the $18000. He said to tell the court that the amount owed was $9500 and that MBNA slammed me with fees, etc. "The judge will reduce it and let you make re-payment arrangements" he said. Is this true? I'm terrified of appearing and getting verbally assassinated by the MBNA lawyers. This whole thing started when I partnered with 2 other people in a business venture that went south. I guaranteed the cards, so I'm stuck. This morning, an MBNA rep left a voice-mail on my business phone asking about my employment. I'm a S-corp and not listed as an employee. Do I need to call them back? Thanks for any help!

I was in the same mess as you are in with a debt reduction company. I paid over 1750 dollars for nothing but 2 lawsuits which were ready for court. I should of filed Bk over a year ago and decided to give CSA a try. WHAT a mistake!! I never reported them to the Attorney General or BBB, I really should do that ASP.

I feel for you too, I too kept the debt a secret from my spouse, secrets hurt the other spouse. My spouse found out my debt because he was at home answering the phone from collections. She will find out and I KNOW it is better if she hears it from you!!!!!!! Please tell her it is great feeling to have the secret come out instead of keeping it hidden. From experience, keeping these types of secrets are not good for your mental health.

YOU and your wife need to go to an attorny and ask for advice, STOP paying that debt consolidation/reduction compay because they are a rip off!!!

Good Luck to you, do not be ashamed every one makes mistakes. Just learn from it and move on with your life. Keep us posted.

You really should tell your wife.
It really would be much worse if she found out the "hard" way.
It'd be much better coming from you.

I too tried to go through a Credit Councelor!
I will be going to court tomorrow and then again on the 10th.
I will go unrepresented...I can't afford a lawyer...but I have every bit of paper work I received from the DM and I will make sure the judge knows that I did try to make things right with these companies until the FTC shut the DM down. I'm hoping to get the settlement amount lowered. They want $7,200 for a $3200 credit card! All of the charges were added while I was till paying the DM monthly payments. I did get some money back from the DM...but not enough to help me!

I hope things work out for you and I know you won't regret telling your wife.
The burden you're carrying is MUCH worse than what you would feel if your wife found out about this before you tell her.

:)

Definitely tell your wife.

My wife and I had over $140,000 in credit card debt that we filed on back in May 05. She knew we had bills, but did not know the extent of it, because I was 'in charge' of our finances.

There were several occasions over the past few years where I almost came clean, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead of being honest, I played the game where I used one card to pay off another, etc. My dishonesty with my wife caused our debt to balloon.

Now, eventually things caught up with me, and there was no way I could hide it any more. To my surprise, she took it in stride and suggested we go to credit counseling. She even felt bad that I was dealing with this all myself. Certainly, she can spend money like no tomorrow, but I know that she had been fully aware of our situation she would have curtailed her spending.

Now, I know your situation is different, but I would definitely suggest full disclosure here.

In your favor, it's not like your debt has ballooned due to gambling of any addiction of any sort. Sounds like you sought help to pay your debt, but got screwed over by the company.

Good luck!