CitiFinancial & Collections

Does anyone have experience with CitiFinancial's collection process? About two weeks ago I received a letter via UPS (but not certified and no signature required) advising me to contact them in 3 days to set up payment arrangements or they were going to refer my account to their attorney or a magistrate.

It's past the three days and nothing except voluminous phone calls (about 8-10 per day) from the local branch where I got the loan.

Do you think the letter was a scare tactic or do you think they are in the process of starting suit? I know you can't speak for them but curious if anyone else has dealt with them? I sent them a very small payment in september (10 bucks) but at least it was something. Any thoughts?

Also being they have a local branch I'm wondering if they will show at the 341 (not sch yet - not filed yet)??? Thanks for your time...

Does anyone have experience with CitiFinancial's collection process? About two weeks ago I received a letter via UPS (but not certified and no signature required) advising me to contact them in 3 days to set up payment arrangements or they were going to refer my account to their attorney or a magistrate.

It's past the three days and nothing except voluminous phone calls (about 8-10 per day) from the local branch where I got the loan.

Do you think the letter was a scare tactic or do you think they are in the process of starting suit? I know you can't speak for them but curious if anyone else has dealt with them? I sent them a very small payment in september (10 bucks) but at least it was something. Any thoughts?

Also being they have a local branch I'm wondering if they will show at the 341 (not sch yet - not filed yet)??? Thanks for your time...

This is just a scare tactic. You know you are filing for bankruptcy. Don't let them upset you. :) Usually CU's are the only banks that somewhat regularly show up at 341's

These ppl are vicious animals. I have not answeed one call of theirs!!

Do ppl realize that citifinancial reports the TOTAL amount of your loan (principal and interest) to the credit reporting agencies?? Which in turn affects your whole income to debt ratio. Can you imagine if all of our loans did that especially our mortgage??? We would not quality for add'l credit!

My statements and credit reports show I owe citifinancial over 14k when the actual loan amount was 7800k. And this is legal to do!! Byebye citifinancial...now my credit report can show IIB next to their name and loan amount:tongue:

thanks for reading my rant...:)

Do you think the letter was a scare tactic or do you think they are in the process of starting suit? I know you can't speak for them but curious if anyone else has dealt with them? I sent them a very small payment in september (10 bucks) but at least it was something. Any thoughts?While it is posturing and a scare tactic, they more often than not... actually refer to an outside attorney.

Also being they have a local branch I'm wondering if they will show at the 341 (not sch yet - not filed yet)??? Thanks for your time...They never showed up at mine. I don't think they're into that sort of thing anyhow. They know they will get nothing, so why even waste time attending a 341 Meeting. Credit Unions usually show up because they are local and it's usually a car that they are interested in.

They got $10.00 from you in September; that means they can get more.

They got $10.00 from you in September; that means they can get more.

I should clarify...they got ten bucks in sept before i retained my attorney. I was current on all loans up to that point. Since retaining counsel I have paid no one nor answered any phonecalls.

And to justbroke thanks...luckily my CU loans are unsecured and my car and home are financed thru other lenders. Of course they may still come to the 341...we shall see

Does CitiFi still have a branch office in your town/county?

I say this because I noticed here since citif shut down their local branch, my alleged accounts are now in some unregistered CA's hands 3000 miles away. I did notice that the branch over in thenext county is filing small claims suits against debtors in my district. Small claims here caps out at $7500. Above that amount, the circuit court is involved and the costs begin to climb. This includes the risk of the defendant filing an answer and pushing everything into mandatory arbitration; some real costs involved in this. I don't think I have seen any suits above the small claims limit. It is also interesting that citif loaned unsecured money right at or below the small claims limit. Coincidence?

It is possible that should they have local branch in your area that they will follow through with a suit. Why they didn't do this on my alleged account is beyond me. Instead, after I got a few special deliveries, the account went to a CA. I am a very hih risk and I did attempt to work with them on a great plan until things got out of hand for me financially.

Does CitiFi still have a branch office in your town/county?

I say this because I noticed here since citif shut down their local branch, my alleged accounts are now in some unregistered CA's hands 3000 miles away. I did notice that the branch over in thenext county is filing small claims suits against debtors in my district. Small claims here caps out at $7500. Above that amount, the circuit court is involved and the costs begin to climb. This includes the risk of the defendant filing an answer and pushing everything into mandatory arbitration; some real costs involved in this. I don't think I have seen any suits above the small claims limit. It is also interesting that citif loaned unsecured money right at or below the small claims limit. Coincidence?

It is possible that should they have local branch in your area that they will follow through with a suit. Why they didn't do this on my alleged account is beyond me. Instead, after I got a few special deliveries, the account went to a CA. I am a very hih risk and I did attempt to work with them on a great plan until things got out of hand for me financially.

I don't think citifinancial is any more likely to sue than any other creditor. IF you have a large, garnishable salary (like in your case) then pretty much all of your creditors will eventually sue.

And to justbroke thanks...luckily my CU loans are unsecured and my car and home are financed thru other lenders. Of course they may still come to the 341...we shall see

If you have any money in a saving or checking account at that CU, clear it out.

If you have any money in a saving or checking account at that CU, clear it out. I have all of 5 bucks in a savings account. They can have it. No checking/money market/car loans/HELOC or anything but unsecured (2) loans.

Does CitiFi still have a branch office in your town/county? YES they do!

I say this because I noticed here since citif shut down their local branch, my alleged accounts are now in some unregistered CA's hands 3000 miles away. I did notice that the branch over in thenext county is filing small claims suits against debtors in my district. Small claims here caps out at $7500. Above that amount, the circuit court is involved and the costs begin to climb. This includes the risk of the defendant filing an answer and pushing everything into mandatory arbitration; some real costs involved in this. I don't think I have seen any suits above the small claims limit. It is also interesting that citif loaned unsecured money right at or below the small claims limit. Coincidence? Interestingly, during our consult, my attorney asked if any of my CC or unsecured personal were over 10K and he mentioned about being sued in some other court (don't remember); didn't pay too much attention because none of my loans are 10K or above...all under

Thanks for the replies. These ppl are difficult. And, like I stated below, they report the entire amount of your loan (principal and interest) to the credit reporting agencies. I have never had a creditor do that before CitiFinancial!

What type of loan is this? How much is it?

I have all of 5 bucks in a savings account. They can have it. No checking/money market/car loans/HELOC or anything but unsecured (2) loans


Careful there. If that Five Dollar account has the ability to be overdrawn, they can and may legally do so to the highest limit.

Then you have, potentially, larger problems.

I would hazzard a guess that the $5.00 in the CU savings is the "membership fee" and is not available for any type of action against it. I wouldn't worry about it. You can check with your CU.

What type of loan is this? How much is it? it's an unsecured personal loan owing about 7800.

I would hazzard a guess that the $5.00 in the CU savings is the "membership fee" and is not available for any type of action against it. I wouldn't worry about it. You can check with your CU. yes it is my membership fee that is required to remain. I can't w/d 5 bucks from an ATM and my CU is about an hour drive from me (no local branch).

I have all of 5 bucks in a savings account. They can have it. No checking/money market/car loans/HELOC or anything but unsecured (2) loans


Careful there. If that Five Dollar account has the ability to be overdrawn, they can and may legally do so to the highest limit.

Then you have, potentially, larger problems.

Not if it was the obligatory 5 dollars "membership fee" that they require for their customers. The CU where we have our second mortgage never touched the 5 dollars we had in the checking account we were required to open in order to get the HELOC when I filed. It was explained to me by the bankruptcy department that if the money in the account was the opening deposit, they can't take it. No exceptions.

Not if it was the obligatory 5 dollars "membership fee" that they require for their customers. The CU where we have our second mortgage never touched the 5 dollars we had in the checking account we were required to open in order to get the HELOC when I filed. It was explained to me by the bankruptcy department that if the money in the account was the opening deposit, they can't take it. No exceptions.

Thanks for the info and my 5 bucks is in a savings...doubt that part matters...it is still an open account.

On another note I just got another call from CitiFinancial demanding full payment by tomorrow!!! That was the message left on my VM. Of course the caller didn't state what consequences would follow tomorrow's nonpayment. I'm curious what will happen next. Possibly a lawsuit?

heres my experience with Citifinacial after three months of nonpayment.. received a a letter from a local law firm indicating that they were considering filing suit against me on behalf of Citifinancial and that I should contact them ASAP to discuss payment. The following month I received notice that a suit was filed against me.. I had to file an answer with the court in regards to the suit.. I filed CH13 a week before my case was scheduled to court... I would take Citifinancial's threats seriously...

I would take Citifinancial's threats seriously...Exactly my experience. They don't play! Lucky for me, they filed the complaint with my name totally butchered. It was never served.

[QUOTE=ace13;343391]it's an unsecured personal loan owing about 7800.

I have noticed that these unsecured personal loans seem more apt to be acted upon by the creditor, but that's just me. My wife had $8,000 due to B of A on a credit card and we heard nothing, she had a personal loan with HFC/HSBC with $2,000 outstanding and they filed suit and got a judgement.

I have noticed that these unsecured personal loans seem more apt to be acted upon by the creditor, but that's just me. My wife had $8,000 due to B of A on a credit card and we heard nothing, she had a personal loan with HFC/HSBC with $2,000 outstanding and they filed suit and got a judgement.The reason is that those "unsecured personal loans" are called installment loans. You (usually) pledge property for them! HFC and Citifinancial are notorious for having you pledge household goods or other property as collateral for those loans. Most people don't notice, but when they ask if you have a couple of TVs or a computer at home, they put that on your loan as collateral!

The other part of getting loans from Citifinancial, HFC, Beneficial and the like, is that they maintain local offices for the express purpose of payment collection. Nothing like having local offices scattered everywhere! Much different than the centralized lending model of a national bank.

It was completely unsecured...

It was completely unsecured...They don't care anyhow. :) They are local, they like to bother people. That's their model. It's still an installment loan. All creditors with installment loans are more aggressive in collection activity than regular creditors on open-ended credit lines. Legal loan shark companies, like Citifinancial, Beneficial, HFC, and even the Pay-Day loan companies, thrive on collection tactics that make the mob do a double-take.

That has been my experience...it is also what I noticed on the local court docket

Thanks for everyone's input. I guess I can expect a lawsuit shortly. Just hope court is delayed until late December or January because my BK petion should be filed at that time. With the holidays approaching the courts will be swamped for the next two months...I hope

Don't know about other areas, but here in Tampa Florida, it took a year for one creditor to obtain a judgment. We are approaching three years, total, since nonpayment, and things are only starting to get serious now. We plan to file in Dec or Jan, and should still be okay. Next hearing is scheduled Dec 14, so we are hoping to beat that date.

You probably are okay, if you intend to file by end of year or shortly thereafter.

We have a mortgage with CitiFinancial and they were aggressive with letters and phone calls when we quit paying on the mortgage. Had to pay or else so we told them or else which led to more letters and phone calls. Finally they showed up at the house to take pictures as they were going to foreclose. I told them, politely, to go ahead and snap away. She asked me what I was going to do and I told her that she would have to speak to my atty. She told me that I HAD to pay $500 by 5PM or else. I told her she would have to speak to my atty. For each question asked I responded with "speak to my atty". She finally stormed off saying she was going to enjoy foreclosing on this house so I didn't give my usual response and informed her she was to take her pictures and beat it. Guess who's smiling now? :D

i had a Citifinancial CC for a local mattress retailer and when I stopped paying Citi just called my work phone daily, I never spoke to them .I stopped paying over 6 months ago. I just got a letter from a CA last week.

Interestingly I have not rec'd one call from citifinancial today. All calls stopped. I guess I will keep checking the local court site to see if they file something. Something is up with these loan sharks. You don't go from 8 to 10 calls a day to not one!!!

I don't want to burst your bubble, but it does happen. Yesterday our phone was pretty quiet. We figured most of them got the notice we filed BK last week. Today they are back at it :( The phone has been ringing non stop. Crap One has called several times for DH and I told them we filed but they couldn't take the info from me. Now I bet if I offered to pay the account in full, they would be more than willing to take my $$$.

I don't want to burst your bubble, but it does happen. Yesterday our phone was pretty quiet. We figured most of them got the notice we filed BK last week. Today they are back at it :( The phone has been ringing non stop. Crap One has called several times for DH and I told them we filed but they couldn't take the info from me. Now I bet if I offered to pay the account in full, they would be more than willing to take my $$$.

Well at 316 pm I got a call and vm from citifinancial again demanding that I call them as this I serious or they are filing judgment wig district justice x in my town. I have a call into my attorney to see if I should call back to let them know we would be filing chap 7 in the coming weeks. I was hoping to make it a while longer before they filed. I haven't spoken to any creditors but now may be time. I know some ppl thought I'd be safe til December or January when I wanted to file but don't know about that now. The hardest part for me right now is waiting for my attorney to respond.

It isn't uncommon for the first day or two of the month for the calls to slow down.

Well at 316 pm I got a call and vm from citifinancial again demanding that I call them as this I serious or they are filing judgment wig district justice x in my town. I have a call into my attorney to see if I should call back to let them know we would be filing chap 7 in the coming weeks. I was hoping to make it a while longer before they filed. I haven't spoken to any creditors but now may be time. I know some ppl thought I'd be safe til December or January when I wanted to file but don't know about that now. The hardest part for me right now is waiting for my attorney to respond.

If they are threatening to sue you that means they haven't. You're safe until December easy.

If they are threatening to sue you that means they haven't. You're safe until December easy.

My attorney got back to me and advised that I call citifinancial back and tell them I have retained attorney x and we will be filing for chapter7 in 30 days or so...so I called them and the branch manager was all cocky and said "well then why hasn't your attorney sent us anything?". I replied with "as I stated, we WILL be filing for chap 7 in 30 days. We haven't filed YET." He said in a very disappointed voice..."alright." and then asked for my attorney's number which I provided and hung up. I guess we shall see if they go thru with the judgment in light of that conversation. I'm posting this update for anyone out there that may be new and scared about those collection calls and letters. Keep in mind I was current on everything until September 2009. These ppl are aggressive considering I'm only a few months behind unlike others that have gone deliquent much longer. Good luck to us all...

I got one of these MONTHS AGO. They haven't even done anything or put a freeze on my bank account (that I have with citi) I also haven't gotten any other paperwork about this debt since..

Don't worry, you have time...