I could puke

[Sickofthe13]

We filed in Feb 2005 and was confirmed in April 2005 for a partial plan of only 5%. Over the summer we wanted to get a car and the trustee saw we made alot more money than we did 2 yrs before and he increased our payment from $210-$410/month. I just got my statement thinking that we will be paid off sooner. NOPE.
It says we are now at 19% and there was $6000 added onto our balance. (it didnt say it was added, the total balance left to the payoff was increased. The numbers of all the debt did not change at all.
Has this ever happened? I am sick of this payment and I want my freedom back.

[HHM]

That situation is par for the course actually and probably should not have come as a surprise.

Sorry that this happened to you, but there is nothing unusual about it and is quite common.

[helpless]

Did you get approval from the trustee to purchase a car and if so, did you have to give them tax returns? I don't want any involvement with the trustee, I am hoping we can band aid our cars until we are done in July.

[helpless]

What state are you in?

[Sickofthe13]

I am in NYS

I didnt know they can add after the confirmation. I was really planning on having this done and over with, now it says we have 22 more stinkin months.
We never went thru the approval process for the car. Our attorney didnt call us back for 3 weeks and we got a letter from the trustee for a dismissal due to lack of response. (my husband contacted the trustee first instead of the attorney since he didnt call back. That was a $6000 mistake)
UGH!!

[wayne-o]

the best thing to do during your 13 is to stay under the radar. I understand that things come up, but its better to wait to after discharge to buy a car. not just that we "wanted one" if you needed it..thats a different story

[chpxiii]

the best thing to do during your 13 is to stay under the radar. I understand that things come up, but its better to wait to after discharge to buy a car. not just that we "wanted one" if you needed it..thats a different story

Yeah, and even if you need one, try and buy it with cash.

I have to admit that I'm nervous too. Even though I have been discharged (I think, I haven't even gotten my discharge papers), I'm worried the trustee will want to see my tax return and see I made considerably more money.

However, there's a part of me that's telling me not to worry because he's seen my tax returns (I think) in the last several years and seen the increase in my income and hasn't said or done anything.

[Sickofthe13]

how did you get an early payoff? April is our 36 month mark.

[$$only4ever]

I feel for you. Unfortunately, you are at the trustee's mercy when you are in a Chapter 13. I don't think that there is anyone on this forum who is in a BK 13 who doesn't hate it. I just keep telling myself that this is not a life sentence and it won't last forever. Alao, I just keep telling myself that with each payment I am one step closer to freedom. I don't know if any of this will help for you, but sometimes it is enough to get me through the day. Hang in there. It is challenging and sometimes very frustrating, but all of us who are in the 13 Club can make it.

[southerncomfort]

[QUOTE=chpxiii;132243]Yeah, and even if you need one, try and buy it with cash.

I have to admit that I'm nervous too. Even though I have been discharged (I think, I haven't even gotten my discharge papers), I'm worried the trustee will want to see my tax return and see I made considerably more money.

However, there's a part of me that's telling me not to worry because he's seen my tax returns (I think) in the last several years and seen the increase in my income and hasn't said or done anything.[/QUOTE]

*********************************
Sorry, I somehow messed up the quoting!!

I feel exactly the same and have told myself the exact same thing--they received notice of our pay increases via our tax returns. Nine more payments- - nine more payments- - PLEASE let me stay under the radar!!!

[MajorMike]

I feel for you. Unfortunately, you are at the trustee's mercy when you are in a Chapter 13. I don't think that there is anyone on this forum who is in a BK 13 who doesn't hate it. I just keep telling myself that this is not a life sentence and it won't last forever. Alao, I just keep telling myself that with each payment I am one step closer to freedom. I don't know if any of this will help for you, but sometimes it is enough to get me through the day. Hang in there. It is challenging and sometimes very frustrating, but all of us who are in the 13 Club can make it.

We don't hate it "yet". It's so much easier to make this one payment of $825 then stress with almost 3K each month!
This includes the car!! Our car payment was 650 anyway!
I love BK13 right now!

[rrockinggramma]

I did too in the beginning. No creditors calling, no worries about my car being gone when I woke up. But now that I am close to the end, I am so ready to move on in my life. The last few months are like losing those last 10 lbs. SLLLOOOWWWWWWWW

[cso5@]

the best thing to do during your 13 is to stay under the radar.

Exactly what has happened to you, Sick, is my biggest fear.

I have "needed" a car, and thought about the financing route....went so far as to get approved from some high interest rate ripoff finance company. But then the fear of the trustee scruntizing any change in income (it's not a lot, but what if it was enough to say, ok, now you pay more??) and deciding to up my plan was enough to send me back from that idea. That and the loathesome idea of having a car payment again.

I am (almost) now the proud owner of a 20ish year old car, bought and paid for with cash, to be picked up next week. It was less than $1K, so the lawyer says we don't need to check in with anyone.

I pray it lasts me for a few years anyway -- I hope to find a bumper sticker somewhere that says, Don't laugh, it's paid for -- remember those?? Then once this bankruptcy is behind me, I could get something newer, something a little better. But not a lease, and not new....and not financed completely, no money down, which was my preferred method of buying cars in the past. I am really trying to use this time to learn how not to be "broke people".

[sinkorswim]

rrockinggramma put it perfectly; it's totally as if we are trying desperately to lose the last ten lbs in a diet.

Initially you are definitely relived to have a lot of stress lifted but, at least for me and my husband, the last few months have been the most painful. We made our last payment on a "36" month plan and hit our plan base in November. I put "36" in quotes because it's now turned into 38 months; we expected to at least have our payments stopped by this month, but still nothing. I realize that we will eventually, hopefully, get the money back that's still being taken, but it's not easy to look at 13data and see it sitting there. And just this past month, our trustee made another round of disbursements and some were actually in the amount one cent to some of our creditors. one cent. sigh.

Our biggest fear is still having our plan timeline increased or something else going awry. We stayed under the radar, made our large payments on time and now we're just hoping. It's so easy to see the end, but yet we have no gauge for when that will be.

[$$only4ever]

We don't hate it "yet". It's so much easier to make this one payment of $825 then stress with almost 3K each month!
This includes the car!! Our car payment was 650 anyway!
I love BK13 right now!

In the beginning I felt the same way. For me, 28 months is still a long way to go.