Creditor's fees

[simon2020]

Creditor has added attorney fees and interest in suit.

Added about $1,300 on top that was originally owed before I defaulted.

In a ch13, is it possible to have all these fees deleted, thus my plan will be based only on the original balanced owed? Or is it again, the sole discretion of the trustee to make that decision? Will the creditor object to me not paying their fees in the plan?

[justbroke]

In a ch13, is it possible to have all these fees deleted, thus my plan will be based only on the original balanced owed? Or is it again, the sole discretion of the trustee to make that decision? Will the creditor object to me not paying their fees in the plan?

Not unless you can prove that the terms of your contract with them (cardholder agreement or financing agreement) doesn't have a provision which allows them to charge such fees.

But, let's back up a minute. What type of creditor is this? By that, I mean, is this a MasterCard/VISA or a department store card? Or, is this a secured account on like furniture or a car or your home?

[simon2020]

It was an HSBC personal loan that was used at the time to consolidate other credit card debt.

[justbroke]

It was an HSBC personal loan that was used at the time to consolidate other credit card debt.

Was it secured by personal property? Did you pledge furniture or something else for the loan?

[simon2020]

No, it was pretty much paying off the cards. No collateral was pledged. Loan was just that a debt consolidation loan.

[justbroke]

Then it will depend on what your plan will pay, since you are going into a Chapter 13. HSBC would file a general unsecured claim and will be paid pro rata based on what's "left over" from your Plan. Some people refer to the left overs as the "percentage" paid to unsecured creditors.

If you are in a 100% Plan, then that means you'll be paying everyone back over the term of the plan.

After they submit their claim, you can file an objection, but you need some basis and legal reason for the objection. If they don't have a clause in the contract whereby they are allowed to charge legal fees (which I doubt that they don't), then that can be your basis for objecting to the amount of their claim.