Payday loans in 13

[911mom]

I AM PLANNING ON FILING 13 THIS WEEK...I HAVE SEVERAL PAYDAY LOANS I HAVE NOT INCLUDED BECAUSE I JUST OBTAINED THEM..BORROWING FROM PETER TO PAY PAUL, I PLAN ON PAYING THEM OFF WITH MY NEXT FEW CHECKS...? IS WILL THE TRUSTEE HOLD THAT AGAINST ME, I MEAN THE FACT THAT I JUST OBTAINED THESE WITHIN A WEEK OF FILING? I KNOW I NEED TO INCLUDE THEM ON BK, HAVENT TOLD MY ATTNY ABOUT THESE YET, I DO HAVE ONE THAT'S A STOREFRONT HERE LOCALLY THAT I AM PAYING OFF AND WILL NOT INCLUDE THAT. HAVE ACUTALLY DEVELOPED FRIENDSHIPS WITH THE GIRLS THAT WORK THERE! JUST SCARED HOW THE TRUSTEE WILL VIEW THESE RECENT LOANS!!!!

[justbroke]

You absolutely must include them in the filing. You cannot pay them over the other unsecured creditors. They are just unsecured creditors. If they want to complain, then they can object to your confirmation and you deal with it in the confirmation. If you obtained them to survive (eat, provide shelter, get to work, etc), then it is a dischargeable debt.

Please consult with your attorney! Do not just start paying things or not including them in your filing! You are not allowed to do that. Your estate will be controlled by the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee. You can't decide just which unsecured creditors you are going to pay. The Payday company(s) would need to file a claim(s) in the bankruptcy and would be paid through the Trustee if there is any "distribution" to be made to the unsecured creditors. You may be in a 100% plan, where you end up paying everyone back anyhow, or a 0% plan, where none of your unsecured creditors get a penny.

Please, please, please, don't pay them back because you like the "girls" in the office. That's not a reason to pay. If it were your family dentist or physician, I may say that you could pay them from your "expense allowance", but you would still need to include the debt in the bankruptcy filing!

(Also, please turn the CAPS off. It's as if you're shouting at us.)

[911mom]

sorry, didn't mean it as if I was shouting...just really wasnt paying attention to the fact that caps was on..lol..I know you are right...and I'm going to talk with my attny when I go to see them this Friday. I'm going to open a new bank account so they can't ACH debit my account anymore...I am so stressed out and so ready to get the process started and get out of the horrible recurring nightmare...it is entirely my fault, went through a terrible divorce, and get no support, and have used credit to make ends meet...sometimes I wonder is a long drawn out court battle would've been better, then I remember how psychotic my ex is and how I guess I thought I was doing the best I could by trying to take care of me and my son by myself sorry again for making you think I was shouting..I appreciate all the info on here and it has been so helpful having this support system...

[justbroke]

911mom, welcome to the BKForum. You will find many other people in similar circumstances. They will all tell you that all wil be fine. May I ask why you think you need Chapter 13?

[911mom]

I make good money, bring home is approx 3500-4000 a month...I owe $40,000 in cc, and about $1500 in personal loans...my car is paid for , and I have a mortgage and 2nd mortgage that I'm going to pay outside the plan...I really wished for a 7 but my dmi right now with all expenses other than cc/pdls is anywhere from 500-700...so I have way to much left over to qualify for a 7, I've seen two attnys and they both ran preliminary numbers and told me that a 13 is what I would need to do...I was paying about 1400$ in min payments to creditors until about 2 mths ago...and have been struggling trying to pay off some payday loans, have contemplated BK for about 6 months but just really decided this past 2 weeks that I'm going to file...there is such a wealth of information here very reassuring to know that I'm not alone in this, and that sometimes bad things happen to good people...

[justbroke]

Oh, your take home pay is high even for 2 People in Mississippi. Had that been your gross salary, then you probably would have been under-the-median and qualified easier. If your spouse is paying support as well, that could skew things for sure.

The Trustee will see the "recent" loans as a mom trying to provide for her children. Nothing more, nothing less. I wish you the best and hope that you're able to interview 4-5 attorneys. Make sure that the attorney is going to get you a working and LIVABLE budget. (Yes, I just shouted "livable" because it must be!)

[911mom]

lol..now I must shout EX-SPOUSE...and I emphatically express EX!! lol...well, I've seen 2 and they have pretty much said the same things to me...I may actually make an appt with another one this week....I am just so stressed out due to the calls all the time, and they are calling me at work also, and I'm afraid I'm going to get in trouble for it...and no, I don't get any support from my ex..so that's one complication I won't have to worry with messing me up..

[lrprn]

@911mom, keep in mind that just because they call you at work doesn't mean you have to take the call or listen to their spiel. State clearly that you aren't allowed to take personal calls at work, then quietly hang up. After that any time they call, pick up the phone or take the call, and as soon as they identify themselves, immediately hang up. They'll get the idea because they can't strong-arm you on an empty line

At home all you should do is identify that they have indeed reached you so they have no legal excuse to call relatives or friends (although some scumbucket collectors still do). After you identify yourself the first time to each collector, you can try several things to discourage further excessive collections calling:

(1) Get yourself an answering machine. Arrange a call pattern for your family and kids to use so you know when they are calling (something like call, ring twice, hang up, call again right away). Put a message on the machine that clearly identifies you in the message. Answer only the calls that match the agreed family pattern. Let the rest go to message mode. At the end of each day, delete all the collector calls. You don't even have to listen to them

(2) Until you file, get a pay-as-you-go minimum plan cellphone. Give that number to close family and friends ONLY. Remind all family members that they are not to provide this special number to ANYONE who calls them until you personally tell them it's ok first. Allow the answering machine to answer all calls, delete collection messages at the end of each day.

(3) When the collector identifies himself/herself, identify yourself, then when they start talking put the phone down on the table and walk away. Return when you hear their shouting "Are you there?"/"Hello?" stop and hang up the phone until the next ring (lol!) (NOTE: Don't do this one if collectors are calling your cellphone and you're on a restricted number of minutes on your plan. It will use up too many minutes. However, if you have a landline, go for it!)

(4) When the collector identifies him/herself, quietly hang up the receiver. If/when they call back, quietly hang up the receiver. Repeat. Repeat again. They can't talk to an empty line.

(5) If you live in a state where this is legal, tell the collector that you are going to record the call and ask for their permission to record them. Amazingly they may hang up on you! If not and your phone doesn't have recording capability (often you can add it on in states where it's legal to record someone without their permission), then you can try quietly hanging up or the putting the phone down suggestions.

Eventually most collectors (not all though) will choose to move on to someone else who is more gullible to their tactics. The trick is to be consistent. The collector's job is to sqeeze money out of you any way they can, and the collector or original creditor can't do that if you aren't on the phone to listen.

Remember other than positively identifying you as yourself one time to each collector, you DO NOT have to talk to them! Give yourself a mental and emotional break until you file. It may not feel like it, but you really are in control here. Seize the day!

(And I must admit, we used #3 ourselves a few times. It was fun to put our landline phone down and hear our collectors yelling trying to see if we were still on the line, sometimes for 15-20 seconds. It was sinfully enjoyable!

[AngelinaCatHub]

Good advice from LRPRN.

BAD ADVICE to use payday loans and I shout that to the highest heavens. 300% apr or more. Won't help your bottom line much. Good fortune to you and welcome to 'friends' helping hands, our forum. 'Hub

[terryorr56]

hi mom

I was in the payday loan trap that caused me to file chapter 13 , in a lot of states payday loans are concidered illigal. yes add them to your bk and dont stress over them any more they will be gone .

[kakdbass]

Include them in your BK! I had seven PDL's and was in a never-ending, downward spiral. Living paycheck to paycheck. I have two weeks left until the creditors' deadline to file a claim and so far NONE of the PDL's have filed a claim.

[BnkrptcyLwyr]

I make good money, bring home is approx 3500-4000 a month...I owe $40,000 in cc, and about $1500 in personal loans...my car is paid for , and I have a mortgage and 2nd mortgage that I'm going to pay outside the plan...I really wished for a 7 but my dmi right now with all expenses other than cc/pdls is anywhere from 500-700...so I have way to much left over to qualify for a 7, I've seen two attnys and they both ran preliminary numbers and told me that a 13 is what I would need to do...I was paying about 1400$ in min payments to creditors until about 2 mths ago...and have been struggling trying to pay off some payday loans, have contemplated BK for about 6 months but just really decided this past 2 weeks that I'm going to file...there is such a wealth of information here very reassuring to know that I'm not alone in this, and that sometimes bad things happen to good people...

I have a few questions ...

Are you working overtime that you could cut back on to bring your income down temporarily to qualify for a 7? ... (since your income fluctuates I assume you're not salary).

What about buying a used vehicle (or new) to have that extra payment to qualify for a 7?

Are you supporting children?

Your net income is not so large as to preclude a Chapter 7.

[911mom]

Yes, I have one child, age 10....Yes, I have worked overtime the past several months to make ends meet, I have cut that out the past few weeks, also just changed my tax status back to 1 from 9 for the past 5 months, had to have the take home pay just to pay the minimums...now my take home is about 500$ less every 2 wks than it was..isn't there something that I can do to show my net is now reduced? Attny said that they could file something, can't remember the name of it, but it represents my take home pay now, vs. what it was 2 months ago..If they go by my take home pay now, I would have about 20$ left after paying all expenses...I'm paying my home outside the plan, and I'm not holding on to anything I don't need, have no boat, 4 wheeler, vacation home etc...Just really scared!!! I'm meeting to file tomorrow and will be a nervous wreck until I hear from them...

[IamOld]

911mom, right there with you - I too did the stupid thing with payday loans - then I stopped paying them - they call threaten and send funny emails!!! They've made enough money off of you, me, and everyone else who had to rob Peter, Paul, and Mary!

All best wishes to you for tomorrow!!!!!!!!!

[ValleYum]

What kind of shape is your vehicle in? I ask #1 because you will need a dependable vehicle for the 5 year duration of your Chapter 13 (if you have to replace it you would have to get Trustee permission first) and #2 it seems like a vehicle payment could be the difference in your being able to file a Chapter 7.

Point blank ASK the attorney tomorrow before you sign anything if a new car is something you should consider and if you get a car with a payment of ~$450/month if he thinks you can file a Chapter 7.

Good luck.