Auto REPO / BK Advice . . .

[leelee]

My car was repo'd 1 1/2 weeks ago. The bank is continuing to call me, saying 'this is a courtesy call'. I got on the phone with them once, and they wanted me to give them my s.s. #, phone #, address. I told them I would confirm the information they already; however, did not verbalize the info.

I'm wondering if I plan on filing (7) soon, is it okay that I:

-just ignore the calls?

-do I tell them that I plan on filing? --could they have cause to file a lawsuit prior to actual filing.

-will they consider my not answering their ?'s straight-up, it will hurt my discharge ? --them claiming I'm not being cooperative ?


I'm just so scared and freaked out . . .. the deficiency $ will be large -probably at least $10K.

Thanks.
l

[poorme]

[I'm wondering if I plan on filing (7) soon, is it okay that I:

-just ignore the calls?
Yes

-do I tell them that I plan on filing? --could they have cause to file a lawsuit prior to actual filing.
I wouldn't, but that's up to you. How soon do you plan on filing?

-will they consider my not answering their ?'s straight-up, it will hurt my discharge ? --them claiming I'm not being cooperative ?
It doesn't matter what they think, and it won't hurt your discharge or case at all. However, you do need to know how much deficiency balance they want to collect from you.

Also, what else is driving you to consider bk? Unless you have a very significant balance on your auto loan - is this not something you can work out of? Any credit cards, home mortgage, other secured or unsecured debts? I guess the point I'm asking is "are you planning to file bk just because of the car loan"? If so, you may have a hard time getting a bk approved.

[SinkingFast]

PoorMe makes a good point about level of debt. If we had only had $10K of debt, we probably could have dealt with that. While I would disagree with whether or not your BK would be approved.

In the eyes of the Court, debt is supposed to be debt, is supposed to be debt. How you got into debt isn't the issue. If it's not recent back taxes,........ The result of negligence or an injury claim,....... Isn't specifically listed as your responsibility in a Divorce Decree,........ Some other types of non-Dischargeable debt,.......... BK will take care of it for you.

The thing you have to consider is............ Do you really need BK to fix the situation. Are you drowning and cannot repay what you owe on your own in a reasonable amount of time.

Think of BK as a one time shot of vaccine for a bad disease. Once you use the BK bullet, it won't be available again for a long, long time.

[poorme]

Good point, SinkingFast! I didn't mean to imply that 'smaller' amounts of debt are harder to approve or stand a lesser chance of clearing. As our board becomes more popular, it seems that there are more questions being asked that makes (at least me) wonder what's going on in our society that put people in trouble so easily.

[BassBoy]

As our board becomes more popular, it seems that there are more questions being asked that makes (at least me) wonder what's going on in our society that put people in trouble so easily.

IMO, I think/believe that our society has been able to acquire new credit too easily. There are so many lenders/creditors (I call them predetors) that are willing to extend loans and credit to those that really can not "afford" it. I don't think/believe that lenders/creditors are being diligent enough verifying an individuals income. For example, I remember the first new car I purchased when I was 21 yrs old (in 1993), the lender had contacted my employer to verify income. I know this because the person in charge of payroll had told me that I should have mentioned to him that I was looking for a car because he would verified that I made more than I did. Anyways, this doesn't seem to be the case these days. You can list any dollar amount on the application and you know within minutes whether or not you're approved. This makes it too easy to acquire a loan or a credit card without the lender ever verifying income. I would bet that some people can get a loan/CC and they don't even have an income.

[leelee]

Thanks for your advice...

As far as other debt, I/we are in $17,000 worth of cc debt and medical bills. Combining the debt - close to $30,000.


About knowing $ amount of deficiency, what if the car hasn't sold yet at auction -thus, not knowing that amount. Can I just guess, and readjust the actual amount later.. ? ? ? ?

thanks

[SinkingFast]

I **think** you could list the principal balance of the loan and check the "Contingent" box since the car hasn't sold yet.

That's just a guess on my part.

I know one of our CC's was showing 1 amount on our CC bills and claimed another amount when we filed. So, our attny checked the "Disputed" box for that amount.

Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable will chime in here and say for sure what you need to do.

[SinkingFast]

Good point, SinkingFast! I didn't mean to imply that 'smaller' amounts of debt are harder to approve or stand a lesser chance of clearing. As our board becomes more popular, it seems that there are more questions being asked that makes (at least me) wonder what's going on in our society that put people in trouble so easily.

I think many of the interest only mortgages are starting to kick in requiring principal to be paid.

And,........ CC's were very lax in who got credit and how much.

And,....... 50% of all marriages end in divorce.

And,........ The Baby Boomers are aging. I can't tell you how many friends we've had to die in recent years. Leaving behind spouses and children.

And,........ A lot of better paying jobs are being lost. Michigan and the American Auto Industry are in bad shape. That's just one sector of the economy. We loose one $20/hr job and get 3 $5/hr jobs in it's place.

Lots of things factor into Individual financial problems.

[Spartan]

I think SF is correct.

I have several debts where the exact amount is unknown. One is considered rental deficiency. My attorney just put down the best guess estimates (on one account she wrote $1.00 ) and marked the items as Disputed.

If yours is a no-asset case, it really makes no material difference any way. If it is an asset case, the trustee will work off the claims submitted by the creditors anyway.

[keepmine]

I'd agree with the others. It's acceptable to list a debt as contingent/unliquidated liability.
The key is be certain t list the creditor.