B of A cc w/$26K+ balance & acct. closed by them!

[newstart4me]

I spoke to someone today on the phone who said she was in her 3rd year of law school, was a paralegal BK specialist with over 12 years of experience, and she works with three attorneys who review her paperwork before she files. ( This is the first person I've talked to. I felt really good about our conversation, she answered my questions, gave me her cell phone #, returned a text message in a timely manner etc...

Potential red flags: She has no office ( supposedly will be getting one 'soon'), no website, and no information came up when I googled her name.

She did say she would send me an information pamphlet via email w/testimonials (she said she'd done hundreds of bk's.)

She said that B of A can go to court and have a sheriff go to my CU and take the funds from my account to get 'their money'.

1. Is this true?

2. Has anyone had this happen to them?

3. How soon could it happen?

4. Is there any way to stop that from happening while I get the $ to file?

5. My apologies in advance if I've asked (a) questions that are answered
elsewhere.

Of course I'll be talking to attorneys also (left a couple of messages and asked them to please call me back.) I just wanted to get feedback from those wise individuals here who have traveled this road before. Thank you again for your input.

I keep having to remind myself that this is business!

[JRScott]

I don't know I think you'd be better off meeting some attorney's in your local area and seeing what they thing of your situation.

This person I hate to say it sounds like a crook. If she's handled hundreds of bankruptcy cases get the district she worked in and then you can use PACER to double check but without face to face contact it is hard to build a good rapport with people.

1. Yes if you owe a CC company money and they don't get paid they can sue you. The first step is to seek a judgment from the court establishing you owe the debt, they then might seek to garnish your wages, bank account or put liens on your real property. It is a slow process that generally takes several months.

2. Yes folks have it happen all the time.

3. Took my creditors 2 years to sue me.

4. One step that might help is retaining a lawyer, usually once you've retained the lawyer they'll handle calls etc for you, this can cause creditors to decide your not worth their time. However I would have direct contact with the person first before retaining them.

[newstart4me]

Thank you JR. I will check pacer now, and of course continue my pursuit of interviewing attorneys. Gracias! : )

[JRScott]

You're welcome , Good Luck in this process and don't give up

[newstart4me]

If she's a paralegal @ this point (the name of her law school is legit, but....)her name would or wouldn't show up on pacer?

They mention trustees, judges and attorneys...so perhaps the 3 lawyers she works with would be on pacer???

In any case she didn't respond to the four emails I sent her earlier this evening...oops I guess it's actually yesterday that I sent them since it's past midnight.

So far, no pamphlet w/testimonials or answers to my questions. Next! : )

[newstart4me]

Thank you for the encouragement! : ) I'm hanging in there for sure!

[JRScott]

Yes that's very likely she wouldn't show up. You could ask for lawyer names as references. Then check them out or case numbers.

Also as a paralegal she's not allowed to give legal advice...

[newstart4me]

Yes that's very likely she wouldn't show up. You could ask for lawyer names as references. Then check them out or case numbers.

Also as a paralegal she's not allowed to give legal advice...

That's what I thought (about her not being able to give advice as a paralegal that is.)
: ( If/when she replies to my email messages I'll ask her for lawyers' names and case numbers. Thanks again!

[JRScott]

You're welcome.

[Flamingo]

To the OP - paralegals cannot give legal advice; they can transfer advice to you from an attorney but they cannot represent you. I would not trust free advice over the phone or via email. Sounds like she is part of one of those filing services that will file BK for you but cannot represent you after the papers are filed. Don't fall for it - get yourself a free consultation with several BK attorneys face-to-face.

[newstart4me]

Flamingo & Jr, if I move the $$ I have from the CU where it is now that should slow down the possible carnage, right? : )

[newstart4me]

How about if I take the $ out of the account all together...????

[JRScott]

If they know your bank account it is indeed better to start a bank account they don't know about, it would slow the process. However once you get to the court legal side they will do discovery to find them. It can also be important if you've ever paid them electronically through the CU.

However if you move any significant amount of money keep in mind you'll need to account for its whereabouts during your bk petition.

[newstart4me]

What if I keep $100 in the account? Why would it be best to just close the account altogether? All my cc's were paid electronically with this account...if I don't know what bank I would like to choose I could just w/draw the funds (not much unfortunately) until I do. I would just have to make sure I set up a new account before I file for bk, right? Thanks again, JR! : )

[newstart4me]

Also keeping receipts for what I spend the cash on are called for huh?