Question on credit cards

[opus007]

First let me say so far this forum has been a great help and am learning more everyday.Thanks to all who respond to my questions.What happens is if a cc company wins a judgement against me.What options do I have?If I used there money for product purchase do I have the option to give the items back or do I have to pay the money out?I have 12 credit cards.Ouch!The largest is for 3,000 the rest are 1,000 or under.Some of the items would be over 2 or 3 years old.A couple items 6 to 9 months old.

[liz417]

Hi!

I doubt the cc would want the products you purchased...they want their money! If they have a judgement against you, I would recommend filing ASAP. Have you interviewed any bk attorney's yet? You want to move fast because you don't want them to garnish your wages or freeze your bank account(s)!

Good Luck

[opus007]

No judgements from anyone and have reatained a bk lawyer but will not be filing for a few months.My question was meant as what if during the bankrupcy a cc company disputes it and wins a judgement.Do I have to pay them money or do they get the items I purchased.Do I have a choice in the matter?

[laurannm]

Chances are (and depending on what your state's consumer laws are) they will try garnish your wages, bank account, etc. However, some states do not allow garnishments.

They want your money, not the goods. How long has it been since you stopped paying CCs? Have you already been served?

[opus007]

No I have not been served,live in california.I stopped paying credit card companies about 6 months ago as I tried a debt consolidation attorney first but it got to the point where I could not pay them about a month ago.I am working part time and there is 39 dollars in my bank account.I do not own a home or property.I own a 3500 dollar stereo system and 3 year old tv...all bought on criedit cards and have a 7000 dollar citifinancial personal unesecured loan which I have not paid on in 2 months.Total debt about 25,000 dollars.I also own a 1999 truck which is paid for.All my furniture is paid for and not by credit cards or loans.Untill 8 months ago life was great the econmy took a hit and with it I have to.I am able to pay my rent and food and that takes up my checks.I am so far behind bk is my only option.What I would like to know is what happens with the propery I bought on unsecure credit cards?If it is discharged on a bk I owe nothing right? And I keep the items?I doubt any of the cc companies would win a judgement against me but if they did and I had to pay them then how can I pay them if i am not able to pay them now.I just do not understand any of this so bear with me.I understand about cc that are like circuit city and dell financial as I owe them also that they can ask for there properyty back.I do not understand about unsecured cards .Thanks for the help.

[hnhlvr]

Hi!

I doubt the cc would want the products you purchased...they want their money! If they have a judgement against you, I would recommend filing ASAP. Have you interviewed any bk attorney's yet? You want to move fast because you don't want them to garnish your wages or freeze your bank account(s)!

Good Luck

How often do CC companies come after bank accounts? I asked a question about judgements here just yesterday and was told that rarely happens. Is that incorrect?

How often do CC companies issue judgements? The OP's debts are very small compared to mine/my husbands, so I wonder if we're more likely to have a judgement.

[keepmine]

How often do CC companies come after bank accounts? I asked a question about judgements here just yesterday and was told that rarely happens. Is that incorrect?

How often do CC companies issue judgements? The OP's debts are very small compared to mine/my husbands, so I wonder if we're more likely to have a judgement.

They have to sue you and win before they can garnih wages or levy a bank account.
Nobody can tell you with any degree of certainty your chances of being sued. Some get sued within a few months od default. For others, it's years or never. The determing factor for many creditors is, do you have high paying jobs or, assets that can be liquidated.
Litigation is an expensive way to collection. Somwthing like 2/3's of all judgments are never collected for a variety of reasons. Not to say you won't get sued but, no real way to tell how much at risk you are.

[hnhlvr]

They have to sue you and win before they can garnih wages or levy a bank account.
Nobody can tell you with any degree of certainty your chances of being sued. Some get sued within a few months od default. For others, it's years or never. The determing factor for many creditors is, do you have high paying jobs or, assets that can be liquidated.
Litigation is an expensive way to collection. Somwthing like 2/3's of all judgments are never collected for a variety of reasons. Not to say you won't get sued but, no real way to tell how much at risk you are.

No magic crytal ball, huh? lol Okay, thanks. I wish the answer could be more cut-and-dry, but alas, life is unpredictable.

No high paying job and no house, but I do have a car that has some equity in it.

[fltoo]

Everyone take a deep breath and calm down.

hnh, you asked this several times now, so this response will be a repeat.

You will be given a warning of an impending jugment and you will have a couple of weeks to respond. Then it will be a few more weeks before the judgment is actually acted upon.

Firstly, you need to check the wage attachment laws of your state. Some are very debtor friendly.

Do not let any creditor scare you into filing ASAP or "in a hurry" since you need talk to an attorney and PLAN your bankruptcy.

A creditor can attach your wages and/or garnish a bank account after being granted a judgment. You will know exactly how much of your pay can be garnished since you checked your state laws.

As far as bank accounts, I used the time that I had to respond to the judgment to close my checking account. IMO, responding to the judgment is a waste of time and energy. I use money orders to pay all bills.

I can't assure you that a certain creditor won't get a judgment against you, but I can tell you that Chase and Citi are the most aggressive. My Chase judgment is 18 months old and it just sits there waiting to be dismissed when I file BK in a few months. I have nothing for them to garnish. It was a waste of their money to file.

As I said in another post, Chase plays the numbers game. They count on you becoming scared and nervous enough to send in a payment. It works for them as their collection rate is the highest of all banks.

To the OP who asked if you need to return items charged. No, they will not come after anything unless it is very substantial.

[epiphany]

hnh, you asked this several times now, so this response will be a repeat.

You will be given a warning of an impending jugment and you will have a couple of weeks to respond. Then it will be a few more weeks before the judgment is actually acted upon.

Not exactly. The debtor first needs to be served. If the debtor does not respond, the creditor can obtain a default judgement. After obtaining a default judgement, the creditor can go after wages or assets but these things take some time.

I have been served in the state of Calfornia and will tell you exactly what has happened thus far. I am in Los Angeles County.

First I was served. I actually received notices of the intent to sue before that even happened, but I do not believe that is mandatory. They filed the lawsuit on 4/18 but I wasn't served until 5/19. I had 30 days to respond to the summons, but chose not to on my lawyer's advice. I was sent a settlement offer during this time, which I have also ignored.

On 6/30, I received a copy of the default judgement request, which is supposedly just a copy that they have to send to debtors. However, I look up my case number daily and they have not received their default judgement yet, my case is still pending.

I turned in my BK paperwork recently and am just hoping that we will beat the clock as far as the judgement goes, but I am not really worried about it. It would still take a few weeks for them to file and serve any type of writ. I am guessing they would try to go after my wages, but it is possible that they could come after some stock, which I have fully exempted in my BK.

In California, they can garnish wages up to 25 percent of your disposable income. (after taxes, deductions, etc).

If, unlike me, you respond to the summons because it is in your best interest, you can buy yourself some more time and drag the pending lawsuit out for much longer. Do a search on this forum and you will find info from many who have done just that.

ep

[epiphany]

No judgements from anyone and have reatained a bk lawyer but will not be filing for a few months.My question was meant as what if during the bankrupcy a cc company disputes it and wins a judgement.Do I have to pay them money or do they get the items I purchased.Do I have a choice in the matter?

Unless it is a secured purchase for something with redeemable value, they just want MONEY.

ep

[hnhlvr]

hnh, you asked this several times now, so this response will be a repeat.

.

Sorry for asking so many times. My intention isn't to drive everyone nuts, but to be sure to get responses from a variety of people in hopes of finding commonalities among what all is said. I don't want to rely on just one or two responses and assume the comments are correct, when I can get more answers and possible solutions by posting a few additional times.

[epiphany]

Sorry for asking so many times. My intention isn't to drive everyone nuts, but to be sure to get responses from a variety of people in hopes of finding commonalities among what all is said. I don't want to rely on just one or two responses and assume the comments are correct, when I can get more answers and possible solutions by posting a few additional times.

One reason that people get annoyed by someone asking a question repeatedly is that the question has already been answered. Many posters will not reply if a question has been properly answered because there is nothing to expand on.

In a forum such as this, there are many threads to read, many people who need help, and most posters have limited time. So a twice asked question can be irritating to some. If you are getting no responses to a question within a reasonable amount of time, (24 hours at least), you can reply to your own message and bump your thread back up to the top.

Another reason that people get annoyed is that sometimes the original poster will keep asking the question until he/she gets the answer that they want from somebody, however wrong or ridiculous that answer is.

If it truly is commonality you are after, try using the search function on this forum. You will find tons of answers/opinions on your question because it has most likely already been asked... and asked.... and asked. That is not meant to deter you from asking questions. Rather just to inform you that there is a wealth of information here if you care to do some searches.

Your quest for knowledge is understandable but you need to use caution and common sense in determining which answers might be right...this is the internet after all.

That is why, common and curt as this answer is around here, you really need to talk to a lawyer.

Good Luck to you,

ep

[fltoo]

[QUOTE=epiphany;174971]Not exactly. The debtor first needs to be served. If the debtor does not respond, the creditor can obtain a default judgement. After obtaining a default judgement, the creditor can go after wages or assets but these things take some time.


Sorry, if I was unclear, but this is exactly what I said.


hnh, I was not faulting you for posting the same question so many times, I was apologizing for my repetitive answer.