Good News

[originalhealer]

Hey everyone,

A few weeks ago when I started thinking about filing I was in the process of being evicted, unemployed and couldn't drive my car because my auto insurance had lapsed and I missed my car payment and my car has a timer so it won't start after you are five days late on your payment. Plus I couldn't get approved for another apartment because I had a pending eviction on my record and once I filed BK on July 20 it made my luck in finding an apartment even worse.

As of today, August 3, I got a new full-time job that I started today, my car is back on the road, I got a better auto insurance policy that is saving me $50 per month and the policy is for 12 months instead of six, I got approved for an apartment in my price range with only a $300 deposit, and when I presented my Bankruptcy Petition to the Magistrate Court, I got the eviction stayed until further notice.

Just wanted to share that even in the midst of turmoil, there is still hope.

Peace.

[edwards2]

Thanks...that is so encouraging!

[mar]

Good for you!! Once you hit bottom you can only go up!!
I have never heard of a "timer" on a car for auto ins. How in the world does that work?

[Miyamoto]

Great news! I'm unemployed right now too which was what caused me to file since it has been since last Dec., but I start working again on the 15th. I had an interview for an electrical apprenticeship and was disappointed they decided not to take any on this year, but was offered work on the spot as a sort of pre-apprentice. It's a lot less money without all the benefits I had, but at least it comes with single coverage medical/dental/vision insurance and it is a foot in the door towards an apprenticeship which will work out much better in the long run that my previous line of work if I can get one of those spots next year. Take that NAFTA and CAFTA, you won't outsource my job again. I've also got a return to school in the works in case this doesn't work out. Mar is right on, once you hit bottom the only place to go is up. I hope things continue to improve for you and everyone else on the boards here.

I'm also interested in how this timer on the car works as I've never heard of such a thing. It sounds interesting to see how they could pull something like that off.

[originalhealer]

The timer is for the auto payment, not the insurance. Every month you get five grace period days to make your auto payment. Whether you pay on time or whether you are late, when you call in, you make your payment and they give you a new code for the next 30 days, which allows you to start your car. After five days late, the car won't start. Also, when I called in to get my code for this month, they told me they couldn't give me the code because my auto insurance company said I had lapsed, so until I got new auto insurance, they wouldn't give me my code, even though I had made my payment. The timer is a stipulation of the finance company because I had bad credit.

This is why I am not reaffirming this car loan. Also, I want to change my due date because my payment was due July 13 and I didn't pay until Monday, so I couldn't drive the car for two weeks. But the payment I made on Monday is only good for two weeks until my next due date and grace period, which is the 18. So, I paid my car payment plus late fee but I don't get a full 30 days to use the car because my payment was late.

[Miyamoto]

That is rather interesting, I had never heard of such a thing before. Usually I thought the finance companies just hit you with insane interest rates if you have bad credit. A bit like this check from Household I got near the end of last month that I still need to get shredded. They sent a $5000.26 check (odd amount) with an interest rate of 29.936% and it states the finance charges will cost $4,694.54. I could probably get a better rate through a loan shark, sheesh. I guess they are hoping they can get back the $1300 I filed on for the Best Buy card they handle and then some.

I don't blame you one bit for not wanting to reaffirm, sounds like you have a crappy company. I signed another copy of my reaff today at my 341 (no clue what receptionist at lawyer's did with the original), but I'm financed through a local credit union and they have been great about the whole thing. I went there the same day I signed my petition and talked it over with them about my intentions to reaffirm and so far everything has gone smooth. I had to open a savings there with minimum $5 balance to get the loan and I have them deduct a payment weekly as it makes a noticeable difference in how fast the interest gets reduced and it thankfully has still been getting deducted even with the automatic stay in place. I heard usually automatic payments on debts being reaffirmed come to a halt during the automatic stay which is another reason I had wanted to discuss it with them. They said if I did notice any that didn't come out to just let them know and they can process by hand and make sure I don't receive any late fees. My dad has banked there for years as it was formerly only for employees of the company he worked for and their families and I'm quite happy with them which is why I didn't want to hurt my relationship with them at all. I've been wanting to ditch Bank One (now Chase) for a while and move my checking there, but them only having one location across town has kept me from doing so. I'm spoiled by having so many branches and ATMs to use with my checking. If you need to finance another car give some credit unions a shot, a lot of times you can get decent rates through them. I told Bank One thanks for nothing with the interest rate they offered me on my current car as the credit union would give me 3.25% less and only require at least $5 to open an account. My previous loan was through Bank One and was about the same rate as my current one so I couldn't understand why they'd give a longterm customer who previously had financing also and never a late payment such a poor rate.

[originalhealer]

That is a really sneaky trick that they did by sending you that check. It reminds me of a debt I had some years ago where the company sent me a credit card and told me that every month I made a payment towards the old debt, they would increase my credit line on the new card by $50.00 per month. Sneaky.

As far as a new auto loan is concerned, I think I have to wait until my BK is discharged. So, I am hoping that they will continue to let me drive the car as long as I keep making the payments. Even though I live in one of the states that, according to Nolo, does not allow that without signing a reaffirmation agreement. I am hoping no one will press the issue.

[Miyamoto]

Yup, but thankfully I've always known better than to even think about cashing those types of checks. I've been meaning to fire up the shredder, but I guess it's been kept around so far out of amusement purposes/sheer laziness. If I shred it I can't look at it and laugh.

Just curious was it Capital One that offered you that card? I was just reading a thread on creditboards about that. They have been buying up junk debt for a few years now it said and trying to trick people into opening a new account with the old debt charged to it. I've got a feeling it works quite well as not many people read the fine print. I try to, but I can understand why most don't because there is so much of it these days and it is usually not the easiest to read since they usually use legal jargon.

I thought I heard you can get another car before your discharge as some were doing just that to increase expenses, but maybe it has to be done before filing. I didn't pay much attention to that information because I was keeping mine and reaffirming. As long as you keep current I really don't see what grounds they'd have to take the car back from you and hopefully the automatic stay could stop them from doing so until that gets lifted and you can get a replacement then. Like I said though I didn't pay much attention to the vehicle end, so it might be worth asking around just to see what you can expect to happen. If I was in the same boat I would think buying another vehicle wouldn't be a problem at all as the job I'll be starting required a valid driver's license and reliable transportation to get to the various work sites.

[originalhealer]

It might have been Capital One, but I remember paying off my Capital One balance with a 50% payoff agreement. I might have gotten that fake credit card before I paid off the balance.

I am hoping they will let me drive the car at least for a few more months while I continue to make payments. Because I haven't had the car long...only since May and I have already paid $1700.00, including my down payment. But I don't want to reaffirm because that timer thing sucks, the interest rate is ridiculous...29.something percent, and the car has an engine light issue...the engine light keeps coming on and soon that car won't start and how much will it be for me to get it fixed?