Questions - Lightening

[Minnymouth]

LIGHTENING -

Did you claim bankruptcy????? If so, Chapter 7 or 13???

Or are you just a financial advisor on this forum expressing you OPINION of others???

If you filed BK - tell us about yours!!!!!

If you can't lend support also - don't be so quick to criticize!!!!


Minny

[Whittio]

Minny, when he 'attacked me' (or in his works CORRECTED me) last night, I went back through his posts. There is no mention of him filing BK, in one post he mentioned something about NOT filing, just here to "HELP".

I also saw many posts where he 'attacked' others here. You were involved in one conversation with him where he was debating that $400 is enough for groceries for a month for 1 person.

I think he needs to find another bridge to troll under. (MY PERSONAL OPINION of course!

[crackerbear]

Correction for Lightening

In a recent post, you said credit card companies are completely blame-free when it comes to credit card debit. Well, now I am going to CORRECT YOU. When I have a credit card with a 10% interest rate and I start to make payments, let's say these payments are $100/month. $75 of my payment is going towards my purchase and $25 towards interest. Then the credit card company gets a fly up its butt and decides to raise my interest rate to 25%, then at least half or more of my same $100 payment is now going to interest and not principle. When the credit card company I have been doing business with for over 10 years and have never been late and always paid more than the minimum due does this, IT IS THEIR FAULT. I had two companies do this to me about 5 years ago. I had perfect credit with scores well in the upper 700s, and was never late to anyone. If they want to screw me, then I have no sympathy for them.

[Minnymouth]

Crackerbarrell,

Yes, I agree - I had a cc with a company for 25 years at 2% interest rate..... I was late on another card and this card raised my interest rate from 2% to 27.9. When I called and asked about this they said "sorry, policy".........

When I had to claim BK because of medical bills - this same cc card company called - I said "sorry - bankruptcy - EAT IT - MY POLICY"................

SO DON'T ANYONE TELL ME THAT CC COMPANIES DON'T SHARE THE BLAME...................

JUST MY OPINION

MINNY

[Minnymouth]

YEAH,
I can't find anywhere where Lightening has claimed BK at all. Just seems to be a "opinonated observer"........

Must be very young...... from his attitude....... Wonder what he'll be like in 30 years, huh.............????

I don't pay much attention to him, will beat him with my "ugly stick" every chance I get.

I have to admit though sometimes his statements are very true - whether people want to "hear the truth" or not.....

But we all on this forum KNOW WHY we had to claim BK - it's not his place to judge us!! Wonder what he would do if he was in some of our "positions"???

Minny

[Whittio]

I agree Minny, some of his posts were dead on, BUT.. I never claimed that anyone here was without fault, what I was suggesting was, if cc companies wouldn't GIVE $250k in unsecured credit.. then WE couldn't use it now could we??

And yes, I think the cc companies know the risks, but the risks are worth taking. My mom has been paying hundreds in interest every month, they haven't lost THAT much off her. If it wasn't worth the risk, there wouldn't be so many offers for unsecured debt out there.

[sunshine08]

opinions are one thing- Lightening- you carry it too far

I can only speak for myself but I come to this website for some friendly advice, sharing of experiences, etc. Don't you think that, we that have had to file bankruptcy, wish we did not have to.
I don't go a week that there isn't a credit card pre-approval application sent to my home. I have worked since I was sixteen and generally work more than one job. It is hard to raise children on your own, when ex-husband doesn't live up to his responsibilty. I also do not have a crystal ball to tell what the future holds. I have 2 reasonably good jobs, a college education that I am paying for. I went back to school, raised my children with my parents help and maintained fulltime employment and at least a part time job. I wasn't born with a silverspoon in mouth and wouldn't know how to act if I didn't live paycheck to paycheck. I try to save. I don't live extravagantly. It doesn't always matter if you have all kinds of insurance, you still have deductibles, co-pays etc. My father was sick for several years before he died. I helped support him in his last years. I paid many bills, medication, etc. Sure I used credit, but I paid alot of that credit off too. Do you give me any credit for that. Probably not.
If you can't at least be object or supportive, keep your opinions to your self or got to another forum, I am sure they have a special one for you. You haven't walked in my shoes, not I you. Wish you Lightening the best of luck in the future. If you have not filed bankruptcy, I hope you never have to either. Again, Good Luck, you sound like you need it.

[FloridaGirl]

I agree with all of you. I have also been involved in conversations with judgmental Mr. Lightning. I don't think he adds anything good. Even though some of what he says is true, he never says it in a non-judgmental way. Coming to a BK message board and spreading harsh judgments isn't helping anyone. We already feel bad enough for having to file in the first place. We don't need anyone telling us what we could have, or should have done to avoid filing. And we sure don't need anyone judging our reasons for filing in the first place. That was the trustees job, not Lightning Bolt's. Perhaps people would be more receptive to what he calls "advice" if he were less condescending while giving it. No one wants to listen to a know it all jerk face, no matter how relevant what they have to say may be. Read these two statements....

I'm sorry your circumstances were so bad that you had to file for bankruptcy. Maybe there was something you could have done differently, but maybe not. What matters now is that you have a fresh start. Try your best to not make the same mistakes you did before. I'm sure you won't.

Well, I guess you feel pretty crappy now that you duped all those creditors out of their money! And you should feel crappy! It's your own fault you ran up all that debt and then you took the easy way out. Just how in the heck did you manage to get into such bad debt anyway? Yeah, well now you have your fresh new start. I sincerely hope you learned your lesson and you never do this again!

Now, both statements pretty much say the same thing. So, which one would you be more receptive to? The first one, right? Of course. I wonder which one would have been close to what Lightning would say.

[Lightning]

There's no blame to place in your example. You agreed to the terms of the credit card when you signed the application and used it. Those terms say the bank can change the rate at any time for any reason. If you didn't like those terms, you shouldn't have signed the application or used the card. Who charged items on the account that couldn't be paid off in full or in a very short period of time? Did you do it, or did the bank charge things without your knowledge?

[Whittio]

Oh Lightning.. can't you see that nobody here WANTS your advice and infinite wisdom?

Yesterday I felt bad because I let you get on my nerves and I actually felt bad for standing up against you. But after searching your posts, and finding that you have rarely been supportive, I didn't feel badly anymore. After reading these posts in this thread, I am THRILLED that I posted what I did yesterday. You're a condescending 'wise guy'.

Life sometimes screws with you, and you find yourself in a DEEP HOLE. Sometimes you didn't dig that entire hole yourself. And nobody needs anyone like you throwing dirt on top of them while your at the bottom of the hole trying to get out.

You do have "SOME" good advice, but you need to learn when and where it's appropriate to give it! You will be received in a much better light if you just learn to understand people. Life is not all black and white, sometimes a BIG GRAY STORM hits and blindsides you. If I were you, I would hope and pray that you don't end up where these people are today. Facing a terrible financial burden, and someone looking down on you and pointing their finger.

[Lightning]

I've not seen many bankruptcy filers who filed completely because of unforeseen circumstances.

I'm offering the best financial advice you'll find. I honestly don't understand why you don't like it. Don't you want to have cash in the bank, money in retirement accounts, and the ability to weather at least most financial blows?

[HHM]

There's no blame to place in your example. You agreed to the terms of the credit card when you signed the application and used it. Those terms say the bank can change the rate at any time for any reason. If you didn't like those terms, you shouldn't have signed the application or used the card. Who charged items on the account that couldn't be paid off in full or in a very short period of time? Did you do it, or did the bank charge things without your knowledge?

What exactly is your point?

Afterall, filing bankruptcy is perfectly legal and is contained in the constitution.

I think its a fairly stilted view to think that banks don't share "some" responsibility for the credit problems in this nation, there is plenty of testimony before congress and state legislature about lending abuses, lending practices etc. Banks, in order to exand, eventually had to lend to higher risk individuals, what did they really think would happen. Legally, its what we call "assumption of risk" (it can be used as an affirmative defense in many areas of law). It's the idea that Bank's knew what they are getting into when they offer credit to riskier and riskier individuals.

I already warned you once about being overly judgmental.

[Lightning]

I didn't start this thread. Someone else decided to do that. Are you saying as a moderator that other people have the right to make false and cruel remarks about me while I must sit silently on the sidelines?

HMM, you're making the same ridiculous argument anti-gun owners make. They say the gun manufacturers have some blame. There have been laws and hearings.

That doesn't make it true or right.

An inanimate object cannot, by definition, cause problems. A credit card lying in the middle of the kitchen table causes no financial problems. A gun lying in the middle of the kitchen table does not kill anyone.

Someone has to pick up the object and decide to use it wrongly.

[HHM]

I understand your position...and I grant that no one "forces" people to use credit cards, but really, there is more to it than that.

However, as a general matter, since this thread really isn't about bankruptcy etc, I will lock it.