Stopped paying bills. What to say to the vulures when they call?

[uncrunner]

Hello again and I can't tell you how glad I am I found this place!

I need help from you all that have stopped paying mortgage, cc's, and car payments? When they start burning up my phone wire what should you say to them? Anything? Should I take all my possesions out of my car in case they do a late night repo? I have just stopped paying my bills so, yes, I am a bigtime newbie on the boards. Any advice would be great.

[tigergem]

Don't talk to creditors. When they call you can identify yourself so they know they have the correct person. You can send them a cease and desist letter so they don't call your work or your friends and neighbors. Beyond that, if you give them any additional information, they will use it against you or accelerate the collection process. So just don't offer them anything by way of informing them of your intentions.

[uncrunner]

I have yet to file BK Chap 7 but probably will when I settle my separation. I have been told to stop paying. Even though I haven't filed should I still not tell them anything and send a letter? Much appreciated by the way.

[frogger]

An answering machine or voice mail with your correct name and phone number is your best friend.

[Dannmcg357]

I have read posts from people on here having bad experiences with their vehicle getting repod and the repo company wanting a big fee to get personal belongins back. So yes, if a car note is one of the bills your not paying, get your personals out of the vehicle. If you want to stave of a repo, park it in a garage or a friends house. I hid mine at work untill I filed, pretty sure I was followed to and from work a couple of times from someone but I could have just been paranoid. (I kept the truck I was keeping current and drive it)
Good luck, that was the second big step for me, stop paying creditors. The first being the decision to file. Very very liberating and scary and guilt ridden all at the same time. But I am rambling so I will shut up now.

Oh one more thing, tell them to go pound sand!

[flyinbroke]

Here is what I did: the second I decided to stop paying, I went to T-Mobile. I bought a 15 dollar prepaid phone. I recorded my VM to state my name and number and to leave a message. I also immediately went to the CC websites and changed my phone numbers to this number only. I did take the first couple of calls, but they will get combative (GE Money) or "forget" the conversation (BoA) and try to badger you for an immediate payment, so I stopped talking to anyone. I shut the ringer off, and I don't bother with anyone who comes in "no number" or "private call" or whatever blocked mechanism is in place. I just got my first CA letter, so I can get one out of my hair with a DV/C&D letter.

Talking to them is pointless. I did that so they would know they had the right number. My VM clearly states that, so there is no point in chatting...unless you can change the subject to fly fishing or whether the bikini baristas in Seattle are breaking laws.

[CCsAreEvil]

Well, once I officially filed, I gave them my attorney's info. After that, they stopped calling. Sometimes, they'll try asking for a case #, but tell them you don't know. They can just call the attorney for that info.

[uncrunner]

Danka shane everyone!

[rcoveles]

An answering machine or voice mail with your correct name and phone number is your best friend.

Just curious - is it better to have your name and number on the message than to have a generic robo message? Mine is the stock one that comes with the phone - it just says "Hello, please leave your message after the beep" or something to that effect..I've never ever had any type of identifying message on there. I heard it wasn't good to do, because someone could get your name, and possibly cross reference it with the phone book, then come and rob you.

I'm now late on 3 accounts, and I've simply shut off my ringers, and turned the answering machine all the way down. At least I can sleep past 8:15 a.m. now!

[goneunder]

I have yet to speak to any of them, what do they expect me to say? My ringer volume is down and I get 50+ messages a day and now they are blowing up my cell phone. Very aggrivating but just counting the days until the Atty. is paid in full and we can get this over with.

[Meatstick]

I get the same amount of calls that goneunder does and I take the same route and just don't answer. Very few if any even bother to leave a message. I stopped paying CC's in late October and as of this date only 3 collection letters and they all are GE Money accounts.

I can hold my own when on the phone so whatever bs they would try to pass would go in one ear and out the other.

If you want to get their blood boiling tell them " I put all my bills in a box and once a month randomly pull one bill out and pay it. If you don't stop calling me I won't put your bill in the box ! "

Along with a DV you can also send a C & D. But be careful, based on what they think they may get from you they may decide to sue when faced with the C & D.

[CCsAreEvil]

Or you can tell them that you'll make the payment right now via data over voice. Then start saying "1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1" And keep going until they hang up.

[tigergem]

youmail is fun, and free voicemail. You can pick and choose from different greetings for different callers.

Sadly, I am not getting any debt collectors calls to toy with at all. None. But I probably wouldn't be allowed to toy with them if they did call because I filed pro se.

But ever since I switched my cell service from Verizon to PagePlus, I get daily calls from Verizon Wireless. They aren't a creditor, my contract expired and I paid my cell bill in full before I dumped them. They are just "concerned" that I may be paying too much for my cellular service. Yes I was actually, until I switched. So kind of them to be concerned. So now I have their greeting set to the Verizon Wireless number disconnected greeting.

I also get nearly daily calls from a health insurance plan that I am about to drop also. For them it's "Answers to a Survey" which states, "At the tone, please take down my answers to your questions. Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes and No." And it disconnects without taking a message.

I particularly like the DitchMail feature that refuses to take messages from blocked or unknown callers. I figure that even as a pro se filer, I am entitled to know who is calling me. I had to publish my telephone number for their convenience, so they can provide me with theirs if they need to call me.

[JackBondLove]

I just tell them that my cash flow has deteriorated to the point that I came to the conclusion that I no longer have the cash flow to continue to meet *all* of my debt obligations, and that after an initial consultation with a bankruptcy lawyer, that I have been advised to not selectively pay one creditor over another (so as to avoid the problem of preferred creditor payments), but only to pay all creditors or none at all. And when asked for a plan, I say that I considering raising cash via leveraging and/or converting some assets that would be exempt in a Chapter 7 filing, and that it will take me some time to contemplate this (both from the standpoint of the possibility of such leverage or conversion, as well as the determination of whether such leveraging or conversion would be in my best interest), but that I am open to any offers for a settlement, such that if the settlement offers are good enough, it may be possible and desirable for me to avoid Chapter 7 - with the default (no pun intended) scenario being Chapter 7. [This wording allows you to Nixonesquely plausibly claim that you were not fully intending to file BK until you would actually file.]

If asked about my income or asset situation, I respond that I will only divulge such information in a Chapter 7 filing. If I am asked for a lawyer, I say that since I have not paid a lawyer for any representation, it would be inappropriate for me to divulge his information.

Now once I will have filed Chapter 7, I will give out his information as well as a stern warning to not call me ever again, with the consequences of such a call to be a complaint to my lawyer and any governmental entity that I think would be interested in hearing my complaint ... and perhaps even a trial lawyer for possible damages for abuse.

After I will have discharged, If I ever would start getting calls from any zombie debt collectors, I plan on putting on my best Gunnery Sgt. Hartman impersonation.

[tigergem]

I just tell them that my cash flow has deteriorated to the point that I came to the conclusion that I no longer have the cash flow to continue to meet *all* of my debt obligations, and that after an initial consultation with a bankruptcy lawyer, that I have been advised to not selectively pay one creditor over another (so as to avoid the problem of preferred creditor payments), but only to pay all creditors or none at all. And when asked for a plan, I say that I considering raising cash via leveraging and/or converting some assets that would be exempt in a Chapter 7 filing, and that it will take me some time to contemplate this (both from the standpoint of the possibility of such leverage or conversion, as well as the determination of whether such leveraging or conversion would be in my best interest), but that I am open to any offers for a settlement, such that if the settlement offers are good enough, it may be possible and desirable for me to avoid Chapter 7 - with the default (no pun intended) scenario being Chapter 7. [This wording allows you to Nixonesquely plausibly claim that you were not fully intending to file BK until you would actually file.]

If asked about my income or asset situation, I respond that I will only divulge such information in a Chapter 7 filing. If I am asked for a lawyer, I say that since I have not paid a lawyer for any representation, it would be inappropriate for me to divulge his information.

Now once I will have filed Chapter 7, I will give out his information as well as a stern warning to not call me ever again, with the consequences of such a call to be a complaint to my lawyer and any governmental entity that I think would be interested in hearing my complaint ... and perhaps even a trial lawyer for possible damages for abuse.

After I will have discharged, If I ever would start getting calls from any zombie debt collectors, I plan on putting on my best Gunnery Sgt. Hartman impersonation.

I don't think that most debt collectors are intelligent enough to understand so many syllables strung together that closely. Do you speak very slowly or find yourself having to repeat yourself often?