First Talk With Countrywide Collections

[Frogge]

...and hopefully the LAST, lol..

This morning I answered one of those calls from the 800-669-0102, that DH and I have been getting on our cell phones as well as home for a few weeks now. We are 54 days past due, so as last month the calls intensified toward month-end.

The guy was pretty nice, good morning, how are you and all that... this call is from a debt collector and may be monitored or recorded.. yada yada.. I was thoroughly prepared with my attorney's info but I was shaking like a leaf?!

I referred him to the attorney, gave all the info and he says "So... what is 'counsel' for, are you filing for bankruptcy?" To which I replied "I prefer that you contact the attorney's office for further information". He says "OOOOO....kaaaayyy..." kind of smart-a** -ish but not mean. I just didn't want to start rambling like a moron and say too much so I just didn't tell him anything. He asked this twice, I said the same thing both times, then he says "Well, I want to remind you that calls to you will continue until we can speak with your attorney" and I said, "oh, that's fine".

I then emailed my attorney's assistant when I got to work and she replied that they had gotten a call from Coutrywide, so hopefully this will end the constant calls. This was my very first collection call ever, and I have a headache from the experience, LOL. I hope I did the right thing on the phone - I figured not saying a lot is better than talking too much!

[AngelinaCatHub]

It would not hurt to have told him your intentions of bankruptcy. It probably would have stopped his calls at that time. Yes they will call the attorney. However, you are correct is noting that saying too little is better than saying too much. You did fine. Expect more calls, stay professional even if they are not, and simply refer them to your “bankruptcy” lawyer and give them the phone number. ‘Hub

[Frogge]

Thanks, 'Hub. I didn't want to say anything about BK yet, only because at this point my attorney is trying to give the house back before we talk BK options. I thought my saying 'BK' might deter negotations somehow? I'm not sure.. it may have been a good thing. and of course I didn't mention the letter they SHOULD have from him, which I probably should have.. I was nervous.

In the letter my attorney sent to the lenders he stated the house surrender was "in lieu of other remedies they may have available to them in their current situation".. which indicates BK, I would think.. ?

[Frogge]

If you are so scared to talk to any of the collectors and you see its a phone number you don't know calling...why do you answer?

Second and I am not trying to be mean, but if your giving the house back to them....who cares what you say or do, it wont change anything. Only time being "nice" would change anything is if your trying to do a "ride through" or you want something from a creditor. Otherwise you say, here is my attorneys number call him, give out the name and number, ask them to repeat the info back to you and then just hang up without saying another word.

You're not being mean, thanks for the advice.. I really did answer to give them the attorney's info, and that's it. This situation is just really new to me, so I'm just being careful what I say to anyone at this point. I want to get through the house situation as easily as possible so we can get on with the next step(s).

[BigJohn]

I was brought up believing you do not hang the phone up on people. So for me, if one these people call, my wife or I now say "He is very sick; he probably will not be back for 2 weeks or more". They generally say "Okay" and don't try to engage further in conversation. As far as being sick, I have been sick so I feel I am not lying.

By not talking to them, I don't think it has hurt me. Besides, I really have nothing to say to these people that they want to hear.

[justplaintired]

Frogge, You handled it well. I know when we got our nerve up to answer the phone and we started telling them what was going on, it was almost a relief. Sounds like your attorney is more then willing to handle this for you. Also, we did tell them we were filing. They all were nice. So you did good!

Next time say it out loud, we are filing BK, our attorneys name is such and such and here's his number. Thanks and you have a great day!!! It'll feel weird saying it out loud, but you'll be surprised, most of the people we talked to were so nice and so understanding. I honestly think they appreciated we were honest with them.

I was so worried about them calling neighbors or family or work, answering the phone was a necessity. Also our attorney took all our calls. When you have an attorney who is willing to do this for you, it can seriously make life much less stressful. I just couldn't bare the idea of a collector calling my parents or a neighbor! Lord we have the neighbor from hell next door and if she got wind of this it would be on the front page tomorrow.

Anyway Good Job!