No letters or e-mail correspondence - is this normal??

[lalap123]

I am about 60 days late on all 7 credit cards...and all I've basically been getting is calls out the wazoo. I've gotten around four or five letters total, and only about three or four e-mail notifications notifying me that I'm late, telling me to send payment, etc. Is this unusual? I do have all of my accounts as e-statements, so maybe that explains things?

Also, if you don't mind my asking, what should I expect now that I am at the 60-day mark? I point-blank asked Washington Mutual several weeks ago how long it takes them to send accounts to outside collections and they told me 180 days. In general, should I expect Chase, Citibank, Discover, AE, BofA or Capital One to work around the same timeline (180 days)?

Also, once they've gone outside, should I expect my online account service to be unavailable? I'm checking every day and hoping I can catch on a little early that an outside collector will be calling...

[EricaCallaha]

We still go statements from the creditor even when they sent it to collections. Most cards will wait from 90-180 days to go to collections. They are probably just calling hoping that that will be enough. Now that you are at 60 days, are you filing a 13 or 7 soon?

Good luck.

[StartingOver08]

Your online service will be shut off long before the 180 day time frame. They shut if off early so you have to call them!

Make sure you have downloaded all your statements to your hard drive just in case you need them to file. Download at least 2 yrs worth of statements. If you don't need them, then no harm done.

[EricaCallaha]

We had online access right until we filed. In fact, we still have online access to one of the cards in the bk. It must depend on the card.

The biggies that we had were:
Capital One
Chase
HSBC

Good call from Starting Over....if you don't need them, then you just erase them.

[lalap123]

Thanks all. I'm waiting on my (hopefully soon-to-be) attorney to run my numbers through the means test, but I'm almost positive he won't be able to get me into a ch. 7 right now b/c I had several large deposits in December, January and February. One was a cashed out pension fund for around $10K. If that's the case, then I'm probably going to have to wait until August/September to file. I'm worried sick that I will be sued by that point
If he calls back and says he can get me into a ch. 7 I may still wait b/c I'm terrified that with my luck I'll get a trustee and judge who won't allow it b/c of the inflated 6-month income.

Also, I want to keep my car so I cannot show negative income at all. So, on the one hand, we have to show how we get an artificially inflated (IMHO) 6-mo. income down to $0 DMI after expenses yet still live reasonably well on our projected income that will be without the extra $10-$20K (does that make sense?) I just don't think it's going to fly.

[treehugger1]

If you are attempting the BK 7 route, then I would not push the 6 month edge too closely. Get your 6-month average below the means value for a few months beyond. Trustees can look back several months beyond the past six months and make their own call, in my research. Much depends upon your district trustee. Keep in mind that in many states (mine for example) the trustee (FED's) take can be as much as 10% of debt. Everyone is a capitalist (LOL.) Don't think your local/district trustee has separated himself/herself from this knowledge.

Put as much time between yourself and your "high" avergae six-month income as possible.

Just my opinion. Your mileage will vary.

[EricaCallaha]

Even if you wait it out like Treehugger suggested...I think that you are really far away from a lawsuit or judgment. Like I said before...The court is bursting to get all of this stuff on the docket. I think you have plenty of time.

Good luck.

[albacore44]

Stopped paying the end of february. got a call at work today, it was the auto dialer from Citi, so I hung up. Looked up my accounts online, and noticed they had my work phone listed as well as my old home phone (disconnected in favor of a VOP system)> I'm going to change my work # tonight online, as I don't need them ringing that # 50 times a day.

[ready2puke]

Once they have it dont they have it (the phone number that is). Does erasing it online make any difference at all?

[lalap123]

Good grief...I had no idea the trustee could look beyond the six months? It already makes absolutely no sense as to why they would base a payment plan on your past ability to pay, not future, so looking beyond is ridiculous IMHO.

[albacore44]

Once they have it dont they have it (the phone number that is). Does erasing it online make any difference at all?

don't know.............but we will see. just finished making the changes. I changed my work # in their system to my instant second line of OOma VOP system which is a # in an area code for philidelphia Pa. I'm in so cal. I can program the system to dunp all calls to that # directly to a voice mail, and then I can return their calls at my leasure. and they just might be temporarily fooled into thinking I moved. I sure it won't last long, but it's funny

[ready2puke]

Keep me posted if you can, Im interested in how that works for ya

don't know.............but we will see. just finished making the changes. I changed my work # in their system to my instant second line of OOma VOP system which is a # in an area code for philidelphia Pa. I'm in so cal. I can program the system to dunp all calls to that # directly to a voice mail, and then I can return their calls at my leasure. and they just might be temporarily fooled into thinking I moved. I sure it won't last long, but it's funny

Im in So Ca also...Torrance area

[catleg]

I have found that once you're about 60 days past due with Citi (missed 3 payments) their online web access doesn't let you change your contact info, add/delete authorized users, etc. It says to call in (to a human).

Chase on the other hand still lets me alter the contact info, and I see changes that they have made as well, for example, I can see that they have done a little bit of a skip trace on me to try and find other phone numbers to call me at, since I have many of their "most popular" numbers blocked with Verizon call intercept and don't answer for the others.

My latest effort to fool them (just for fun, no real accomplishment here) is to both put a number on the account (my magic jack #) but also to call into their automated system from that number and bring up my account info using that same #(so their caller ID will see and record it).

[EricaCallaha]

Just tell them to send it to you in writing. Or just start asking them what their favorite color is. I had one guy laugh so hard that he said that he hoped my number came up again on his call list again so we could discuss favorite foods. I used to love messing with collection calls.

Good luck.

[treehugger1]

I'm not saying the trustee will look beyond six months, but when I first looked in to BK (I still have not filed) I had such flucuating income, that several attorneys stated it could be a bit problematic. This could be more the case in a BK 13 where the trustee is doing his/her best to determine disposable income.