CitiFinancial & Collections

[BrokenBrklyn]

I got one of these MONTHS AGO. They haven't even done anything or put a freeze on my bank account (that I have with citi) I also haven't gotten any other paperwork about this debt since..

Don't worry, you have time...

[ace13]

If they are threatening to sue you that means they haven't. You're safe until December easy.

My attorney got back to me and advised that I call citifinancial back and tell them I have retained attorney x and we will be filing for chapter7 in 30 days or so...so I called them and the branch manager was all cocky and said "well then why hasn't your attorney sent us anything?". I replied with "as I stated, we WILL be filing for chap 7 in 30 days. We haven't filed YET." He said in a very disappointed voice..."alright." and then asked for my attorney's number which I provided and hung up. I guess we shall see if they go thru with the judgment in light of that conversation. I'm posting this update for anyone out there that may be new and scared about those collection calls and letters. Keep in mind I was current on everything until September 2009. These ppl are aggressive considering I'm only a few months behind unlike others that have gone deliquent much longer. Good luck to us all...

[OhioFiler]

Well at 316 pm I got a call and vm from citifinancial again demanding that I call them as this I serious or they are filing judgment wig district justice x in my town. I have a call into my attorney to see if I should call back to let them know we would be filing chap 7 in the coming weeks. I was hoping to make it a while longer before they filed. I haven't spoken to any creditors but now may be time. I know some ppl thought I'd be safe til December or January when I wanted to file but don't know about that now. The hardest part for me right now is waiting for my attorney to respond.

If they are threatening to sue you that means they haven't. You're safe until December easy.

[jwmc1]

It isn't uncommon for the first day or two of the month for the calls to slow down.

[ace13]

I don't want to burst your bubble, but it does happen. Yesterday our phone was pretty quiet. We figured most of them got the notice we filed BK last week. Today they are back at it The phone has been ringing non stop. Crap One has called several times for DH and I told them we filed but they couldn't take the info from me. Now I bet if I offered to pay the account in full, they would be more than willing to take my $$$.

Well at 316 pm I got a call and vm from citifinancial again demanding that I call them as this I serious or they are filing judgment wig district justice x in my town. I have a call into my attorney to see if I should call back to let them know we would be filing chap 7 in the coming weeks. I was hoping to make it a while longer before they filed. I haven't spoken to any creditors but now may be time. I know some ppl thought I'd be safe til December or January when I wanted to file but don't know about that now. The hardest part for me right now is waiting for my attorney to respond.

[nerves]

I don't want to burst your bubble, but it does happen. Yesterday our phone was pretty quiet. We figured most of them got the notice we filed BK last week. Today they are back at it The phone has been ringing non stop. Crap One has called several times for DH and I told them we filed but they couldn't take the info from me. Now I bet if I offered to pay the account in full, they would be more than willing to take my $$$.

[ace13]

Interestingly I have not rec'd one call from citifinancial today. All calls stopped. I guess I will keep checking the local court site to see if they file something. Something is up with these loan sharks. You don't go from 8 to 10 calls a day to not one!!!

[albacore44]

i had a Citifinancial CC for a local mattress retailer and when I stopped paying Citi just called my work phone daily, I never spoke to them .I stopped paying over 6 months ago. I just got a letter from a CA last week.

[BNKRPTinNC]

We have a mortgage with CitiFinancial and they were aggressive with letters and phone calls when we quit paying on the mortgage. Had to pay or else so we told them or else which led to more letters and phone calls. Finally they showed up at the house to take pictures as they were going to foreclose. I told them, politely, to go ahead and snap away. She asked me what I was going to do and I told her that she would have to speak to my atty. She told me that I HAD to pay $500 by 5PM or else. I told her she would have to speak to my atty. For each question asked I responded with "speak to my atty". She finally stormed off saying she was going to enjoy foreclosing on this house so I didn't give my usual response and informed her she was to take her pictures and beat it. Guess who's smiling now?

[DeadManCrawling]

Don't know about other areas, but here in Tampa Florida, it took a year for one creditor to obtain a judgment. We are approaching three years, total, since nonpayment, and things are only starting to get serious now. We plan to file in Dec or Jan, and should still be okay. Next hearing is scheduled Dec 14, so we are hoping to beat that date.

You probably are okay, if you intend to file by end of year or shortly thereafter.

[ace13]

Thanks for everyone's input. I guess I can expect a lawsuit shortly. Just hope court is delayed until late December or January because my BK petion should be filed at that time. With the holidays approaching the courts will be swamped for the next two months...I hope

[jwmc1]

That has been my experience...it is also what I noticed on the local court docket

[justbroke]

It was completely unsecured...

They don't care anyhow. They are local, they like to bother people. That's their model. It's still an installment loan. All creditors with installment loans are more aggressive in collection activity than regular creditors on open-ended credit lines. Legal loan shark companies, like Citifinancial, Beneficial, HFC, and even the Pay-Day loan companies, thrive on collection tactics that make the mob do a double-take.

[jwmc1]

It was completely unsecured...

[justbroke]

I have noticed that these unsecured personal loans seem more apt to be acted upon by the creditor, but that's just me. My wife had $8,000 due to B of A on a credit card and we heard nothing, she had a personal loan with HFC/HSBC with $2,000 outstanding and they filed suit and got a judgement.

The reason is that those "unsecured personal loans" are called installment loans. You (usually) pledge property for them! HFC and Citifinancial are notorious for having you pledge household goods or other property as collateral for those loans. Most people don't notice, but when they ask if you have a couple of TVs or a computer at home, they put that on your loan as collateral!

The other part of getting loans from Citifinancial, HFC, Beneficial and the like, is that they maintain local offices for the express purpose of payment collection. Nothing like having local offices scattered everywhere! Much different than the centralized lending model of a national bank.