calls rolling in

[graciebeth]

well I didnt pay the credit cards last month,and turned out that with car repairs and such I came up about $30 short for the month with OUT paying them, so no way I could have. Now the TNCare is up and going(so will cover my meds--paid for them last month-- and the foodstamps is started too so that helps a lot) Of course the minimum payments for this month are so high that theres no way I can afford it, not that i was planning on paying them anyway but even if I wanted to Id not be able to.. Amazing how the $140 minimum payment turned into $350 just by missing one month, ugh..

Calls come in thru the day from 'card services', Im thinking its from the WaMu credit card but really its just a feeling and I could be wrong, ive not answered any of the calls and have the number saved and set to 'silent' they really dont want to hear what I have to say anyway and I definately dont want to hear what they have to say and then wind up feelin even worse.

I still have not changed my SS checks over to paper, but I do plan on doing that to prevent it from potentially being caught up in a levy,even if I could get the money back it just seems like a lot to go thru red tape wise and probably bank fees too..I still have a question about that tho, I have a couple things that come out automatically,and while I could change it and pay in person/mail Id prefer not to (the car insurance is a tad cheaper this way than paying in person I think) so once I get the SS checks in paper form would it be ok to just deposit a bare minimum? say if I have automatic payments of $125 could I just deposit $150 and get the rest of the SS checks in cash? or do I need to deposit a whole entire check to proof that that money came from SS and then withdraw the difference?? or does it really not matter? if I were to start paying the couple of things in person/mail would I then simply not put any $ in the acct? I dont want to close it.

just a bit confused as to how to go about it
---Gracie

[jwbbx]

I know what you mean about the calls. I stopped paying the minimums in late April and not even 2 weeks later the calls started. So far Amex, Chase, and WaMu have all called. I have not had a late payment in 10 years, yet 14 days and they're calling. Pretty sad huh?

Anyway, I have retained my attorney, and he says to send them all his way!

That's a relief - I didn't want to have to deal with them.

[JRScott]

Do you have any income other than SS?

[jp2861]

I would do as you posted as one of your plans. The only thing I would do is change the payments from automatic withdrawal to bill pay. This way you have control of the payment date if you happen to get tied up and can't make it to the bank.

If today you plan on depositing the amount for covering payments, schedule the payment to be sent tomorrow.

If you do pay in person simply deposit enough to keep the account in good standing, ie: covering monthly fees and charges.

It doesn't matter if you deposit the entire amount or just enough to cover the payments. If the money isn't in your account there's nothing for a creditor to take on a levy. If there's no money to be taken there's nothing that needs to be proved. Anyway, it's very rare to have your account levied without you knowing ahead of time. Most accounts that get levied are due to the debtor ignoring to respond to notices or notices being sent to the wrong address.

[graciebeth]

No the SS is my only income, its survivors benefits that the kids and I get since my husband passed away in '03 to cancer.

One of the things that makes me most nervous is that I cannot file til next summer, me and my husband filed in '01, then 3 months later he was diagnosed with the cancer and we never really got a chance to recover and things have been crazy ever since. anyway im really nervouse with that time span,and with what can/cant/might/might not happen during this time between now and next summer ya know?.. I hate having the calls coming in but really have no urge to talk to any of them as they dont want to hear what Id have to say anyway and i definately dont wand to hear what they have to say LOL.. I wont ignore a summons to court or anything, but I will avoid phone calls.

---Gracie

[graciebeth]

Im not sure if my bank has bill pay, they only very recently even got online banking so Im not sure if I have that option to switch over. getting the money there for the stuff shouldnt be a problem tho, the automatic payments are both later in the month and the SS checks come on the 3rd or even sooner if the 3rd is on a weekend or holiday.

Its refreshing to know that they wont/cant levi it without my knowledge, I assume Id hear something thru the mail prior to that happening? im not answering calls so I hope they wouldnt do it over the phone. I have this fear of it happening without my knowing and bammo my money being gone/seized up ya know?.

hugz-grace

[WhatMoney]

Its refreshing to know that they wont/cant levi it without my knowledge, I assume Id hear something thru the mail prior to that happening? im not answering calls so I hope they wouldnt do it over the phone. I have this fear of it happening without my knowing and bammo my money being gone/seized up ya know?.

Well actually Grace, you will NEVER receive any advance notice of a bank levy. The bank will notify you by mail several days after your bank account funds are frozen. I think what jp meant was that you won't get a bank levy without a judgement, and you should know if and when you are going to be sued, and if you have a judgement against you.

You do need to watch your mail for any threats from an attorney or CA licensed to practice in your state - since they are the ones most likely to go through with a lawsuit. And while you "should" be served notice well in advance of any suit, there is also "sewer service", where a dishonest server or lawyer never really serves you. This is their dream, since it guarantees a default judgement against you. Sending a summons to an old address, serving a stranger near your home, tacking a summons to your front door where it blows away, publishing your summons in the newspaper (after they get your wrong address summons returned), and just plain faking the summons service report, are all methods some CA's and their attorneys can use to avoid serving you.

As far as depositing your entire SS check in your account, I suggest you do that, and then withdraw all in cash or money orders except what you need to pay your bills from your account. You need to do this only to assure your account deposits are easily traced to your exempt funds. If you only deposit enough to cover your bills, how are you going to prove to a judge that those deposited funds were from SS? The collection attorney may object to your claim of exemption, and say you made $100 from selling cookies or whatever, and deposited it.

Also, make a copy of your SS check and deposit slip before depositing it. This, along with the cleared deposit on your bank statement, and a letter from SS showing it is the same amount as you deposited will provide uncontroversial proof that your deposit was from SS and is therefore exempt. This is only a precaution in case you get sued and are at risk of a bank levy.

By keeping your SS income direct deposit, you have an easy way to prove exempt funds. But you then have the risk of bank levy freezing those funds IF you ever get a judgement.

[morallyBR2]

Just hang up on them. There is not any laws that say you have to be nice. I like to have fun with them myself, I ask them perosonal questions about their lives until they get pissed and hang up on me. I dig the role reversal thing... Fun times!

[Cali]

If your bank doesn't offer bill pay, you can use mycheckfree.com. It's a great site and I have used it in the past.