When to stop paying C.Cs

[johnsopi]

I think I need to wait 6 mths to file ch 7. How long can you not pay c.c
without them taking you to court?

[keepmine]

Months, years or, maybe never. People's experiences have been all of the above. Just noway to tell.

[b_girl]

After 6 months the balances will be written off and the debts will be sold to collection agencies, at which point you will receive tons of threatening letters. That will go on for several more months to a year or more. You have time.

[magyar123]

Depends how hard-up the creditors are, and of course how agressive they are. I just kept on making token $10 payments about 3-4 months before I actually filed. Seemed to do the trick. This was in 2004.

[StartingOver08]

It also depends upon who the creditor is..! Some of them get really nasty right away. Others just put you on a once-per week phone call. HSBC even sent me a letter reducing my credit line at Neiman Marcus by 75% WHEN I HAD A ZERO BALANCE! LOL!!! Naturally when I filed CH 7 they were the first ones to send a letter closing the account. I owed Chase over $15k and they sent a professional letter and one call - that was it. So it really depends on who the creditor is and what their policies are (and of course, what the credit markets are doing now)

[Overmylimit]

I wonder if this applies to business credit lines. I have a few that I haven't paid in about 6 months but they still have the loan and call many times a day. I think it also has to do with the amounts also. Like Bank of the West is 100k so they keep on trying to collect...but if I only owed like 5k on the line they probably would have let it go.

[biggomez777]

Even if you have to wait 6 months, you could still look into retaining a lawyer for your eventual filing...that would at least get the creditors off your back with the calls and letters and such. Assuming of course you can afford an atty at this point.

[epiphany]

Even if you have to wait 6 months, you could still look into retaining a lawyer for your eventual filing...that would at least get the creditors off your back with the calls and letters and such. Assuming of course you can afford an atty at this point.

I agree. Get the ball rolling and be ready. If you are current right now you have at least six months because even once a creditor files, it is a long process that you can actually make longer by asking for debt validation and later answering the summons.

I was sued at almost exactly the six month mark of not paying by HBSC. I did not answer the summons on the advice of my attorney but it still took another three and a half months to get a judgment.

But there is no way of knowing how a specific creditor will treat you. It really is the great unknown. Different people here have had opposite experiences with almost all creditors out there. For example, I was treated very well by BOA who I owed far more to than I did to HBSC but if you do a search on this forum, you will see how nasty BOA has been to others.

So you need to be serious and you need to plan. Just realize that a summons is not the end of the world and that BK will smack that down immediately.

Keep educating yourself and good luck,

ep

[fuzzeled]

Even if you have to wait 6 months, you could still look into retaining a lawyer for your eventual filing...that would at least get the creditors off your back with the calls and letters and such. Assuming of course you can afford an atty at this point.

If you obtain a lawyer but have to wait to file, can you direct the creditors to him/her?

[StartingOver08]

Yes you can - but my attorney had a 90 day limit in the retainer agreement. Maybe that could have been negotiated but I was ready to file anyway. (The 90 days was the maximum he would go between me signing the retainer and the rest of the fee for the filing). That will be an issue you want to discuss with each of the attorneys you are interviewing - especially since you are planning on six months.

[Mi Bankruptcy]

I stopped paying our cards at the end of July. I used the money and retained and paid off my attorney. My attorney will actually file end of this month or beginning of NOV. I used a phone script to talk to the creditors. I created mostly for my wife but decided to use it for myself so I didn't say anything that would get me into trouble. They pretty much have left us alone after we started talking to them and used the script below. We have not received any summons or anything as of yet. We did receive letters stating they were willing to reduce the debt by 60%-80%

http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=27825

[stressin]

It's been over 8 months since I stopped paying my CCs, and no one started legal action. Lots of threats of legal action, however. My lawyer will file my case this week.
I think your best bet is to be ready to file, if necessary, to avoid judgments, etc.

[ready2puke]

I wonder if this applies to business credit lines. I have a few that I haven't paid in about 6 months but they still have the loan and call many times a day. I think it also has to do with the amounts also. Like Bank of the West is 100k so they keep on trying to collect...but if I only owed like 5k on the line they probably would have let it go.

Not necessarily.. AX is nasty. I owe them about 750 or so and they start calling me every hour on the hour like clockwork. Starts at 8am and ends at 9pm Home work, cell..you name it. Like their life depends on it..weird....Then they sent me an email saying they will not let me charge on their cards. Hello??? You declined one of my cards that was current when I was only 30 days late on the other. I hate AX they are aweful..

[domaingamer]

That is brutal to call every hour on the hour for owing $750. The punishment they are delivering completely doesn't fit the crime. There should be rules on how often and which numbers the credit card companies and the collection agencies can call.

[syn]

My dad stopped paying his business credit cards in June. He has only heard every so often from Chase and he has never heard from Capital One. Citibank use to send stuff (how they wanted a minimum of $6,000) but that was it.

Bank Of America is by far the worse they call every 20 minutes at the shop (I work for my dad) 866 numbers, 888, 800, Florida, New Mexico, Texas, Idaho, etc. Then they will start calling the house around 5:30 till 9. Then on the weekends all day long both days that I take the phone off the hook all weekend long. He has 3 credit cards with them.

I think if anyone tries to do anything it's Citizens Bank. He not only has a credit card with them but a $80,000 business loan that is now down to $40,000. They have sent stuff to my house through a QuickServ company from an adjustment company. Only one letter so far to call and he did which he never got a call back.

No collection notices yet but I know they will come soon. I just worry about CB, the lawyer my dad talked to is to they are relentless I guess. Anyone else dealt with them?