Need help i don't know what to do!

[charleenkay]

Hello I need some help and am not sure what i should do. This is the problem. I am 21 year old student, i only work part time. I have a cc bill for 11,000. I have been paying a collector for about 2 years now 250.00 a month. I wasn't doing good this past month money wise and couldn't pay the whole payment. So now I missed ONE payment in 2 years and they sent my account to a lawyer. THis lawyer called me and said either i pay all of it by the 26th or they will bring me to court for wage garnishment or something like that. Can they do this after missing one payment? Right now I'm not sure what to do. I am a part time worker only making about 900.00 a month. I have a lot to pay for along with this bill, car, rent, ect. What are my options here? Do I just let them garnish my wages or do i file bankrupcy? I am young and unsure of what my options are right now. How much will they garnish in Minnesota? I thought it was like 25 percent? What should I do? If they take me to court do i need to get an attourney? Do I pay attourney fees now? I dont have that money now to pay for that. I am not sure how that works. Can someone please give me some advice on what to do. Thanks for any comments!!!

[Viper]

I wouldn't recommend BK, in the big picture you don't owe all that much. I would continue making payments of $250/month. It would be pointless for them to get a judgment against you as long as you are making payments. Even if they do get a judgment and take 25%, thats only $225/month. Just my opinion. Hope this helps some.

-Viper

[StaciMM]

Its a good possibility this attorney was another office in the same collection agency. They want your money.

Technically, yes they could pursue a judgement which could ultimately lead to garnishment. I didn't look up specifics for your state, but in most, the first $154.15 (30 X min wage) of your take home pay is exempt from garnishment.

[charleenkay]

I would still keep making payments, but this attourney said there is no possible way i can make payments anymore. They want the whole amount due. I cannot possibly get that kind of money by the 26th of this month, or i would have already paid it. So if I don't have the money they will garnish wages and take me to court. So what do you think I should do. I do not want to file BK. But they leave me with really no choice. Thanks for the reply!!!!!!

[StaciMM]

They don't have to agree to the payment arrangements, but they will have to post any payments you make to your account. Do you have any idea is this agency bought the account, or if they're handling it on behalf of the original creditor? (If not sure you can always call the original & ask.)

If they are not the account owner-you can send them a letter to 'cease and desist' all communication. Meaning they won't be allowed to call or send anything by mail. Basically, you can fire them. They'll return the account to the original creditor, who will likely send it out to another agency at some point. (Repeat the C&D notice.)

[nic23]

Charleen...Wow!! I am in the same situation! I make roughly 900/mo working pt and Im a college student! My CC debt is roughly a little over 10,000. The biggest turning point for me, because I did not want to bankrupt, was when a creditor decided to make a lawsuit against me and take me to court for my 2,000 discover card. It just wasn't worth it, I had a net pay of 20 bucks a month after my car, rent, etc. I was under the illusion that, hey Im going to have my MD in 4 more years, maybe I can just pay it all off then when my income is A LOT better. But my grades were slipping, because I would get calls, letters, my parents would get harrassed at their home, it was too much. I came to the realization that my credit was already messed up by me not paying, you know they are reporting every single month, probably almost every ever hour!! to the credit bureaus. Filing was not going to make it any worse than it already was. I know its going to be on your credit reports, but for me after Im done with school, Im hoping my credit will be a little better. It's definitely hard in the sense that no one knows that I did it except my family, but Im having no regrets. Im even laughing and hanging out with my friends again, I have more study time because I can cut back on my hours!
Bankruptcy sounds bad yes, but trust me, you can get your credit score back up in no time..thats the great part! It so much better than to have deliquent and derogatory marks on your credit!
Good Luck!

[Zapata]

So Nic, are you saying you did file bankruptcy?

I can't believe how ruthless that creditor/collection agency is being with the Original Poster! You can't win for trying. sheesh.

[nic23]

Sorry, one more thing...When I got the court papers in the mail staing I was being sued by discover and they were probably going to garnish my wages, I filed, and it stopped them. If you don't have the money to pay, you know the creditor will take you to court. Don't stress out, I was only into $175 of my lawyer payment of 800(he let me make payments to him). But he got the creditor case continued until I was all done filing, so I didn't have to worry about it, what a relief!! trust me it is! Garnishment is a lot worse than BK in sooo many ways! If you don't like you lawyer, get another one, also try a woman's debt-free law office. They're women lawyers, and they are so understanding and helpful!

[nic23]

Yes, I filed, my 341 is in 2 weeks..I know I made the right decision for myself.
My grandmother used to tell me, when I would tell her how hard everything was getting for me...should I quit school and just work to pay my bills, I couldn't handle anything anymore.., she would say, sweetie life is not about how you start, it's how you finish. So, all the debt was not worth giving my dreams up.

[Zapata]

Oh, I love your grandmother!!! Life is how you finish! That's beautiful!!

And besides, you owe it to your community to become a doctor! I mean... I think we really are supposed to use our talents and expand our talents for the good of our communities. What has Discover Card done to uplift, enlighten, heal, or even just support our community members? I'd rather have a compassionate doctor bloom than have some guy who works to pay his bills.

Also, I think money is a spiritual concept. If in the future I somehow make some money, I fully intend to 'pay my debts' quietly.. by helping others. Paying it forward, basically. Currency is only what we define currency to be. Uh huh. I don't buy into the almighty banking system who decides what is valuable and what is not.

Yes, great that you are pursuing your doctor-hood!! And it looks like you have taken the oath: Physician, heal thyself. I mean, shoot, you weren't sharing yourself with your friends because you were so stressed about debts. The universe/God expects us to contribute our joy to others' lives!!

So, have a great weekend!!

[charleenkay]

Wow I am so glad there is someone else out there my age in my same situation. For the person who asked if this place bought my account or was working for the original. I actually got a letter in the mail from this place yesterday. It's from a LVNV FUNDING LLC. It said that this place has "purchased" my account. It also says "This is a communication from a debt collector." So does this mean they arn't attourneys? Are they just trying to scare me? And will that cease and decist work in this situation? Or are they really going to bring me to court? I will keep making payments to them if they will take them. Sometimes I think if it's worth paying them all that money for 5 years with my credit already messed up. Or just to file BK and have these people off my back. Does anyone know if my credit is really going to get any better paying this bill and not getting any credit for trying or to just file BK? Thank You for all the Help! All the advice has helped a lot!

[StaciMM]

1. If you send a payment, they will take it & apply it to your account. That doesn't mean that they won't try to get you do more.

2. If they bought your account, then you're dealing with your creditor directly (because they own the debt now) so I don't think the C&D will have an effect. No harm in trying though!

3. Most likely, they have no plans at this point to take court action. Having an attorney's name on the letterhead means nothing.

[AAAArt]

You may be able to find some help through this group. I have no connection with them, only know that they were referenced in a book as a place where people who need consumer advocate attorneys and/or advice. Looks really legit to me. (National Association of Consumer Advocates...www.naca.net.)
I think that you're in an awful mess through very little of your own fault and need some professional advice in a hurry.
Another thought...Many of us interviewed BK attorneys via a free interview. Why not see if you can get into see an attorney for free...moat of them will give you a half hour free, and tell them your situation and ask their advice.
A 3rd option is that since you are attending college, you have access to some great sources. Go see a counselor or a Business Professor.
I personally think that the Collection Agency is at the very least pushing the envelope on being legal and that you desperately need outside help. Hoe you can find some. Best wishes.