We're in with both feet now!

[ssmdem]

I stopped paying Citibank 3 months ago and have not had one call from them. Hopefully that will be your experience too. My phone is been nice and quiet today!

The only concern I have with telling the creditors about retaining an attorney is they may try to sell off the debt to a CA. My understanding is that CA are more ruthless than the CC companies. Unfortunately, I won't be able to file for a month. I could be wrong about this and maybe I am worrying for nothing.

Well, no luck on that one. Citibank CC was late as of Friday and they've already called twice this morning. No word from Chase yet. Both balances are about $25K each.

[kartoons19]

Well, no luck on that one. Citibank CC was late as of Friday and they've already called twice this morning. No word from Chase yet. Both balances are about $25K each.

That stinks that Citibank already started calling you. I thought for sure they would call me as I tried to negotiate with them and they wouldn't budge. They also pulled out a payment after I cancelled autopay. Not sure how they determine who to call or not to call. I am a little over 3 months late with Citibank and owe about $12K.

I did start getting calls from Chase after 30 days of being late (I have two Chase CC). They haven't called since I gave them my attorney's information.

I never thought I would say I look forward to the day when I can file bk, but I do!

[CreditCretin]

We stopped paying the CC's late last month and the calls all have started about 3-4 days after the bill was due. I have very politely told them exactly what the attorney told me to say, the basic "I have retained a laywer and will be filing for bankrupty, his name is yadda yadda, and his phone number is .... " Most of the creditors have been very nice, I was surprised. One or two even wished me luck.

Chase was the worst so far, asking what chapter I was filing, when would I file, why was I filing, etc. I just said you will need to ask my laywer those questions. Then the person got really snippy and said something like "You can't try to tell me you don't know what chapter your filing" in a really sarcastic tone. I politely replied, "I have told you I am filing and I have given you my lawyers contact information, have a wonderful day" and hung up on them. They haven't called back (yet) ... I do have to say answering the first call was the hardest, it has gotten progressively easiery as the days have gone by. With over 10 credit cards with balances, I expect a few more phone calls...

[ssmdem]

We stopped paying the CC's late last month and the calls all have started about 3-4 days after the bill was due. I have very politely told them exactly what the attorney told me to say, the basic "I have retained a laywer and will be filing for bankrupty, his name is yadda yadda, and his phone number is .... " Most of the creditors have been very nice, I was surprised. One or two even wished me luck.

Chase was the worst so far, asking what chapter I was filing, when would I file, why was I filing, etc. I just said you will need to ask my laywer those questions. Then the person got really snippy and said something like "You can't try to tell me you don't know what chapter your filing" in a really sarcastic tone. I politely replied, "I have told you I am filing and I have given you my lawyers contact information, have a wonderful day" and hung up on them. They haven't called back (yet) ... I do have to say answering the first call was the hardest, it has gotten progressively easiery as the days have gone by. With over 10 credit cards with balances, I expect a few more phone calls...

I've got one with Chase as well. I guess I'm lucky (if you can call it that) - only three cards, Chase, Citi, and then one with Lowe's. The Lowe's one though is on one of the 6 months no payment plans - so should only have about one month late on that one when I file. Just will have to put up with Citi and Chase until then. Citi has called 8 times today. We've decided - one creditor each week gets answered, the rest get ignored. This isn't Citi's week.

[Universal]

When the credit card companies started calling, I always answered the phone in an oriental/asian (no offense to anyone) voice and said the person they were calling for was not home.
Stupid I know, but most of the callers were recordings or had foreign accents.

[ssmdem]

And Chase started today. Has already called 4 times this morning. Can't wait until I can get the money to retain the attorney and at least be able to pass on her information.

[feelingnutsy]

Hey---Universal---I did the same thing a couple of times---
and then pretended to be a relative or friend answering the
phone---and when the pushiness started---I'd say that said
party was in the bathroom with her boyfriend---joining the
Mile High Club---right on the ground---I got a hang-up---LOL.

[JackBondLove]

I was in a similar situation as I was about 6 months away from filing when I stopped making payments. I still had some cash that was to be used to buy an exempt asset on the eve of chapter 7 BK filing. I would answer the phone every once in a while, trying to make sure that everyone got answered at least once a month.

My standard line was:

I have determined that my cash flow has deteriorated to the point such that I believe that it would not be prudent for me to continue to pay all of my creditors. I have had a consultation with a BK attorney, but have not officially retained him, so ethically I am not able to divulge his contact information at this time. I need to go through BK counseling, which will help me to determine if filing for Chapter 7 would be prudent. I am also considering other avenues, such as liquidating or leveraging exempt assets.

When I was asked what happened, did I lose my job, etc., I would respond:

My attorney has instructed me that it would be prudent for me not to divulge anything until such time as I would either pay all my creditors back, or file for Chapter 7 BK.

I did that for about 3 months, and then added this:

I may be able to avoid Chapter 7, but to do so, I will need to have each one of my creditors make a good enough offer that makes the total low enough so that it would be possible for me to raise such cash, as well as be low enough so that it would make the whole deal be prudent. Therefore I am asking for the best offers from my creditors.

Then when I would be asked what I was looking for in an offer (like a slimy car salesman would), I would respond:

I don't know what percentage I would need on average to make this work, but suffice it to say, the lower I can get, the higher probability that I could avoid filing Chapter 7.

Then once I paid for my attorney, I simply said:

I have retained Joe Blow, Equ., as my attorney to file Chapter 7 BK. His phone # is 555-827-5309.

And then there was quiet across the land.

[JackBondLove]

Most of the creditors have been very nice, I was surprised. One or two even wished me luck.

I had the Hindians from Nationwide call me about the Amex account. When they would ask why I was having such difficulty, I would say:

I can't get any work anymore because all my potential clients would rather hire the damn foreigners.

I would always hear a slight giggle with that line.

[Blueboy]

When the credit card companies started calling, I always answered the phone in an oriental/asian (no offense to anyone) voice and said the person they were calling for was not home.
Stupid I know, but most of the callers were recordings or had foreign accents.

I would act like a VERY senior citizen with bad hearing making them repeat everything at least once. You could tell it frustrated them to no end!