Does the type of creditor have any correlation to whether or not they'll show at 341?

[Diesel73L]

From reading a lot of posts here I know that some folks have very complex situations with their debts, cars, homes, secured debt as a result of store credit cards, businesses, medical debt to hospitals and doctors, etc...but my wife and I have a pretty cut and dry case. By the time we file we'll own both vehicles outright and will have plenty of exemptions to cover them, and we plan to continue paying on our home (but not reaffirming). The only debts we have and wish to discharge are credit cards from the following companies:

Bank of America (I have one card with them as does my wife)
Chase (same as above)
Citibank (Just me)

All told it comes to about $50K in unsecured CC debt. These are all massive "superbanks" at this point post the 2008 financial crisis, TARP, "you're-too-big-to-fail-already-so-go-by-another-bank-and-make-yourself-bigger?" Will these banks actually bother to send someone to a 341 hearing on a random weekday to hassle us about less than $25K (when you break it down by account) worth of debt? I mean, I could see if you took out a personal loan for $10,000 from your local independent bank and then filed for BK that they would be there in a heartbeat in an attempt to not lose that money, but I listen to Marketplace every afternoon on NPR and all I hear about is how well these banks are doing despite the turmoil the rest of us are in. I'm really only asking the question because I feel like the more I know what to expect at a 341 the less nervous I'll be.

[jeep75]

Normally local banks are most inclined to show up. The big banks generally do not show, they may file an Adversary proceeding if you have used your cards recently to do large cash advances or purchase luxury items.

[frogger]

They won't show.

[Diesel73L]

They won't show.

That makes me feel better. We will stop all CC use 6 months prior to filing to try to ensure against any adversary proceedings, but since all that takes is a letter from their legal department I guess its always a possibility. Needless to say I don't think either of us have charged anything that could be considered a "luxury" for at least two years and don't plan to between now and filing. Neither of us has ever taken out a cash advance either since the interest rates were so insanely high and we were never in that impossible of a situation (thank God).

[frogger]

That makes me feel better. We will stop all CC use 6 months prior to filing to try to ensure against any adversary proceedings, but since all that takes is a letter from their legal department I guess its always a possibility.

If you know that you're filing, you need to stop using the cards now.

[Diesel73L]

If you know that you're filing, you need to stop using the cards now.

You bring up an interesting point. Do I know that I'm filing? I'm not trying to be a smart-alec here-our situation is this. Right now my wife and I are both employed-she is a teacher and has a job waiting for her in September, but she is filling in for a woman who has taken the year off (teachers in our state are entitled to take a year, unpaid, for maternity leave, and their job will be held for them). Job prospects for teachers are not so good right now due to unprecedented state budget cuts, so it is unlikely that she will find work elsewhere after June 2012 when her current employment ends. It's not impossible and she certainly will try, but it's not likely either. Furthermore, I have been trying to find another job (I am currently "underemployed") but have been unable. All of that said, we know that if our situation does not change, we will have to file sometime in late 2012. I liken our situation to the following hypothetical scenario:

You're in the bottom of a canyon with high walls on both sides in a speeding car with the accelerator stuck to the floor. At the end of the canyon is a wall of solid rock, but the canyon is a couple of miles long and you're not sure what is between you and the wall. Maybe there's a turn off somewhere so you could find your way out. Maybe there's a patch of loose sand that the car will get stuck in. Maybe the car will run out of gas, etc...

July 1st, 2012 with no job prospects for my wife or myself is our rock wall as it will be the start of unemployment for her-its when financial disaster finally strikes. If we reach that point and nothing has changed, her income will be cut in half and we will be in no position to pay our credit cards, much less use them. Regardless, until then, I'm not speaking to an attorney, but I have purchased the NOLO book and have done research on this site. Are you saying that our creditors could accuse us of defrauding them as a result?

[Diesel73L]

Just to add a little more color to this situation hypothetically, I could get a job making $15-20K more per year and my wife could find another job (she already makes more than I do)-if that were the case we would likely be successful at implementing the Dave Ramsey snowball method, and eliminate our debt in say, five years. Kind of like our own version of CH13 but coming out with a perfect credit rating (the only thing that hurts us now is debt to income) on the other end. Will that happen? I don't know...all I know is that right now the stock market has lost its mind, we'll be lucky if the housing market gets back on its feet by the time my unborn child is legally able to drive, and that schools in our state are maxing out class sizes in order to justify laying off teachers. This actually goes back to a post I made a day or two ago about things you say on this site being used against you. So now I wonder-could a creditor trace your IP and say "this person posted on www.bkforum.com and contemplated bankruptcy" and get a case dismissed or a debt to not be discharged?

[frogger]

So now I wonder-could a creditor trace your IP and say "this person posted on www.bkforum.com and contemplated bankruptcy" and get a case dismissed or a debt to not be discharged?

Only the site admin and the moderators with the correct permissions would have access to your IP address.

[Diesel73L]

Only the site admin and the moderators with the correct permissions would have access to your IP address.

Sure I get that, but really what I was getting at was your original point about stopping use/payment of credit cards now given that I'm contemplating filing in late next year-if I file at all. So what I'm really asking is what lengths will a creditor go to in order to try to paint you as a fraudster who never intended to pay back their debt? As I said before, right now we can pay our minimums and are not insolvent. We won't be insolvent until my wife loses her job, but that's still quite a way off and a lot of things could happen between now and then. Basically if she gets no job offers by May of 2012 (teachers typically give notice that they won't be returning the following year or that they're retiring in March) and I haven't landed some job that's paying 30-40% more than what I'm making now, at that point its going to be time to consult an attorney and put all of the knowledge I've gleaned from this forum to work-and to stop using the cards of course. Until then, however, I'm going to do everything I can to avoid the necessity of BK.

[ValleYum]

Sure I get that, but really what I was getting at was your original point about stopping use/payment of credit cards now given that I'm contemplating filing in late next year-if I file at all. So what I'm really asking is what lengths will a creditor go to in order to try to paint you as a fraudster who never intended to pay back their debt? As I said before, right now we can pay our minimums and are not insolvent. We won't be insolvent until my wife loses her job, but that's still quite a way off and a lot of things could happen between now and then. Basically if she gets no job offers by May of 2012 (teachers typically give notice that they won't be returning the following year or that they're retiring in March) and I haven't landed some job that's paying 30-40% more than what I'm making now, at that point its going to be time to consult an attorney and put all of the knowledge I've gleaned from this forum to work-and to stop using the cards of course. Until then, however, I'm going to do everything I can to avoid the necessity of BK.

Way over thinking this you are.

pssst: Relax or you are gonna have a stroke!

[Diesel73L]

Way over thinking this you are.

pssst: Relax or you are gonna have a stroke!

Thank you...I needed that!