Filing for a second time? Should I or am I even able?

[BKAttyMI]

Didn't read all of the responses, but why not do a Chapter 13 and cram-down the interest rate on the vehicle? Go speak with a qualified bankruptcy attorney.

[bcohen]

Thank you so much for asking this question. I am in the same boat somewhat....I had also filed Ch. 7 and was discharged March 2007. After my discharged I started receiving bills from 3rd party collectors advising I owed the debt to them because it had been sold by the original creditor and because I didn't include the 3rd pary in my BK case...I still owed them. Fast forward to now...I need to payoff everything on my credit report..so I can at least increase my score or be debt free i order to qualify for a Rent to Own home...since I know I will never qualify without renting first.

If these are junk debt buyers (JDB's) who purchased debt which you included in the bankruptcy, you shouldn't pay these people jack schitt! The debt was discharged, even if you didn't know about (or didn't list) the JDB in your bankruptcy. The fact that some company purchased a discharged debt from the original creditor does NOT magically make it a current debt of yours. What you need to do is send these people a letter informing them of the fact that the debt was discharged, their continued attempts to collect (which includes negative credit reporting) are a violation of the permanent discharge injunction, and that should they fail to heed your warning, you won't hesitate to reopen the bankruptcy case and have the judge sanction their company for this flagrant violation of the bankruptcy discharge. Enclose a copy (not the original) of your bankruptcy discharge order.

Most likely they will comply, and delete the accounts from your credit report, and cease further collection activity. If not, you should be able to find an attorney who will take this kind of case at little or no cost to you, since he can collect his fees as part of the judgment against the JDB.

[keepmine]

Thank you so much for asking this question. I am in the same boat somewhat....I had also filed Ch. 7 and was discharged March 2007. After my discharged I started receiving bills from 3rd party collectors advising I owed the debt to them because it had been sold by the original creditor and because I didn't include the 3rd pary in my BK case...I still owed them. Fast forward to now...I need to payoff everything on my credit report..so I can at least increase my score or be debt free i order to qualify for a Rent to Own home...since I know I will never qualify without renting first.

Please tel me you didn't pay them. Does not matter if they were listed or not. If you listed the OC, that was sufficient.

[tiredofdebt1]

Thank you so much for asking this question. I am in the same boat somewhat....I had also filed Ch. 7 and was discharged March 2007. After my discharged I started receiving bills from 3rd party collectors advising I owed the debt to them because it had been sold by the original creditor and because I didn't include the 3rd pary in my BK case...I still owed them. Fast forward to now...I need to payoff everything on my credit report..so I can at least increase my score or be debt free i order to qualify for a Rent to Own home...since I know I will never qualify without renting first.

[keepmine]

IF, and I repeat IF, I decided to say "screw it, I'm not paying anyone anymore except my house and car", how does that work? I know they will try and collect from your directly for a while and then sell the debt to a collection agency later. How long do they chase you and how long does that show up on your credit report/score? To me that sounds like the worst option possible, especially because some of my debts are pretty small ie. $200 -$400. But how/why would I choose to pay some but not all of them and still have a really bad credit score for the near future. To me it's either continue trying to work magic (and failing) or stop paying them all. Again, I'm thinking out loud and appreciated everyone's help.

You need to make more of a fight out of it before you play the bk card again.
I know you want to spend time with family but, you also need to support this family. Good luck ever seeing any credit but subprime with 2 bk's showing on your report. That's 20 years with a bk notation in the public records section. Get used to 20% auto loans when that van plays out.
Get you a pt/weekend job. Doesn't need to be forever but, just long enough to get breathing room. What about your wife trying to work pt while you're home with the kids just for the holidays? For sure you don't sign the kids up for anything else until you get your finances under control .Pay off those $200-$400 cards first. That'll give you a little breathing room and a few less payments a month. Next, just pay minimums on all except the one with the highest rate and throw all you can afford every month on that one until paid.Get the medical debt settled and, make some arrangements on the student loan.

Were it me, it would be a bleak Christmas in the keepmine household. Just explain times are tough and you have to have some priorites and they {the kids} need to trust your judgment.

You asked what can happen. They can't garnish wages in Tx. but, they can clean out your bank account. That judgment will just sit there until you accumulate some assets and then, they'll try and collect. IF you and/or your wife ever inherit anything, that judgment creditor will be right there to take it. That's noway to live.

[keepsmiling]

Since you have experience in selling and some feedback already, you could start out by taking stuff on consignment. You may even have an offer for free listings.

I KNOW it's a ton of work, and they've edged out the small sellers etc. But there are now Facebook groups and lots of videos with some great support and suggestions on how to ship for less, what to buy, etc.... and a lot of these small sellers seem to be doing very well. I recently bought a piece of equipment off a middle aged guy who had lost his long time professional job --sound familiar?-- and set up shop in his garage, mostly with sound and other electrical equipment. He's doing quite well apparently. Either sell what you know or learn about other stuff to sell. Hit garage sales on the weekends... you can bring the kiddos along. Or dumpster dive. Or do a free ad on CL that you will take stuff on consighnent. It's just one idea btw. It was the being around for the kids that I was thinking about.

[TheBajan]

There's one thing here that hasn't been suggested. If I'm correct, you must wait 8 years after your prior chp 7 discharge before you are eligible to file AND RECEIVE a discharge for another chapter 7. That means that you could stop paying your creditors and just wait it out till May of next year and try filing a chp 7. Those of you with more knowledge, please correct me if I'm wrong about this.

Having said that, I personally think you should use the time to really focus on financial discipline. If you don't, you will be right back here again. A chp 13 may be the best thing for you in that it forces you to develop financial discipline in order to succeed.

Best wishes. Welcome and please do keep us posted.

[AngelinaCat]

To Everyone On this Thread:

Please go back to your High School English Grammar Classes, and learn to post here with PARAGRAPHS, so that people can read read them.

I will go through and correct these posts in the next couple of days, but I am tired of having to do so.

Also, when I create the paragraph you should have when posting, I may create a misunderstanding because I have made a paragraph, in an area that you did not intend.

Thank You

You are responsible for your own posts.

[tobee43]

i have also been selling on ebay, close to 17 years now, and as bcohen points out the costs have now began to out weigh the work and have eaten up most all and any profits...and it's a ton of work. i have always upwards of 200 items on ebay, (i have no more time so now i'm down to 87), i make enough to buy groceries and that is about it. now the ONLY reason i'm doing it is to get rid of old clothes and "things" that are more profitable than using them as a donation, also, certain things sell better than others. i try to keep everything down until 13 oz to be able to offer free shipping, however, my down winter coats that i would love to sell, costs way to much to ship and no one wants to pay, everyone buying on ebay now wants it for nothing. ebay's attitude towards the sellers really has gotten so bad. then lets not forget the taking of the pictures the downloading and the write ups. way to much work for such a little...except one item i sell. i will not mention what it is since it may not be appropriate however, after my weeks auctions and after buying groceries, if and when i have the time i go hunting for this item for resale as it is extremely profitable. right now, my few clients pay me far better and it's actually less work than ebay!

[bcohen]

By the way, I love the idea of selling on eBay and have used it in the past to sell off items from around the house so I know how to do it. But what in the world would I sell on there as a business? I don't have any experience in that sense at all. I figured that people on there aren't making much any money from most of the junk I see on there or there are high startup fees to even acquire the stuff to sell.

Buying stuff to resell on Ebay is the fastest way to get in a lot of debt and waste a lot of valuable time. Ebay takes more than 15% off the top (10% final value fee on the entire balance including shipping plus Paypal charges another 3-5% on the entire balance--including the money that you never see because you paid it in fees or for postage). A private person trying to sell things on Ebay is squeezed in all directions because larger sellers who sell in volume pay lower Ebay fees, lower shipping costs, and lower acquisition costs to buy the merchandise.

Unless you are proposing to sell things which are worthless to you, or which you got for free, you will likely lose your shirt. I used to sell on Ebay before the big fee increases and postage increases, now I never sell there unless it's something that I'd be throwing away if it didn't sell, so whatever I get--as long as it at least covers my fees and postage--is fine.

[texascc2]

IF, and I repeat IF, I decided to say "screw it, I'm not paying anyone anymore except my house and car", how does that work? I know they will try and collect from your directly for a while and then sell the debt to a collection agency later. How long do they chase you and how long does that show up on your credit report/score? To me that sounds like the worst option possible, especially because some of my debts are pretty small ie. $200 -$400. But how/why would I choose to pay some but not all of them and still have a really bad credit score for the near future. To me it's either continue trying to work magic (and failing) or stop paying them all. Again, I'm thinking out loud and appreciated everyone's help.

[keepmine]

There is no such thing as being judgment proof.
If, your income can't be garnished and you have no assets that can be attatched, you're execution proof but, anybody can get a judgment. They just may not be able to get any money out of you.

[texascc2]

By the way, I love the idea of selling on eBay and have used it in the past to sell off items from around the house so I know how to do it. But what in the world would I sell on there as a business? I don't have any experience in that sense at all. I figured that people on there aren't making much any money from most of the junk I see on there or there are high startup fees to even acquire the stuff to sell.

[texascc2]

We've debated about my wife or I staying home versus daycare and as of now we have my 3 year old in a great daycare and at the lowest price ever...we now pay $610 a month for a in home day care with a very caring ex teacher that is amazing. We just started this not too long ago and before that she was in Stepping Stone which is almost like a kid kennel compared to the place she is in now and it costs us $875 a month. The debt we have has built up through the years when multiple kids were in daycare at the same time and it costs more than our mortgage (but I had the overtime coming in during those years). We would use credit cards when we were short and little by little they built up. Now, the child care issue is only in summer when all three have to be in a camp or school together. This summer costs us almost $5000 for all three for all three months. I had saved an early year bonus and our tax refund to try and cover this but ended up having to take a loan from our 401(k) to make it. We both make more than enough to keep working and send my daughter to child care. The best solution would be to get rid of my van and focus on paying off my bills. But remember, I'm upside down and our van is not in very good cosmetic shape (multiple scrapes and dents) so I couldn't even get what you'd think if I sold it myself. I'm reading about people that just walk away from their debts...what is "Judgement Proof"? I don't want to just abandon these debts because I know they would hound me forever or sue me...My highest cc balance is $1400 and most are $750 or less along with a Dell account that has a $1400 balance. Thanks again for the help and if there are any specific questions or concerns, please voice them or ask directly. I need clear guidance to resolve this issue.

[keepsmiling]

You're kinda in a rock and a hard place. BTDT, still there so I get it. Not sure a bk will fix your probs tho.
It may be time to get creative about making or saving money.
It may, for instance, be cheaper to have live in care than daycare.
Or maybe think about selling on ebay for that second job. Some people do make serious money and you can do it once the kids are in bed. Or work that second job just one day a week. Or as JB said, one of you might be better off staying home. You really need to think about the long term consequences of that though.
We've started riding the bike for as many errands as possible to save on gas.
Or see if you can trim the grocery budget by eating beans instead of meat. They are very good for you
Good luck. Hang in there, see what other ideas come along.