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BS: Credit Card Blues
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BS: Credit Card Blues |
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Subject: BS: Credit Card Blues From: GUEST,Hard Times Come Again No More Date: 03 May 08 - 03:29 PM Has anyone had experience in dealing with this challenging problem? (I'm ashamed to share this with family and friends) I recently went on disability (in the US). I had been carrying a credit card debt for several years; and can no longer pay the bill,as I am now living on a small fixed income. I've tried talking to the credit card company but they would not lower the payment to anything I could afford. What's the solution? Don't have enough assets to sell off to pay them back and not sure if I should file for bankrupcy. ALways thought of bankrupcy as a dreaded last resort, but the time may have come. Any one been there, or have legal experience in the matter? Your experience and/ or advice is appreciated.
Thanks. -Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: BS: Credit Card Blues From: Rapparee Date: 03 May 08 - 03:53 PM Contact a local consumer credit agency -- NOT one that advertises, but one recommended by your local welfare agency or church, etc. These do the work for folks like you for free or for a VERY nominal cost. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Credit Card Blues From: JohnInKansas Date: 03 May 08 - 05:31 PM Thanks to the new bankruptcy regulations enacted at the behest of the current administration, credit card debt cannot be included as an "excused debt" or for any form of "reduction of debt" in any of the common bankruptcy forms in the US. That's because the Administration's friends needed protection from all those unscrupulous borrowers. As Rapaire suggests, a legitimate consumer credit agency may be able to be of assistance, and likely can make arrangements that you can't get on your own; but do beware of the sharks in choosing one. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Credit Card Blues From: artbrooks Date: 03 May 08 - 07:10 PM This from investment adviser Eric Tyson, in last Monday's Albuquerque Journal: "Q: I have a credit-card debt problem, and I see many television and radio ads about companies offering debt-reduction programs. Are they real and legal? Do you know of any reputable and reliable companies? A: A number of these firms simply seek to put you on a debt-repayment program by restructuring your payments. This can adversely affect your credit report and rating. Also, by offering these sorts of programs exclusively, many of these advertised firms have a conflict of interest in not being able to objectively discuss with you a full range of options for dealing with your bad debt. Two agencies I suggest you consider are Hummingbird Credit Counseling, or the Institute for Financial Literacy."© I added links. Good luck. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Credit Card Blues From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 May 08 - 08:41 PM The commercial places that offer to fix your credit and such can make matters much worse very fast. They'll SAY they are taking the money you send and paying down your bills according to some plan, but they pay themselves a healthy chunk of your cash before they make any payments. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Credit Card Blues From: Joe Offer Date: 03 May 08 - 09:56 PM John in Kansas, I'm wondering where you got your information. I realize that the bankruptcy of reform made it harder for consumers to be relieved of debt, but I can't see anything that says a credit card debt cannot be discharged in either a Chapter 7 (straight) or Chapter 13 (wage-earner plan reorganization) bankruptcy proceeding. Most of the bankruptcy information available on the Internet is misinformation. This guide (click) from the Federal Trade Commission should be more helpful (and this one, too). Also see this page from the U.S. Trustee Program. This article from the New Yorker will also shed some light on the issue, with a more critical opinion of Bankruptcy Reform. This Wikipedia article on bankruptcy reform is also helpful. This bankruptcy court page has a list of information resources, but note the caveat about the validity of the information. Back in my days doing security clearances for the Feds, I had to review bankruptcy files all the time. I think there was need of reform, because there were a lot of people who were filing bankruptcy for frivolous reasons - I even came across a number of law enforcement officers who were filing bankruptcy for profit (what is it about cops that makes some of them such wheeler-dealers?). But as far as I can see from the information I researched, people who really need to file bankruptcy can still do do. If they have income, they can expect to have to pay at least some of their debt. I think that's fair. I've seen far too many bankruptcies where the debts were all for luxury goods I wouldn't dream of buying. Other bankruptcies were for medical expenses - I really felt sorry for those people. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: BS: Credit Card Blues From: Rapparee Date: 03 May 08 - 10:30 PM Oh yeah -- stop using the cards immediately and go on a "strictly cash, pay-as-you-go" economy. That is to say, don't use the Federal government as an example. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Credit Card Blues From: katlaughing Date: 03 May 08 - 11:58 PM As hard as it may be, stress-wise, keep in contact with them, regardless. Also, some cc companies have a hardship dept. Contact them. They can often get the harassing calls and penalties stopped, at least for a while. You could try to settle for less than you owe, IF you are able. Keep in mind, any one who settles a debt with a cc company for less than they owe, will have to pay taxes on the part written off by the cc company IF it is over $600. That's right, anything over $600 that THEY write off, gets reported as income on your tax return. If you are going to be able to try to settle for less than you owe, stop making ANY kind of payment now. Some of them refuse to settle, or even talk about it at all, if you've made even a tiny payment within the last 90-120 days or more. I don't have any legal knowledge, so your mileage may vary. Feel free to PM me if you'd like. kat |
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Subject: RE: BS: Credit Card Blues From: JohnInKansas Date: 04 May 08 - 02:25 AM Joe O - The statement on exclusion of credit card debt was, as I recall, included in a Forbes magazine (a usually reliable source) summary of the latest "Reform Act" that had just been passed by both houses of Congress. There were other reports, from comparable sources at the time, confirming the changes in general but with discussion of different aspects of the law changes. I have a "deep search" of my own files running now (it will take a couple of hours), but it may have been just before I added another hard drive so I could keep track of some of this kind of info I was finding. Two separate kinds of bills were passed during the previous (Republican controlled) Congress - a major and very general revision of the Bankruptcy statutes, and a more general "Credit Reform Act." The provision exempting credit card debt from relief via bankruptcy might have been in either of these, but was quite specifically described in the articles at the time. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Credit Card Blues From: katlaughing Date: 04 May 08 - 12:42 PM Here's an article which came up in a search of Forbes. It is actually from Investopedia. I didn't see anything about not allowing credit cards in bankruptcy. This Law Center has some info on credit cards and bankruptcy, also. Seems it is easier for cc companies to challenge discharge of debt by proving fraudulent use of credit cards, i.e. getting them and using them with no intent to repay. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Credit Card Blues From: wysiwyg Date: 04 May 08 - 03:11 PM When plastic is involved, in today's culture, we have to retrain not only our "buying" habits but, more importantly, our thinking habits. First, the card gives the illusion of instantaneous solution of problems, but then we come to find out the problems multiply instead. Second, credit card debt is not an "overspending problem." "I spent X dollars" is not the came mental process as "I borrowed X dollars." But that's what card use is-- borrowing. One of the big reasons for credit card debit is the simple but unexamined semantic issue: "I bought this on Visa" is often said, but not quite accurate-- "I borrowed this via Visa" is actually closer to the truth. "I bought" and "I owe" are two completely different ways to think about resource allocation. Even more accurate would be, "I encumbered myself with this." But the ad campaigns don't teach us to think that carefully. Even the credit-counseling approach talks in terms of "overspending"-- but that money has not been "spent." ~Susan |
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Subject: RE: BS: Credit Card Blues From: Rabbi-Sol Date: 04 May 08 - 09:51 PM Always use a DEBIT card instead of a credit card. It is tied to your checking account and you can never overspend what you do not have. Also, if you are on Social Security Disability, establish a special checking account into which your Social Security payments will be directly deposited. Many banks now offer this service abolutely free of charge. Make sure that this is NOT an interest bearing account and never deposit funds from any other source other than Social Security into it. The law states that Social Security funds can never ever be touched by any bill collectors so they can never attach or sieze this account. The Social Security disability payment is much higher than the standard benefit, so you should be able to get by with your basic necessities. SOL |
