It's great to know there is a message board out there where people are willing to help each other obtain freedom from debt.
Unfortunately I find myself in a bad situation. Currently I am over $15,000 in debt and all of that debt has been written-off due to my failure to pay for over a year and 4 months. In the span of 5 years, I've lost a great paying job, became unemployed for 9 months and the subsquent jobs I have obtained were only enough to pay for car loan, rent, student loans, necessities, etc. After a separation from my wife, I had to let all my credit cards go in order to stay afloat.
Unfortunately, due to my bad judgement, I avoided any and all letters, calls etc from creditors and collection agencies. Recently, I was able to obtain a new job paying me more than what I was getting payed 5 years ago and I finally have the ability to get back on my feet. I am wanting to do what I can to start paying some of this debt off and rebuild my credit for my future.
Currently, there are 11 creditors I owe and from the looks of it, all are in write-off status. Two it appears have been purchased by other entities. I went to a trusted financial/accountant friend who drafted up a couple letters for me to send to these agencies to attempt to lower and pay off balance and request for the negative comments to be removed from the account. The letter also went on to provide another alternative - payment plans. It looks like these accounts won't fall off until mid 2018.
I know there have been folks here in a similar predicament and I'm just looking for some advice in tackling this. If written off should I continue to send letters to the creditor or deal with collections? If it has been purchased, is it of any use sending the letters to the creditors? Any help would be appreciated.
Below are specifics:
Chase Bank USA - $1,252.00 - collections
GE Capital Retail Bank - $1,145.74 - bought by CACH LLC
Target National Bank - $2,474.96 - collections
JP Morgan Chase - $1,948.40 - collections
CAP One - $963 - collections
GECRB - $618 - collections
CAP One - $2,557.00 - collections
CAP1/Bstby - $3,956.00 - bought by The Bureaus Inc
Citi Bank - $2,900.00 - collections
Kohl's - $424.18 - collections
Lowe's - $348.00 - collections
Thanks in advance for any help you all can provide.
sir0925, welcome to the boards.Your situation is not unique, many folks on the forums have been there. Myself included.
IMO, you have two options-Option 1. Attempt to repay. You can begin by seeing if your creditors will accept a settlement. A good first step though I believe is to request a DV if your debts have been sold. Assuming you are within the SOL, this is typically prudent. If they can't DV you win outright. If they can, then offer PFD. I'm not sure how much you are earning now but some of the debts seem like small amounts that you could easily get PFDs for. Basically think strategy one is DV...PFD...GW for removals. This could be the most favorable approach depending on your financial situation.
Option 2, if you a drowning in debt and struggling to pay, the BK is an option. This wipes out your existing debt and obligations to Zero. Needless to say, you have to qualify financially and deal with the ramifications of BK. BK clearly gives you a fresh start, but can hamper seeking credit in the short term.
Hopefully experienced mods will chime in.
Starting Score: 501
I can tell you from my experience of almost exactly the same situation you are in...having been laid off three times in four years...that ch7 was like a miracle for me. I didn't get as far out as you before I made the decision to file. I had an awesome bk attorney and everything happened quickly and without a single hitch.
I am not proud that I filed bk, nor am I ashamed of it. I had no other choice to maintain my sanity and move on with my life.
Mine was discharged in 2008. I bought a house this past August on my own with no help from anyone.
BK is not the end of the world most people think it is. I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off of me after my first attorney meeting. I felt like a human being again.
i wish you the best no matter what you decide!
Starting Score: 9/2012 - 609