New and Nervous

[DougFNJ]

Hi everyone, I am new to this website, and new to this whole situation. 3 1/2 years ago I purchased furniture from Levitz on a store credit card financed through HSBC. I reside in NJ. It was 18 months Interest free, shortly thereafter I lost my job and accepted another with a huge pay cut. So Through time and non paying they slapped all of the interest at me in one shot bringing the $3000 debt to over $6500.

I made some payments, as I made these payments, the balance and payments continued to increase leaving me to realize I would be paying this for the rest of my life. I tried to get them to work with me to make my monthly payments managable and they kept blowing me off. So the calls stopped about a month ago, and I received a letter on Monday stating the debt was sold to Arrow.

I called the 800 number hoping they would work with me, they said it was referred to another organization and gave me an 800# to call. I attempted 6 times to call them being put on hold with nobody picking up for 30 minutes each time.

Today I received a call from a lawfirm saying they were hired by the collection agency to sue me. The debt is now $8500. They offered me a flat settlement of $6500 or full payment paying $1400 a month for 6 months, I could afford neither. He told me if it wasnt settled on those terms I would be sued, but they are giving me the opportunity to settle before it comes to that.

I know I got myself into this. This debt is valid and I screwed up, I'm not looking to not pay for what I purchased, I am just looking to pay it off in a term I could afford, and it is killing me that none of these companies will be flexible.

I am desparately seeking assistance in this matter before it spirals out of control, I am feeling extremely embarrassed that it has come to this, and am really beginning to feel helpless.

I don't own any property, my car is leased, I have no investments, and $389.20 in my bank account at this point. All of my current debt is fairly under control exept this huge mess I got myself in.

So my question at this point is, what is my worst case scenario here, and is there any possible way to avoid a lawsuit while finding some way to possibly pay this off reasonably? I looked all over this website, and there are so many different types of cases here.....any help would be EXTREMELY gratefully appreciated.

[Robert Nashville/Savannah]

Well, worst case is they obtain a judgment on a debt you already realize you owe. What really changes with a judgment is that they don’t expire for many years and it gives them power to garnish wages or attach bank accounts/assets. Etc. Much of what they can do is dictated by your state law.

For example, is most states, if they allow wages to be garnished, there is a maximum percentage of your pay they can take (no matter how much you owe on the judgment). Some states don’t allow garnishments at all except for things like child support or Federal issues (tax, student loans, etc).

Also keep in mind that if they get a judgment you still have some power to negotiate a repayment plan with them…it’s a lot of hassle for the judgment holder to garnish wages and attach assets so most of the time, they would much rather accept voluntary payments from you than go through all the hassle of enforcing the judgment.

Having an unsatisfied judgment against you and on your credit history can affect your ability to get a mortgage or perhaps a new job.

If they do sue you they may win, but they may not…you have to decide if it’s worth fighting or not and whether you can afford an attorney to help you (which I would advise an attorney if you aren’t well self-taught).

Having a judgment against you is not the end of the world but it can make like more complicated.

Sorry you had to go through this…your situation is an excellent example of how 90 Days are NOT the same as Cash!

I wish you well.