To send a payment or not?

[75K_CCdebt]

Ive posted my situation before,I am in need of your experience.Ive been reading so much here but not getting half of what I read.

I have a 21K debt with Capital One,stopped making payments and closed account back in August of this year.They refuse to make any payment arrangements that I can afford which would be only $300 maximum per month.They insist on $800 and basicaly just end the calls saying nothing they can do for me.We are barely making our 2 incomes work with all of our bills since I lost a "cash" part-time job.

Im gonna be sending a certified letter explaining that I want to pay the debt but can only afford 300/month.

I expect to be sued by them and am not gonna pay anything to them unless they accept the only offer I can afford of 300/month.

Am I making a bad move by NOT paying? They keep adding to the balance every month and I expect the balance to be huge in a short time with all the monthly fees.

What would YOU do?

[Flyingifr]

$21000 at 30% default APR is $525 a month in interest. At $300 you arent't even paying the interest, never mind the Over Limit or Late fees. Pay or not pay, the balance is going to balloon anyway on your schedule.

Be prepared to shove this down their throat with a CH13 filing.

[75K_CCdebt]

eek,bankruptcy? We have a home with a 175K mortgage and a car payment,will we lose both if we do a bankruptcy?

We have a total of 60K in unsecured credit card debt,is it time to get an attorney involved?

We have temporary payment arrangements with 3 of the 4 cards and we are barely able to make these payments.

Now Im getting scared!

[BTO429]

You can reaffirm on your house and car if I am correct. Talk to a lawyer and make it clear to him that you want to keep your house and car.

[75K_CCdebt]

ok,should I pay to the cards that made hardship schedules for 6 months? and one card gave us 0% interest for 5 years when the debt will be paid off in full?

Im sooooooooo confused!! I dont want to file for bankruptcy,if I continue to pay the other cards and wait to be sued by capital one,would that be a mistake?

[legal_loansharking]

75K,

I would not pay. Let Cap1 take their chances with a judge. I previously stated to send an offer certified return receipt requested and wait for their response. Ask them to either lower the interest rate or stop charging interest altogether.

If they do not agree to your terms, send another certified letter with another offer.

In essence if they do not want to work with you , like they didnt want to work with me, you have firepower when they sue you to show the judge. You can easily prove your case that you were willing to work with them by having copies of the certified letters and green cards and they wouldnt work with you.

Think about it, they have reps making 10 -12 an hour that really dont look out for the best interest of the company. When it gets to a collection attorney and you show him the cards at that point they will either settle for substantially less, or take it to the judge show your case they have none except the balance owed. The judge may throw it out, cut the balance in half, go back to the last actual cc statement and give them that much, who knows.

I just dont want anyone to waste their hard earned money. If your payments dont even cover the interest why bother paying?

[75K_CCdebt]

thanks,for now I'll send my certified letters to capital one and not pay anything to them,but will continue with the other 3 cards at the arrangements that they made with us.

Im gonna request in the letters that they stop calling our employers too,if thats possible.

thanks again,great site

[Ahntara]

"...request...they stop calling our employers..."

Find out BEFORE you contact them. With your troubles, you should focus on educating and informing yourselves before taking action. This is not the time for a misstep.

Start by reading the FDCPA. There is a sticky at the top of the page. Highlight & tab the pertinent sections.

You may wish to go ahead & consult a BK attorney. There is typically no fee for a consultation and no shame is acquiring information that will help you as you go forward. Remember, no one WANTS to file BK. But it exists to help consumers out of 'financial situations'.

Payments extend the SOL on your debts, thus extending the time period you can be sued. You need to understand the ramifications before you do that too. You may also wish to familiarize yourself with your state's statute.

With the gov't bailout, the climate is beginning to change. No one really knows how that money will get applied yet. Consumers in foreclosure & preforeclosure may be able to modify both the terms & balance of their loan, and CC companies may have to lower interest rates and accept less than the full amount. But, it's gonna take some time for it all to get sorted out. Educate yourself!