Hi everyone. I’m sure I am not alone in this, or well, better yet, I hope I am not alone in this. I am an artist and for the last seven years have been underemployed and dealing with some mental health challenges. I’ve been sliding by and using a credit card for groceries, travel, and to pay my therapist. This card is now maxed out. I had been working towards getting back into full-time employment this spring, but now there is mass unemployment and I don’t want to use what money I have left to pay this card. I have been reading up on what it might mean to simply stop paying a card and it doesn’t seem so bad because I don’t really have any assets, i.e. house or car. If anyone has some advice from the future - what to really expect. I’d love to not feel so alone in this decision. Thank you!
Hi @D_black,
I’m so sorry that you have been dealing with all of this.
I can’t really tell you what you should or shouldn’t do in this situation. But bankruptcy is an option that might be worth exploring. It has its own pros and cons.
Although you might not have any assets, you should be aware of and prepared for the way this might affect your credit score/report. Our credit system is deeply messed up and can be used against you in all kinds of unjust ways. But depending on your circumstances, it might be less of a factor for you (for example, if you already have poor credit and are already facing these issues).
You might want to check out the chapters on bankruptcy, credit cards and credit reports in the Debt Resisters’ Operations Manual here: DROM - Strike Debt!
Hope you’re still ok, and would love to hear how it’s going. I’m being sued by Synchrony Bank for all of $2,000. I just received a. Couple of pages of interrogatories and need to understand how I, working pro se, can address the absence of a name on the other side. Can I get them to give me an accounting of how their algorithms called me, and maybe how much principal I’ve paid (it was a store card) vs. interest and fees?
I didn’t reply to this earlier, but thank you Thomas for your advice. I did end up declaring bankruptcy. I couldn’t imagine doing all the leg-work with creditors/debt collectors by myself. It has been worth it. bkswrites – I had much more debt than you are talking about. But I did download some materials here - https://carreonandassociates.com - I think I found that through the debt collective Operations Manual that Thomas mentioned. I found it very useful in understanding what I might do, but again, it has been easier for me to hire a debt forgiveness attorney and let them sort it out.
Good luck! I am now able to think about building my credit back up and I have managed to drum up some work during all this, so am finally feeling like I am getting back on my feet.
So, Synchrony’s lawyers and I have traded interrogatories and have a “settlement conference” scheduled for 2/2. They refused to provide history of the account (other than the last few months) or their contacting me, saying it was “too burdensome.” Obviously, it’s even more burdensome for me, but I do happen to have bank statements printed out for the IRS battle for a little more than half of 2018 (before Synchrony cut me off), showing payments of more than $1500, certainly more than the minimums every month but maybe one. Should I lay this on the record for the conference, perhaps with a letter outlining our lack of funds, maybe showing how health expenses leave little room for a couple of oldies to make regular payments to a bank? Or should I just have the numbers at my elbow for the voice-only conference?
Hi @bkswrites, I am not a lawyer and I can’t really give you legal advice.
I’m also not sure what a “settlement conference” is. Is this something where a judge will be present? Or is this just a settlement agreement between the two of you in order to avoid a judgement?
If a judge is present, it seems worth bringing to the judge’s attention that Synchrony could not produce a history of the account. They might think that this is “too burdensome,” but the burden to substantiate the debt really is on them. If they can’t do that, then they can’t really get a judgement against you. Bring this to the attention of the judge.
But if this is just a settlement between you and Synchrony, again I don’t really feel like I can give you any advice, but I can say that based on what you have shared if I was in your situation I think I would play hardball. Offer to settle for whatever you would consider a small amount that you could easily pay. But whatever settlement you get make sure it is in writing, and that they agree to remove any negative tradelines from the credit reports.
Again I am not a lawyer and I can’t give you legal advice. I also don’t feel like I fully understand your situation so please use your own judgement.
Thanks, Thomas. As I understand it, the conference is with a mediator. Indeed, I have to play hardball, because I can’t commit to a set amount on a set day each month, and we have less than their total in reserves. I don’t think I can salvage my record, but I’m thinking of writing an amendment in the form of a letter, citing their lame response to whether it was the bank or a collector that robocalled my cell, as well as just what the balance represents. At least 2 of the 14 statements, 3 pages each, that they sent in response to my interrogatory are duplicates… They also sent the “terms and conditions,” which I presume are there to pound the bank’s right to close the account at will. But they haven’t even documented when they closed it or what algorithm triggered that. I never got written notice, just a “secure message” when I logged on to make a monthly payment.
No, I’m not a lawyer either, but I’m hoping that a mediator in my county will see some sense in my position vs. a big bank in another state, represented by a lawyer from a more prosperous county. Btw, the lawyer’s missives carry the “This is from a debt collector and is an attempt to collect a debt” tag line. Does that put them in a different position at all? I know the robocalling is on a different basis from someone who’s bought the debt.
I did file a Brief/Letter for consideration in the settlement conference, focused on the attorney’s every communication carrying the “debt collector” boilerplate. And the last of the statements they sent me in response to interrogatories listed the balance (broken into “principals” and interest/fees) as “discharged.” Does that mean the “attorney” bought the debt?
Then yesterday, when I got back on the document list to double check that my letter was there, I found a Motion for Summary Judgement filed by the attorney while we were doing interrogatories and scheduled for hearing in absentia for today. Checking again at 1:30 today, I found the tab for actions, and there it was, scheduled for 1:30. Yikes! So I just got my 3rd callback from helpful (and one at least sympathetic) clerks, and they can’t find such a hearing on the calendar, and while “I can’t say what the judge will decide,” don’t seem to see how a summary judgement would be entered while a settlement conference is pending. Even the cover to the motion for summary judgement carried a “p.s.: this is from a debt collector.”
So I guess I hold my breath for Tuesday.
@bkswrites, this situation is too complicated for me to really wrap my head around in anyway where I feel confident helping you understand your options.
The one question I want to raise is about the mediator. Is this going through a mediator because of an arbitration clause you were forced to agree to at some point? Who decided this would be resolved though mediation? Who is the mediator and who is paying them? A lot of these third party mediators know that if they decide in favor of the debtor, they will not be hired to mediate future disputes. A mediator is not necessarily bad, but we have privatized many of these mediation processes to the point where the mediator is essentially working for the creditor. Something to be aware of and do some research about.
Yeah, I’m having trouble wrapping my head around it. I’ve no idea who pays the mediator or how the settlement conference got set up. I was informed of it by the court.
Today I received notice of the Motion for Summary Judgment, mailed *both copies) the 28th though filed the 13th and containing an affidavit that it was mailed to me “on or about” the 13th. And my e-mailed request for adjournment didn’t go through yet (“delayed”). And these latest mailings from the attorney again are without the firm identified outside the envelope, just an address. If their point is to unnerve me, it’s working.
So, I think we just agreed to a settlement for about what they had charged off as interest, to be paid over 10 months… Really silly. But you were right, @Thomas_Gokey, the attorney and the mediator seemed plenty cozy, and both were condescending to the ignorant old woman representing herself. The attorney did not agree to withdraw the Motion for Summary Judgement until and unless we get the settlement read into the record by a judge.
Really a lot of work by all of us for absolutely no gain.