Well no wonder 4 of my checks bounced!

[Deja Q]

My credit counseling service changed the automatic withdrawl pay date from the 11th to the 6th and never bothered to inform me. With the slew of bills I pay by the 3rd of the month and the fact my overdraft protection account is only so large, there was no way it could compensate by the time the next paycheck gets deposited into my account. :mad:

Now I'm pissed. Oh, the bank still covered me but the fee per check is enormous. :grr: How do I explain that to the credit reporting agency?!

I can still survive without going to bankruptcy, though I'm debating if I should just so I can start saving $$$ for when I get laid off at work. Is that a good idea? I am $30k in the hole right now. :-(

[Girlfriday]

1. What'dya mean I have no money in the bank.....

...I still have lots of checks!

Sorry, couldn't resist. Seriously, I know the feeling - and I'm rapidly beginning to hate all financial institutions. You could try going to the bank and explaining to the manager; I did that once, and they put the overdraft fees back into our account. What do you have to lose?

on edit: I think bankruptcy is the absolute LAST resort; if you don't have to, I wouldn't. Friends of ours did and it's hard to recover.

[Deja Q]

5. Thanks!

I first need to call the credit counseling service and get them to move the pay date forward as all hell will break loose if they don't move it foward a bit. (though I could transfer what's left of my savings to checking to cushion the blow a bit, I need to do something permanently...) Then explain to the bank and hope I get a sympethizer.

[NaMeaHou]

2. it's a drag to have to pay credit fuckers

I don't have one. Not one. Fuck'em.

[Booberdawg]

3. There is NO SENSE in throwing good money after bad

go see a lawyer now and see what he says. What is the magical sense about waiting till January anyway? Go see a lawyer now. ;)

[Deja Q]

7. CC #4 and a better chance of total discharge

I had spent on it without realizing I had. If I go for chapter 7, I want EVERYTHING to be discharged. I don't want to be stuck paying Discover a few grand because I had bought some goodies too recently. I last used the card in July (or early Aug). I even went over the credit limit without realizing and they still let me spend too. x( I thought my $800 payment that month kept me within reigns, but it didn't - I was shocked to see the August bill, that's for sure. If I can hold out until Jan, I have a much better chance of total discharge. With something as serious as chapter 7, I want no less than to have it ALL gone for good so I can start completely anew.

I have spoken to a lawyer and they are sending me the paperwork too. But they also want to see my car's title and I won't have that for 2 weeks, which means getting the credit counseling service to move forward that date more imperative. :x

If only Best Buy responded, I'd have had a chance of working 2 jobs and negating the need for all this. :-(

[Booberdawg]

8. I think it's only charges within 60 days that you have to worry about

at least that's how it is in Iowa. I just went through all of this. Mine was originally going to be Chapter 13 but we held off several months waiting to see if I got a job and how much my income would be. In the meantime he had be stop paying all unsecured bills. Since I never ended up with a job it ended up being a Chapter 7. It was just discharged last month.

[Booberdawg]

9. You'd also better get moving before the new laws go into effect!!

[Deja Q]

11. I thought they were held off, when do they take effect?

If only 60 days, then I'm much better off...

[Booberdawg]

13. I'm not sure when - I just recall my lawyer mentioned it.

But in Iowa anyway the limit for purchases that could be challenged was 60 days. It wasn't an issue for me and everything was discharged. Except my car of course - I'm still making the payments on that as long as I can. I'm losing my house though; still looking for a job.

What state are you in?

[Deja Q]

14. Minnesota

I've considered getting a replacement car as well; there's this new 2003 Kia model for $7000 with a delicious 10 year warranty (though I'd get A/C on it which would make it a bit more...). My 95 Toyota Corolla with 77k is worth something like $4000.

I will definitely ask the lawyer if I could do this. As I now drive a distance to work, a car collapse would ruin me all the same right now.

[Booberdawg]

17. You can

You simply have to reaffirm the loan. That is if you could pass a credit check now. If you can't then you're out of luck. My car (2000 Toyota Celica) only has 15,000 on it so I didn't have to worry about it.

[Deja Q]

18. Thx for the info!

I will talk w/ the lawyer to see if such a transaction is likely. With ~50% of the purchase being made as a trade-in, I'd hope I'd have a chance.

[Booberdawg]

19. Sure thing!

PM anytime if you want to "talk":D

[Systematic Chaos]

4. I share your pain.

I have a lot of bills to pay off, and now my mother's in the hospital after just having a hysterectomy and her ovaries removed.

My wife lost her job at a 7-11 because the manager there is a total biyatch. Of course, the owner of the store heard nothing but negativity about my wife from the manager so he was no help at all.... Now she's finding it hard to even get part-time work in a fast food place.

My mother, bless her heart, has given me access to her Social Security money while she's recuperating, as there's really nothing else she can do with it. Without her support I would be completely SOL right now.

And to top it all off, I have some dips**t collection agency bothering me over a debt I defaulted on almost 12 years ago! They probably bought it for about 2% of its original value and think that they can intimidate me into paying, when nobody ever bothered filing a lawsuit before and the statute of limitations is only 10 years. Yeah, whatever....

Hang in there. Go to your bank and literally plead with them to maybe reverse the NSF fees on your account! If you explain exactly how the other agency went behind your back and left you in a lurch, they might at least give you a break on those fees. What is it, about $120 or so, $30 x 4? Swallow your pride and give it a shot.

Save bankruptcy as a last resort, but if it comes to that don't hesitate to do it to save your sanity, even if your credit rating goes down the toilet. Screw those people. They just aren't worth the stress.

And good luck to you! :)

[sandnsea]

6. Yeah, talk to the bank

If you can show the change in date using your past bank statements, they should refund it. And you might go see the manager at the credit counseling place too, it was their screw-up after all.

If you're going to be sitting in a house with nothing but electricity and beans for the next ten years in order to pay off your debt, file. Otherwise, I don't know. I've seen alot of people file bankrutpcy and not change their spending habits so it does no good at all. Personal decision I guess. Good luck!

[Deja Q]

10. I've been good lately

I was shocked to see the August bank statement where the counseling payment had shown up early. But since the problem, I have kept all unneeded spending to a minimum - one vest, a couple of inexpensive fish for the aquarium, and one DVD (which can be returned if I'm not satisfied).

I keep thinking that if I didn't get myself into this mess, I could be putting $700 per month into a savings account. I was young and naive at the time. But I am growing up.

I was also good with cc #4 for over a year (never used it, for emergencies only) but then I lost control again. The moral here is that I will NEVER fill out a credit card form again. Too risky for my unstable persona. Saving money beforehand is much better.

I appreciate the advice, I estimate it will be 5-6 years before I get this paid off unless I get a second job. Due to those "personality questionaires" that I always fail, I will never get a second job. :-( With a 2nd job at $8 per hour and 32 hours a week, it would be ~3 years. Add in the possibility of layoffs, with current budget and benefits cuts just so they can buy more properly and expand the main office, I don't think I have a choice any longer. You're right.

[Shanty Oilish]

12. They know.

We all know. Bankers stay up nights thinking of new ways to rip off customers. They have very fertile minds for this sort of thing. I've been a bank customer for over 30 years and I'm still seeing new forms of mischief.
Nothing helps you overnight, however. But since you brought it up, I'll offer some advice. Have as little to do with banks as possible. When you are done with that counseling service, don't ever give anyone an automatic pay, ever again. Write as few checks as possible.

They also lie about bankruptcy fading from your credit record after so many years. Threatening bankruptcy (politely) is probably more effective than actually doing it. Your creditors know they will take a terrible bath if you file; most are willing to renegotiate rather than bathe.

When you get out of this temporary fix, simplify your finances. Get credit and don't use it unless a freaking act of God occurs.

Trust no one, rely on no one.

[Rowdyboy]

15. Shit! Damn it, I know the feeling...

I'm okay now but I've been there before. Don't allow this to drag you down-please. It's very easy to go from disappointment to depression to despair. DON'T DO THIS! It's only paper. There's a limit to what they can take from you so f**k 'em if they can't take a joke!

[colorado_ufo]

16. Go to the bank and explain what happened.

Tell them about the misunderstanding and ask that the overdraft charges be removed, as a customer courtesy (provided you have been a decent customer). Nine times out of ten, they will do it!

[izzie]

20. Oh I did that a few months ago.

Have things that are just paid for out of my checking account, like ins, etc and just for got to take them off my checking, I could have screemed when I saw what that cost me.

[bleedingheart]

21. Banks - Give them your money and for a small fee they will give it back

that is what someone told me and it is soooooo true...

However if you are very wealthy you will get the red carpet rolled out for you... My bro-in-law works in trusts and he takes his client out to four star restaurants. I think they pay those tabs with the check fees they charge the rest of us.

[Padraig18]

22. Get THIS!

Bankers are SLUGS! :grr:

I own a small business and I have 2 employees, so I have to make tax-deposits for SS and MC witholding, FICA, State income tax, etc.. Month before last they BOUNCED my check to the State because they instituted a new policy of placing a 72-hour 'hold' on all deposits made with a check, even though the check I deposited was drawn on THEIR bank, just a separate account (my 'operating account')!

I solved this problem rather neatly: I told the President that if his bank EVER 'held' one of my checks again, I would contact the Comptroller of the Currency and anyone else I could AND sue him locally AND provide a copy of the complaint to the local news media.

He assured me that it would 'never happen again', and then wrote me a letter with a cc: to the State Comptroller's Office, explaining the bank's 'inadvertant error' which caused my check to bounce.

:grr: