So early last year while I was still in school, I had a credit card debt that I just couldn't pay after i lost my job. It charged off, and today I get a letter that they're filing a lawsuit against me if I don't arrange something with them in the time provided.

Anyone ever had a similar experience in this? I know federal loans are serious business, but a freaken bank credit card? It's not the actual bank throwing the threat, but a 3rd party that bought off the loan. Did some research, and it seems this is common practice. I've never had a charged off account til now. Even now, I wouldn't be able to pay off the debt. I'm going to call them tomorrow and see what's up. Anyhow, just seeing if anyone here has had a similar experience and what was the end result. Anyone here knowledgeable in the credit game that can shine some light on my problem?

Define "charged off" ?

Did you default on your credit card payments and they went into collections?

Your signature on the credit card application, and your signature on every purchase is a written contract to pay both the credit card company and the retailer for everything you purchase. So it makes a lot of sense to sue you as you have breached several contracts.

If they are offering to work with you instead of just coming and taking your car and breaking your legs, then you probably want to work with them immediately.

Ask if you are eligible for any sort of debt reduction or government programs. If you have federal school loans, losing your job counts as a major life event, and you can file some paperwork and put the school loans on pause, and pay your credit card bills instead.

If you cannot pay your bills, you are bankrupt and that will adversely affect your life for years, so come up with a way to pay your bills.

yes, i was paying on the debt, and life got bad for me and it went to collections, but I never got a collection call since the phone I had on file was disconnected. I remember trying to work with them early on, but their offers were out of my range. I called a few months back to try and resolve this, but they had told me the account was charged off (written off as a bad debt). I did research on fixing this, and was waiting for the right time to settle the debt to try and clear this. Never would of thought a small 3k credit card would come to this.

Well, I'm not sure where this debt/card is at this moment. This is not an unusual process for these guys to follow. They are basically looking for a pay-off of some kind (I want to say here that I am NOT a lawyer, this NOT legal advice, and I will NOT be liable for any thing that happens to you, lol).

Now I've spent my years being sure that my credit stay absolutely clean. I charge about $1500/month on my personal credit card and NEVER have paid a damn red cent in interest! EVER!

That being said, my wife had this problem with her previous husband (getting a divorce, max out the credit cards, "I'll show you bitch", brilliant guy). The credit cards threatened and filed and called day and night.

I tend to be a stubborn asshole who doesn't want to take no for an answer, so that's pretty much what I did. I was able to argue my way into paying these off for 50% off (or more) of each note owed. I found out (through my times on the phone with these guys) that there are time limits etc. that they follow to take actions against you and/or figure out what percentage of the note they will accept (I'm sure its some bean counter/underwriter thing. One card I had to wait a couple of weeks and then it would go into another department that would take a much lower percentage of the note).

So THAT being said, did they send you a letter in the mail, or was it certified in some form that you had to sign for it? If its not certified, it would be hard to pull you into court because there is no proof you got anything (i.e. this is just a threat to get you to pay). What I would do is call them and talk to them. Try to set-up a payoff. DO NOT GET LOUD. This will get you nowhere. I basically stood firm on the idea that they want to get some money. If they want some money they have got to accept less. Then I would go on about how they just piled fees on top of penalties etc. And I would offer to pay back basically the original charge. I would ask them what it was and they never knew. That would allow me to go off on another tangent asking them why they didn't know and then blaming the CC companies for causing the problem anyway....blah blah etc. Pretty much baffle them with bullshit until I could get my way. Each card took me quite a few calls to get to a final point (often times talking to superiors etc.).

I guess the important thing to remember is that they want to get some cash to get this off their books. That's you leverage point. Refer to it often.

Just my experiences with them.

Oh, ironically, they all said her credit would be ruined when I paid them off etc. Within about 2 months of the final card payoff, the credit card offers started coming in. Bozo's

Originally posted by bullettdsm
I'm sure its some bean counter

hey I take offense to that statement :P


I'd say your best bet is to do as Mark said and call and stand firm tell them you can afford X amount a month and if they want to get paid they have to work with you, minimize fees etc. The odds are, if the credit card company sold your debt it was for pennies on the dollar and these people will still make quite a good deal on you if you only paid off the initial charges. You can also look into personal loans as a way to get them off your back, but then you're starting fresh with another company wanting money from you.

I racked up a little debt (more than I could pay off the following month for the first time ever) a while back. Transferred the balance to a zero % card and am paying off what I can monthly and then will pay the remaining balance in full right before they try to nab me with interest payments after my zero % term is up. Obviously a much different situation, but with some research and calls you should be able to find yourself a solution that is not bankruptcy. Even if it requires selling some aftermarket parts off the car to make payments. Hell my car has been sitting since april just because I haven't had spare cash to insure a second car.

Originally posted by bullettdsm
Well, I'm not sure where this debt/card is at this moment. This is not an unusual process for these guys to follow. They are basically looking for a pay-off of some kind (I want to say here that I am NOT a lawyer, this NOT legal advice, and I will NOT be liable for any thing that happens to you, lol). Now I've spent my years being sure that my credit stay absolutely clean. I charge about $1500/month on my personal credit card and NEVER have paid a damn red cent in interest! EVER! That being said, my wife had this problem with her previous husband (getting a divorce, max out the credit cards, "I'll show you bitch", brilliant guy). The credit cards threatened and filed and called day and night. I tend to be a stubborn asshole who doesn't want to take no for an answer, so that's pretty much what I did. I was able to argue my way into paying these off for 50% off (or more) of each note owed. I found out (through my times on the phone with these guys) that there are time limits etc. that they follow to take actions against you and/or figure out what percentage of the note they will accept (I'm sure its some bean counter/underwriter thing. One card I had to wait a couple of weeks and then it would go into another department that would take a much lower percentage of the note). So THAT being said, did they send you a letter in the mail, or was it certified in some form that you had to sign for it? If its not certified, it would be hard to pull you into court because there is no proof you got anything (i.e. this is just a threat to get you to pay). What I would do is call them and talk to them. Try to set-up a payoff. DO NOT GET LOUD. This will get you nowhere. I basically stood firm on the idea that they want to get some money. If they want some money they have got to accept less. Then I would go on about how they just piled fees on top of penalties etc. And I would offer to pay back basically the original charge. I would ask them what it was and they never knew. That would allow me to go off on another tangent asking them why they didn't know and then blaming the CC companies for causing the problem anyway....blah blah etc. Pretty much baffle them with bullshit until I could get my way. Each card took me quite a few calls to get to a final point (often times talking to superiors etc.). I guess the important thing to remember is that they want to get some cash to get this off their books. That's you leverage point. Refer to it often. Just my experiences with them. Oh, ironically, they all said her credit would be ruined when I paid them off etc. Within about 2 months of the final card payoff, the credit card offers started coming in. Bozo's

Good pointers. Will be calling them later today to see what I can work out with them. As for the lawsuit letter, it was no certified letter, just a piece of paper that came in the mail with the threat.

Originally posted by 96rs-t
I know federal loans are serious business, but a freaken bank credit card?

You bought, they paid, now you owe...

How hard is that to understand? This is why the country is in ruins. Credit is not free. Far from it.

Originally posted by djtrickee

Originally posted by 96rs-t I know federal loans are serious business, but a freaken bank credit card?

You bought, they paid, now you owe... How hard is that to understand? This is why the country is in ruins. Credit is not free. Far from it.

I'm not concerned that I owe. That I know. I've just never heard of lawsuits on small credit cards debts. My step-dad had the worst credit ever, and I've never seen him threatened with a lawsuit for a credit card debt, and he's had multiple charged off cards in his past.

We all know creditors BS info to get money, but this is just something I've never seen, til now.

You're gonna have to pay 'em, son.

My brother started at DeVry, only to decide it wasn't for him. Trouble was, he missed the deadline for dropping. So he just stopped going. A couple months later, he got a bill - $4000+ and how would he like to pay? He ignored it, since he "dropped out" in the third week of class.

He ignored it.
And he ignored it.
And he ignored it some more.

Fast forward to this past October, when he gets a notice that a judgment has been entered against him and they're now taking $50 out of each paycheck. He gets paid weekly.

His first comment to me? "DeVry fucked me."

My reply to him? "You sort of fucked them first, wouldn't you agree?"

Managing your credit is critical. Don't take this lightly. Do everything you can to fix it.

Originally posted by 96rs-t

Originally posted by djtrickee

Originally posted by 96rs-t I know federal loans are serious business, but a freaken bank credit card?

You bought, they paid, now you owe... How hard is that to understand? This is why the country is in ruins. Credit is not free. Far from it.

I'm not concerned that I owe. That I know. I've just never heard of lawsuits on small credit cards debts. My step-dad had the worst credit ever, and I've never seen him threatened with a lawsuit for a credit card debt, and he's had multiple charged off cards in his past. We all know creditors BS info to get money, but this is just something I've never seen, til now.

try a credit consolidation I believe this would be your best option to pay your debt. They will setup pay plan or cut the debt in half and you pay x amount to pay it off.

I'm going through the same but mine aint a bank card. But I'm going through a credit consolidation and bankrupacy and keeping the credit consolidation after. In Jan 08' they changed the bankrupacy law raising it an extra hundred in Ohio, it could be every state. I wish I could pay it off but I can't so this my route, besides the guy I talked to after my divorce told me that my debt isn't that big and would be finalized/discharged within a year, and I could buy a new house with the two car garage hydraulic lift, Great thing is the garage is a zone B3 business. I could live in the house and work in the garage. Taxes isn't that bad under 300.