Posted on July 5, 2008 at 2:32 pm Lesson learned, when my issues started over a year ago I was in a deep panic. I pictured homelessness, detached wages etc. within a few months of my problem starting. A year later, I'm still in my home ( for now) and to date I have not been sued or had my wages attached though the threats have persisted. I have only spoken to a few creditors and collectors during this time and ignored most of the annoying collection calls. I've only maintained a regular written correspondence which mainly go unanswered. Message here ? Don't panic prematurely, take your time to research your options and do what is best for you. At this time many of my creditors and collectors are taking a softer approach and seeking the settlement I was trying to obtain in the first place. I'm not saying nothing will occur or things will absolutely go my way. I'm far from out of the woods. Just wanted to give some folks a little hope, especially those who have never been through it before.

Posted on July 7, 2008 at 5:21 pm Times are hard for many people and not having enough money to pay bills is common. However I still think it is important to contact creditors in advance that you are unable to pay and ask for an extension. It  records you are serious about paying your debts.

Posted on March 26, 2009 at 9:15 am That is a good point. A lot of times as scrivener said it is good to contact your creditors so that they know you are serious about paying your debts but need more time. They have their own type of "credit system" within their companies. For example when you contact them (instead of them having to contact you), it is recorded and looks good for you so they are more willing to work with you. Also if you make a payment arrangement and follow through, it also is logged on your account and makes them want to keep working with you. Usually a payment arrangement can be for any amount of money, they will try to tell you you can only pay the full amount but if you keep telling them you can only pay x amount eventually they will say 'okay' because they want some of their money back if they can't get all of it. Conversely, if you make a payment arrangement just to get them to stop calling you, but don't follow through, that is also recorded and looks bad. So for example, you keep getting the collections calls, so you answer the phone and tell them you will pay $20 when you get paid on Friday. So when Friday rolls around if you pay it, then they want to work with you more. If you forget, or just don't pay it because you never meant to, then they want to work with you less, and not only will they become more aggressive and mean (can you blame them? they are just doing their job and you lied to them), but it will give them reason to take you to the "next level" whether that is taking your car back or your TV or whatever, or even taking you to court so they can begin to take a portion of your paycheck. By not paying and not contacting you are giving them lots of evidence to use against you in court. So just try to work with them, if you treat your collector like a real person they should treat you like a real person. If you are being nice and they aren't, you can ask to speak with a manager and tell them that you would be more willing to work something out with an agent that is going to treat you nicer, that will usually be able to get you a new agent because they will do whatever it takes to get their money back that you owe them.Hope this helps someone!!

Posted on April 5, 2009 at 8:33 am Thanks for sharing your experience. Really the economic crisis hit badly to us.

Posted on April 5, 2009 at 8:39 am one can always learn from ones mistakes so this is a good advoce and lesson i must kearnig from others mistake is always advicable