11 credit cards and 1 personal loan. I really hate to say this (especially in this topic), but just go directly to Chapter 11 (well, in the old days). Do not put your head in the sand like an ostrich and wait it out (in my defense, I was young and naive and interacting with the government was a scary proposition at the time on top of the already very scary situation). However, I wasn't gaming the system like certain P2P borrowers appear to be doing (its really hard to tell with no personal contact with the borrowers, which I also find rather aggravating... not that I want to bust their kneecaps or anything like that! ).sophie wrote:You went through a charge-off? Sounds like there is a story there worth telling.
So now that I think about it, I guess I approve of the tougher bankruptcy rules passed a few years ago that force people first into debt counseling and then Chapter 13 rather just instantly wiping the slate clean via Chapter 11. I did indeed do debt counseling (voluntarily) which is just a mechanism to centralize all disbursements to creditors via just one payment and also substantially lower the monthly required payments, but it only goes so far if you don't have the income even for that.
Which reminds me, aren't we still the creditors on the charged off loans? The debt doesn't disappear just because its charged off and written off our taxes unless it is cleared in a slate wipe Chapter 11 or the statute of limitations runs out to collect. Statute of limitations vary by state but any third party debt collector without a legal nexus buying charged off debts from the original creditors for pennies on the dollar can try to collect and if you're stupid enough to engage with them in any way shape or form, it gives default legal presumption the debt is valid resets the clock. It seems like LC dropped the ball on that one also. Grrrr! I really don't have much confidence in their collection practices at all. I should start up "MachineGhost's Knee Cap Busting Collection Agency". Just the name alone should scare people into paying.
Did you see that hilarious video in the YouTube junky thread where John Oliver starts a collection agency? "Fuck you, Opera!"