Mom Needing to Vent/credit Card Issues

Hi B., Good for you for owning up and taking responsibility. Sometimes we have to learn lessons the hard way. We have to put on our "big girl panties" and deal with our problems before we find ourselves dealing with collection agencies. There is an act (Fair Credit Collecting?) out there that defines what a company can and cannot do to collect a debt, who they can speak to about your debt or even that they are attempting to collect a debt, etc. Working in a court might give you access to look this up easily or do a Google search. And, it is always better to contact them first and keep a log of phone calls with dates, times, people you talked to and the conversation. Mostly, they record these phone calls and that is how they know exactly what you said in each conversation. Good luck! Stay positive! You can do this! Keep reminding yourself of why you are getting out of debt - you and your family. You deserve it! I hope this helps! D.

Dear B.!!

Thank goodness that you are through with citi-bank Visa, and I hope and pray that you have cut up that card and never use it again! To answer your question: If you are the one that incurred the debt and were not making the payments as you agreed upon when you opened the account with Citi-Bank, then they have the right to turn it over to the collection agency who then try all kind of tactics to bully you into paying (mostly because they have no other recourse... it is not like a house or a car that you can take back.)

What honest collection agencies are supposed to do is:
1. They can only call between the hours of 8am and 9 pm YOUR TIME!
2. You can demand that a creditor cease calling you at work. You should request this in wrtiing by certified mail with return receipt requested.
3. No collector or creditor may take a bank account or garnish (attach) wages without proper and engthy court action, except in the case of delinquent IRS or student loan debt. All such threats are a bluff!!

It is arguable whether or not you were technically "taken advantage of", but what did happen was that you allowed someone else to influence your priorities. My gut instinct is that you didn't have a plan, so you reacted with emotion and let them control you. No matter what... never, never, never, never let some ya-hoo on the other end of a phone dictate to you what you do with your budget... also never,never,never, never let anyone have access to your bank account that you're having difficulties with. (That is just a recipe for disaster!!)

You didn't share if this is an isolated situation or if there are other financial issues you are struggling with. If you are.. I would suggest a FABULOUS 13 week class that will help you make the most of your money and to become DEBT FREE so that you can have peace in your life. It is called Financial Peace University. If you go to www.daveramsey.com you can find a class that is near you. It'll cost about $100, but it is the best money you could ever invest!!!!!

Hope you found this helpful!
Peace,
B.

I'm sorry you had that happen. We are dealing with similar issues, meaning debt and not a lot of money. We got behind in payment a few months ago and it took about 4 months to correct it. We were getting calls almost every day around 8 AM. It took a while, but we paid it off little by little. Sometimes it was just a bit, sometimes it was the full payment. It is easy to let the bills pile up. Keep working on it, even in small amounts.

B.,
The collection agents are horribly cruel sometimes. I'm so sorry you had that experience.

No - they cannot call you at work and yes, this was your responsibility to take care of. If you have now made the final payment move on and learn from this. If you haven't made the payment and don't think you can, then you need to contact them - it is generally best to communicate in writing (email, fax, snail mail) so that you have a record of your communication. Working in an office and going to court does not give you an excuse to spend money on clothes instead of paying off your debt - hold off on buying anything new until you have a handle on this and then buy with cash not credit.

Good luck getting of the credit/debt rollercoaster - it's frustrating but you can do it, you have the power.