How can I keep creditors at bay until I can get organized?

Question

I'm in deep financial trouble, including having my wages garnished... ugh! I realize this, and now I have creditors calling my parents, and I don't even remember giving them parents' phone number.
I've seen my credit report, and I want to take care of these problems, but until the garnishment ends in a couple of months, I just can't.
How can I keep creditors from bugging me or my parents but let them know that I AM aware of my irresponsibility and am wanting to clean up my act?
Thanks.

Answer 1

I was once married to a woman who is a spend-a-holic so I know what its like to have to pay up and not have it to pay with.

Here is what I did. I called each one. went in person to each one I could find. Called the rest. I told them what the plan was. They were not too happy about it but I told each one it was this plan or I go bankrupt and leave them hanging. They decided the plan was better than nothing.

I figured out how long it would take to pay each one off. I built a few extra paychecks into the plan between each one, just incase I needed to take a kid to the doctor or buy a part for the car etc. I told each one where they were in the line up. No they were not happy about it especially the ones at the end of the list. Once I got a few of the small ones out of the way, I put token payments on the rest of them and took the money that was being used to pay off the little debts and put all of that cash on the next smallest one. When it was paid off I put all of that money on the next one and so on. It was unbelivable but I got them all paid off in 3 years. My credit report suffered a bit but not as much as I thought. As each one saw me making payments and even getting ahead of schedule (I didn't need the extra paychecks after all) they decided not to report my late payements. Some did but not all. I got all the way out of debt. I win. They got paid, I got divorced, I'm out of debt and will never go in again willingly.

As a side note I put the ones that gave me the most crap at the bottom of the list. I put the ones that were most willing to work with me at the top. Oddly enough it was the bank and not the dentist who wanted to rape me the most. So I paid the dentist first. The Cheveron gas station was also very kind and They got put further up the list as well. The bank got really pissed. After about 4 months of no payment at all they got a little more willing to bend. Funny how that worked. They would respond by jacking up the interest rate. I would respond by telling them that was not helping me. And if that was their idea of help, it was going to be a long wait. They were holding credit card debt. After 4 months of no payment, they took me seriously when I told them it was my way or bankrupcy. They made a few consessions and I started paying them.

Answer 2

Have your parents tell your creditors that they have the wrong number, no one by your name lives at that address, and if they call again, your parents will call the attorney general and report the company to the FTC for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

You should call your creditors and arrange a partial payment for a few months. Even paying them a small amount per month, after explaining your situation, may be accepted.

As a last resort, you could change your phone numbers until you can get back on your feet. But that's a pretty temporary solution to a long-term problem of paying off your debt.

ForeclosureFish
http://www.foreclosurefish.com/

Answer 3

First of all if you are over 18 yrs old, they have no legal right to call your parents. They can get away with it if you put the parent's phone number down for "emergency number". Then they say they couldn't get ahold of you and it was imperative they talk to you so they call the parent. Call each of the creditors and explain that you would like to set up a payment plan. Do not let them bully you. Some collectors get paid on commission so they try and get a large sum all at once out of you. Once you have a plan, you must adhere to it or the phone calls will start up again. I wish you the best of luck having been there myself.

Answer 4

Buy an answering machine for you and your parents. Let the calls go to the machine! Tell your parents not to answer when they hear it is a creditor. You can get answering machines for $10 at Walmart, K-mart, or similar stores.