Large Scale Central

Bill Collecting

General Discussion
#1

Or is that collecting bills? Unfortunately NOT the ones with pictures of dead presidents on.

We were doing so well, too. Then 6 months ago my GF got fired for something she DIDN’T do, my hours were cut, and everything went to hell…

Nothing like having your ex take the kids to the doctor, the dentist, the opthamologist, the chiropractor, etc, then have them send YOU the bill for the co-pay, new glasses or whatever. Add to that the “surprise” huge bills from the phone company, cable company, ISP that are inexplicably so much higher than the saleslady said they’d be…

Then the few credit cards I had with that “insurance” option on them – where if you lose your job, they’ll make the payments… but it seems if your hours are simply cut in HALF they don’t pay sh#t…(And what sense does it make to add a HUGE fee on top of what the guy owes when he’s a bit short to pay the FIRST amount? Kind of like threatening to put a guy in jail for not paying, like he’s gonna make MORE money in there?)

Steal big the gubmint bails you out. Try to do what’s right and…

Trying to be funny, here. Gallows humor is too truthful to laugh at, I guess.

“Don’t hit a man when he’s down, – Kick him, it’s easier…” (Dave Allen)

#2

Mik,

If X has custody, then she has responsibility for the copays, unless the divorce decree says otherwise. At least that is the way it worked in my state. Still, they were my kids, so X and I worked together on this…

Cancel phone and cable and ISP for the reasons you just gave. That tends to get their attention and they always seem be find a way to be accommodating. Don’t let them bully you. This is stuff that you don’t “need,” you just “want” it. That always gives you leverage. You don’t need to be nasty, just firm and unyielding.

Call the credit card company NOW, and tell them what has happened. Given what is in the news, they will work with you to lower your payments. If you wait until it is really a mess, they will give your file to Bruno the Arm-Breaker who only knows one way to deal with you. :stuck_out_tongue:

I feel your pain, buddy. I’ve been there, and it sucks!

#3
Steve Featherkile said:
Mik,

Call the credit card company NOW, and tell them what has happened. Given what is in the news, they will work with you to lower your payments. If you wait until it is really a mess, they will give your file to Bruno the Arm-Breaker who only knows one way to deal with you. :stuck_out_tongue:


The credit card companies will work with you?
They “work” with people by raising their interest rate to default rates of 33% when they have never been late or overdrawn. Bank of America did this to 250,000 account holders. I’ve had this done to me ( not BOA ), when my credit score was 50 points higher then when the account was opened. To add insult to injury, several months later my credit limit was increased by $2000…because of my good credit. Numerous calls and they still refuse to return the account to the original rate.
They “work” with people by moving up their due date by 10 days or more with no advance warning so they can collect a late fee and move you to default rates. This also happened to me, twice. Fortunately I caught it both times. This September I made a payment on one account on 9/2, due 9/4. The account is paperless, they send no bill. I just had a gut feeling one day to log on and check the account. It was 9/22 and the friggin bill was due that day. I had to call and make payment over the phone. They had not sent any e-mail or snail mail to advise of the change. Just the usual “your statement is now available for viewing online” e-mail.
Ralph

#4

Oh. I know where you are

(http://www.outsidetrains.com/smile/66.gif)

Credit card companies wouldn’t work with me, and every attempt just raised the interest rate. State sued me not only to pay the medical bill, but to buy them health insurance. Fortunately, Susan wasn’t one to take them needlessly to the doctor. Oh, yes, the fees and the move the due-date trick. Also, an online or phone payment got an extra 5 day delay. One credit card bank even instituted a $40 fee for making a payment! Only encouragement I can offer: “This isn’t permanent.”

#5

As of today I am officially screwed…

Some of you may be aware that I have been fighting a fraudulent $500 chargeback instituted by a customer’s credit card company…even though he ADMITS he got half the merchandise, he charged back the FULL amount. The Merchant Services people TOOK this money out of my account WITHOUT notifying me WHY for 10 days… They say since I am challenging it, they are holding the money “in escrow until they finish their investigation.”… This BOUNCED my business account – SO FAR that action has accrued me over $150 in FEES. The bank won’t waive them, Merchant Services says THEY aren’t responsible for them either. Meanwhile, someone at the BANK told me I would be a fool to ship the backordered product BEFORE Merchant Services finished their investigation. Kind of a Catch 22 on that… So anyway as I said I already PAID for the merchadise he ordered, and he has half of it (so I only have half)… but I don’t have ANY of the money, PLUS all these fees on top…

Anyway TODAY, again WITHOUT notice, the BANK cleaned $350 out of my personal account to “cover” part of the overdraft (My ENTIRE paycheck, Kim’s last unemployment check, and a customer’s money for an order – legal, perhaps, but ethical?)…not only does this leave us with NO money for food, or gas to GET to work, but I had already written checks on most of it to pay BILLS…checks which are NOW going to BOUNCE…

I TRIED contacting the bank, since the branch manager and I have gone around before, I asked to talk to the regional manager…she’s on vacation, so I asked to talk to the DISTRICT manager above her, HE just had surgery and is only working part time while he recovers so they don’t know exactly when he’ll be back… The guy ABOVE him had already left for the day…And BTW they cheerfully informed me that I’m also responsible for all the fees they are going to assess for bouncing the checks I wrote on the money THEY took…

I OFFERED to bring all my remaining stock in and dump it on the lady’s desk, if she’d call it even – nope. I said “So what’s left? Sue the bank for ruining me?” She said I could try, but she doubted I would win…

At this point the ONLY problem I can see with going postal is logistical…All the bastards who deserve it are too far apart for me to take enough of them with me. (Just kidding on the this, I think)

#6

Would if be possible to deposit some cash to cover the cheques already written?

#7
TonyWalsham said:
Would if be possible to deposit some cash to cover the cheques already written?
Just checked, we have $13.77 in change we gathered up from all over the house....I'm sure, I could deposit it, but until the ENTIRE overdraft is covered they will continue to divert everything to the other account first. BTW ONE of the checks that is going to bounce was to my BOSS for gas...which we ran much of OUT trying to fix this mess.

Get a personal loan to cover things until it gets straightened out? Nope… the banks won’t touch me because of the OD, the discount places won’t because I’m on disability and only work part-time. The bank’s “solution” is that I need to pull MINIMUM $1,000 out of my ear to open an “overdraft protection savings account”, and THAT will only help “next time”…

If I don’t get the direct deposit on my disability stopped in time there won’t be enough of IT left to cover the rent in 2 weeks, either. The bastards doing the kicking are wearing hobnailed boots (See the dave Allen quote above)

Where’s MY golden parachute???

#8
Mik said:
SNIP Where's MY golden parachute???????
Up S**t Creek without the paddle.

Fortunately in OZ the banks and CC Co’s can’t just do stuff like that without sending you information to read.

I had a small problem recently where I deposited a fairly large amount in the wrong account and started drawing against the account it should have gone in.
I got slugged a bit for my mistake. But no cheques got bounced.

#9

Found this last night… kind of sums up how I’m feeling this morning

(http://static.pyzam.com/img/funnypics/e/unfair.jpg)

#10

That birdie was just teasing them big cats.

#11

Mik, seems you have a problem - a VERY BIG ONE. And the Bank is Screwing you! May I suggest that you locate another bank (if there is one) and try to open a new account. Get the direct deposit into it and save your backside and your family. I would make another offer but some would get VERY upset at me! It is a little far to drive back and use the Italian Method of dealing with this problem.

And any one who still deals with the BOF is a fool! I droped them a long time ago (years!) due to their “screw you attitude”. Still have a card from them that they will not close out, this time I will have the Lawyer wirte the letter!

Of course you could file bankrupcy but then you get more problems.

Paul

#12

Mr Austin… I TRIED to open a new account, but it seems I can’t. They reported it to whatever the system is called (Accucheck?) so any participating bank - which is MOST of them in the US, will automatically turn me away until THIS bank is satisfied.

I talked to someone ELSE at the bank again today. Abbott & Costello couldn’t have written it any better. My only question is does anybody know what ‘Hmmmmm.’ means in bankerspeak? The lady said that about a dozen times. I’m HOPING it means “somebody at the bank screwed up, but I can’t admit it.”, but I’m afraid it means “Pull the other leg, it has bells on”

#13

Humour on:

Open a Swiss bank account!

Humour off!

#14

Sory to hear about your troubles–it’s a system stacked against the little guy

#15
Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Humour on:

Open a Swiss bank account!

Humour off!


I gots to get me one of them humor switches! Is it single or double throw, HJ?

#16
Steve Featherkile said:
Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Humour on:

Open a Swiss bank account!

Humour off!


I gots to get me one of them humor switches! Is it single or double throw, HJ?

It’s single throw, but you can order as many poles as you think you need. In your case: the more, the merrier!

#17
Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
It's single throw, but you can order as many poles as you think you need. In your case: the more, the merrier!
Not sure how many Poles I'd WANT... just feeding them would be a nightmare (and the food itself? bleah), not to mention having to listen to accordian music half the night....