Re: Creditors /

[Guest guest]

,

I know from my working on the total money makeover (Dave Ramsey) that

what says is true. You can request (in writing) that they NOT

contact you at work - if they do, they have broken the law.

If you are working to pay down your bills (aren't we all???), do NOT

give them electronic access to your checking account. Figure out what

you can realistically afford per month and advise them that's what

they will be getting. No more and no less until/unless something

changes drastically for you. Eventually it will get paid off.

I know that for almost 2 yrs, we kept getting collection notices for

someone else (not my DH) and we had called numerous times and they

wanted DH's SSN - he would not provide it to them; instead he asked

what was the last 4 of the person they were looking for? It wasn't

him. I also know that after getting another letter that I opened and

called to tell them to " stop " , they tried to threaten me with postal

fraud - I mailed them the letter back with " not the correct person "

written in sharpie. We have never been bothered by them again so

perhaps they found the correct person.

I would suggest to everyone to get copies of your credit reports (all

3 of them) to see what is on there. We all probably have some dings

due to hospital bills, being out of work, etc. etc. If they are

legitimate, they have to stay on there. However, I have successfully

disputed three different things that were not true and had them

removed. Just like we take control of our health (or we are trying

to, anyway), we have got to take control of our credit!

Don't let anyone harass you. If you legitimately owe something, work

it out but make sure you take care of the following FIRST before any

of those jackals get anything, because all they are worried about is

THEIR money, not anyone else's, trust me. And they are not your

friend! Take care of your housing situation, utilities, food,

transportation and meds before you worry about the rest of your

debts. Then list those debts smallest to largest and work on them one

at a time, sending everyone else minimum payments (if its a hospital

or something, YOUR minimum, not theirs - I had a hospital send me to

collections once because I couldn't pay $60/month, I could only pay

$50....crazy, huh??).

And smile - because this too shall pass in the big scheme of things!

Don't let them stress you out and if you find your anxiety level

rising, then put it in writing (certified) that they can only

correspond with you via letter due to the emotional stress they are

inflicting.

Darlene

> >

> > You said you did collections, have a question. How can you

legally

> tell

> > a collector not to call you if you really owe them money?? Never

> heard

> > that before and very interested to hear more.

> >

> > Thanks

> >

> > N.

> >

> > >despite the fact that I have even told them, they are

> > > not to call here again (if a collector is harassing you, they

can

> not

> > > call if you tell them not to (also did collections!)

> > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Darlene, you did really point out a number of things that I did not

think or remember to add to my comments. When it got really bad for

us a few years ago, I called an agency that worked to help people get

out of debt. Some people told me I had done the wrong thing, but I

knew and still believe, that had I not done that, I would have been

back to not sleeping much as I tossed and turned trying to figure out

how to get all of the bills paid. As sad as it is, I was able to, in

about a year pay off all of the debt (received an inheritance that,

when combined with my income, I paid everything in full.) But while I

was doing that, I did work with that agency to pay off the larger

bills with a minimum amount going to the smaller ones. I was able to

pay off some of the smaller ones even prior to the inheritance and

despite people telling me that using one of those organizations could

hurt my credit when my credit reports would show that, I have a

better credit score than my husband's. And he was so mad this week

as he believed he had finally paid off his only credit card, got a

new bill and accused me of charging something to his credit card!

After I finally saw what the charges were for, I told him it wasn't

me doing it but rather than the monthly fees for our internet

provider go on his credit card bill. Sad to say that this service is

the one thing that threw his credit score off but that despite the

fact I used the agency to pay mine back, I still had a higher credit

score and that helped when we were pre-approved for the mortage on

the new house.

My biggest problem these days is that I pay so many of our monthly

bills (gas, electric, cable, etc!) via the internet, that I will

periodically forget which ones I have paid and which ones I haven't

paid!

But I also know how much have those various bills hanging over your

head can add to the stress that can be a trigger for a fibro flare.

And I have,in the past, for many years, felt that I had someone

watching out for me, especially when I didn't know where my next

paycheck would come from, that I would get a new job that paid more

or a raise and all worked out and I wasn't tossed out into the street.

We have so many other things that can effect our bodies, that the

added stress of financial woes can really increase the pain.

> > >

> > > You said you did collections, have a question. How can you

> legally

> > tell

> > > a collector not to call you if you really owe them money??

Never

> > heard

> > > that before and very interested to hear more.

> > >

> > > Thanks

> > >

> > > N.

> > >

> > > >despite the fact that I have even told them, they are

> > > > not to call here again (if a collector is harassing you, they

> can

> > not

> > > > call if you tell them not to (also did collections!)

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Bills, Bills, Bills.

I'd really like to float them on toilet water one by one and have a

super bad irritable bowl syndrome moment in order to bid them a not so

fond farewell to the water treatment plant.

Our house has been in the process of filing for bankruptcy for the

past 2 years, we average aroud 14 debt collection calls a day on the

answering machine.

Just to mess with the debt collectors aka leeches:

I altered the answering machines greeting to, " Please leave a message

after the tone " -without- the tone just to see how many will fall for it.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I love to read all the stuff you write. The TV ads were really funny and I

love your solution to the bills. I always need a good laugh and you provide one

regularly.

TTFN,

Marti

Loest boltzero@...> wrote:

Bills, Bills, Bills.

I'd really like to float them on toilet water one by one and have a

super bad irritable bowl syndrome moment in order to bid them a not so

fond farewell to the water treatment plant.

Our house has been in the process of filing for bankruptcy for the

past 2 years, we average aroud 14 debt collection calls a day on the

answering machine.

Just to mess with the debt collectors aka leeches:

I altered the answering machines greeting to, " Please leave a message

after the tone " -without- the tone just to see how many will fall for it.

---------------------------------

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[Guest guest]

,

Thanks for that. It ticks me off when folks get harassed to the point

they are considering drastic measures. That is what those folks are

trained to do - scare the blazes out of you and then go away quietly

when you acqueisce and pay them their money.

I used, years ago, Consumer Credit Counseling, and my credit score

has been slowly going up over the years. This is still a " ding " on

the old credit but guess what? It stopped the phone calls! And

because they consolidated and worked things out with my creditors, I

paid my monthly payment and then was able to sleep at night. My

suggestion is that ANYONE considering one of those places do their

homework and MAKE sure it is a reputable company (CCCS is reputable,

has been around forever) before you take that leap.

, we have a pad (spiral bound) of paper that lists all our

monthly bills (a page per month) and even the EFT and internet pay

stuff gets put on there so when I do bills I can " cross it off " the

list (strange, I know....lolol). Perhaps something like that would

help you with the fibro fog and remembering when you paid something?

Just a thought.

And all of us need to remember - this too shall pass! Ask your

doctor for samples (enough so you can see if something works) BEFORE

they give you an RX where you have to pay for it! I have had to toss

too many meds that didn't work and if I had had the samples first,

could have saved some money. Granted, sometimes it was only $5 for

the 'script, but $5 buys milk!

, we've had the same thing happen - a raise, an unexpected bonus,

little blessings that have allowed us, in conjunction with our

monthly income, to pay off over $70k since 8/06 (that includes our

house, which we refi'd and got the $ out of it to pay off some

stuff). We are more than halfway through paying off our debt. I want

to be debt-free to the point that if I AM given a med that with

my 'script card still costs over $100 will not cause me to worry

about food for the family, you know?

Darlene

> > > >

> > > > You said you did collections, have a question. How can you

> > legally

> > > tell

> > > > a collector not to call you if you really owe them money??

> Never

> > > heard

> > > > that before and very interested to hear more.

> > > >

> > > > Thanks

> > > >

> > > > N.

> > > >

> > > > >despite the fact that I have even told them, they are

> > > > > not to call here again (if a collector is harassing you,

they

> > can

> > > not

> > > > > call if you tell them not to (also did collections!)

> > > > >

> > > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

If you have microsoft works or word, there are financial payment forms you can

fill out with all of your monthly bills so you can keep up with them. That is

what I have to do, unless I have the bill on autopay, which is the easiest way

for me.

Hugs,

Annie G

ddean228 navydaisy228@...> wrote:

,

Thanks for that. It ticks me off when folks get harassed to the point

they are considering drastic measures. That is what those folks are

trained to do - scare the blazes out of you and then go away quietly

when you acqueisce and pay them their money.

I used, years ago, Consumer Credit Counseling, and my credit score

has been slowly going up over the years. This is still a " ding " on

the old credit but guess what? It stopped the phone calls! And

because they consolidated and worked things out with my creditors, I

paid my monthly payment and then was able to sleep at night. My

suggestion is that ANYONE considering one of those places do their

homework and MAKE sure it is a reputable company (CCCS is reputable,

has been around forever) before you take that leap.

, we have a pad (spiral bound) of paper that lists all our

monthly bills (a page per month) and even the EFT and internet pay

stuff gets put on there so when I do bills I can " cross it off " the

list (strange, I know....lolol). Perhaps something like that would

help you with the fibro fog and remembering when you paid something?

Just a thought.

And all of us need to remember - this too shall pass! Ask your

doctor for samples (enough so you can see if something works) BEFORE

they give you an RX where you have to pay for it! I have had to toss

too many meds that didn't work and if I had had the samples first,

could have saved some money. Granted, sometimes it was only $5 for

the 'script, but $5 buys milk!

, we've had the same thing happen - a raise, an unexpected bonus,

little blessings that have allowed us, in conjunction with our

monthly income, to pay off over $70k since 8/06 (that includes our

house, which we refi'd and got the $ out of it to pay off some

stuff). We are more than halfway through paying off our debt. I want

to be debt-free to the point that if I AM given a med that with

my 'script card still costs over $100 will not cause me to worry

about food for the family, you know?

Darlene

>

> Darlene, you did really point out a number of things that I did not

> think or remember to add to my comments. > But I also know how much have those

various bills hanging over your

> head can add to the stress that can be a trigger for a fibro flare.

> And I have,in the past, for many years, felt that I had someone

> watching out for me, especially when I didn't know where my next

> paycheck would come from, that I would get a new job that paid more

> or a raise and all worked out and I wasn't tossed out into the

street.

> We have so many other things that can effect our bodies, that the

> added stress of financial woes can really increase the pain.

>

> --- In Fibromyalgia_Support_Group , "

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1. While it is wonderful to share our experiences with everyone on the list as

to what treatments do and don't work for us, pls always check with your dr.

Some treatments are dangerous when given along with other meds as well as to

certain health conditions or just dangerous in general.

2. If you are in a difficult situation (doesn't matter what it is) pls don't be

afraid to ask for help. It is the first step to trying to make that situation

better.

3. To unsubscribe the e-mail is:

Fibromyalgia_Support_Group-unsubscribe

4. Also, it is not uncommon for more than one member to be feeling bad at the

same time when it comes to flares and b/c of that potentially take something

another member says the wrong way. And that includes the things that one member

may find funny (even if it's laughing at fibro itself) even though we who deal

with illness whether one such as fibro or multiple illnesses try to keep a sense

of humor.

5. Pls let's be gentle with each other, and if you are having a bad day pls let

us know so that we can do our best to offer our support.

Have a nice day everyone.

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