Harrassed By Debt Collectors

**deltasoft** · 06-06-2008, 08:12 PM

My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Texas

Hi all-this is a great forum!, this morning i receive a call from an attorney representing one of my creditors. I recently went into a big issue and was not able to pay my credit cards on time-with these said the rates increased and everything went sky rocket. the debt is 1500 and they expect me to pay in 2 months or they will file a judgement on small claims court.....i own a house / car which i am still paying for and have no clue what i can go through..........i've never been in this situation.....

this is not the only credit card i have a debt with and i am affraid same proccedings may happen.

question....... What is better, bankruptcy or settlement (a.k.a credit repair)?

i know it all takes 7 yrs to clear from credit bureaus but which one's better?

i want to buy another house after the one i have (which i am still paying for and keep paying for)

I know your advise folks, thanks a lot in advance.....

**OhMy** · 06-07-2008, 07:27 AM

I am sorry to hear about your problem. Please be advised that here in Texas even if they do take a judgment against you, they CAN NOT take your home from you. They can file a judgment and when you sell your home the judgment can be satisfied at that time.

As far as your credit. Since this amount is kind of small and you are a homeowner, I do not see where a bankruptcy would help you. You are better off just paying off the judgment over time if it comes to that.

Your FICO scores are probably very low right now due to having a 90+ day late on the credit card, therefore, they will not go much lower if they do obtain a judgment against you.

To get a new mortgage these days most lenders will require a 680 middle fico score for conventional and 600 for FHA. At this point I would just not worry about a future house. Handle this problem by paying it off over time, then we can address the credit issues from all of this. First things first. I hope it all works out for you. Keep us informed and good luck.

**deltasoft** · 06-07-2008, 11:18 AM

thanks for the help ohmy........sigh.........i know nothing about laws unfortunately..just an IT engineer :-\............i guess i'll just pay little by little the 1500....which is what i wanted to do anyhow but they want full amount!!

i really appriciate your answer on all,
thanks a bunch!

**Betty3** · 06-07-2008, 05:17 PM

They don't have to accept a payment plan & can demand the full amount of the debt. If they don't receive it, they can sue you & get a judgment against you for the amt. of the debt. + possibly court costs. If you don't pay the judgment, they can seize any non-exempt assets that your state allows that you might have. As OhMy indicated, they won't take your home from you though.

**deltasoft** · 06-08-2008, 10:46 AM

well i've got 2 cars......

one that i am currently paying for financed through bank and other one is paid off.....

should i put the other one under my moms name? or perhaps put my mom as a lien?

that way they dont take the car away as i know the other one i am still paying for...?

thanks!

**aaron** · 06-08-2008, 10:54 AM

When you transfer your assets to somebody else to impoverish yourself such that people can't collect your debts, the creditor can ask a court to deem the transfer a "fraudulent conveyance", and that can worsen not only your position but subject the recipient of the transfer to an action to collect the debt.

**Betty3** · 06-08-2008, 01:43 PM

Agree with Aaron. You can cause yourself & others problems if you transfer your assets to others to keep creditors from seizing them.

**BOR** · 06-09-2008, 01:22 AM

Quoting deltasoft

well i've got 2 cars......

one that i am currently paying for financed through bank and other one is paid off.....

should i put the other one under my moms name? or perhaps put my mom as a lien?

that way they dont take the car away as i know the other one i am still paying for...?

thanks!

As stated, DO NOT do that!! Criminal charges may be applicable also??

If you ever followed the OJ case, he set up a so called "trust fund" to funnel the profits of his book to his kids, but it was shelved due to public outcry. One of Goldman's causes of action's was fraudulent conveyance:

Complaint:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1219061oj1.html