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Yesterday I got notice that they are going to sue me for a credit card debt, of which over $1000.00 is interest. I live in Michigan (enuff said right?) and over the past 5 years my income has been reduced from over $3000.00 to $505.00 monthly. I lost health insurance too. Now while I did indeed use the credit card there is no way I can pay it back. If they would have agreed to a plan which did not include adding interest I may have been able. 1/2 of something is better than 100% of nothing guys.  Comments (16) |  |
| 1. Written by Barb, on 04-11-2009 11:41 Wow - you guys are tuff...with the exception of Erica -not one person had any kind advise. Just blame! I can relate to this situation because I too am getting screwed by Capital One...there are many of us. Just check some of the complaint files on line. The difference in my situation is I don't use my cards - any of them. I am working part-time and was until recently collecting unemployment. Capital One sent out a notice that I could either close my acct and pay it off or they would keep it open and more than double the interest rate. Since I had no money to pay them back, I had not choice but to keep the acct. Transfering to another card is not an option either - there are no offers for someone in a financial crisis unless you consolidate or go bankrupt. My interest is now 17.9% - the min due is more than 50% interest and I cannot make the payments. I tried to work things out with them. The only thing they did do was place me on 3 months hardship which allows you to make min payments without interest acrual. This was to give me time to get a job. I got the part-time job but still struggling. Capital One has nothing now they can offer me. I have requested this in writting from them and hope to file complaint but things look bleak. Erica - I thank you for posting a possibility with greenpath.com. I will look into that. I am desparately trying to save what is left of my credit...and if you have bad credit it CAN EFFECT GETTING A JOB!!! So I have more empathy than blame - I do agree on not using the cards anymore. You are just digging a hole you can't get out of. Good Luck |
| 2. Written by Christina, on 02-09-2009 19:34 i am sorry that you are being sued, but you should have tried talking to them. I know you used the card because you had too and because you were thinking I can do this I can pay the monthly payment and be ok and when you have nothing else to do and you need gas for your car to get to work to make the money you need to continue living you use the card. trust me i understand i paid off my capital one thinking this is great i have an esxtra 20 or so extra dollars a month only to have to take my son to the doctor's office one day and be there a few hrs and then be told to go to the hospital for more testing and then to get sent home with a nebulizer, spacer and about 4 prescription for breathing treatments because he now has asmtha. what else was i suppose to do i was completely broke and with 1 prescription alone being 91 dollars i had no other choice. but they should have worked with you some and then sent you to collections agency with most of the time will work out something with you. i'm not sure what chain of events happened to you regarding them personally sueing you but i would defently get a lawyer if you could or call and speak with them but be polite and don't upset it only makes matters worse and they can win better when you are upset because you are not thinking clearly. |
| 3. Written by A.N. Onymous, on 22-05-2009 13:12 I always loved a good blame game. The blame, if that's what we're calling it, is solely that of the person who posted this. Sorry, I understand you fell on hard times, heck, 75% of Americans are in the same boat, not to mention millions around the world, but that doesn't excuse anyone for not paying their bills. You used the card knowing that you'd be unable to repay it. This is a form of fraud, but not one that the company can charge you with criminally, but they can sue you. They may not get anything other than your car, house, entertainment goods (TV, DVD, video game console, computer, etc.)m but they will get something if you catch my drift. Also, I'm not going to assume that you're using your personal computer and internet connection to write something on this site, but if you are, I suggest you cut the internet and anything else that is a luxury (yes, internet and cable television are luxury items) and use that money to pay bills. As to the lesson on economics presented by Elle, I somewhat agree with you. Bad legislature mixed with greedy corporate practices have caused a massive amount of hardship, but the blame is still not theirs alone. We (the consumers) must make wise credit choices. Maybe the wife does without the new pair of $300 shoes and the husband goes without the new $300 garage tool, or little Johnny and Jill can do without the latest video game consoles until they have the money to pay for those items. It's this kind of past spending that has brought us all into the situation we're in. I speak from experience since I just cleaned up my credit after years of stupid spending and receiving 3-4+ calls each day. And yes I repaid every last cent of what I owed including all the interest (rate was at 26.99% at that), but I did ask if they could reduce the interest, to which they said "no", but I understood seeing as it was my fault I was in debt. Credit Card companies are not to blame, not even close, it's the moronic consumer that goes out and spends like they're working for a fortune 500 company when in reality they may be, but at the entry level of McDonald's. Everyone needs to take a step back, look at their finances, look at their debt, and figure out what they can do without. It's either you pay your debt or the government gives the companies billions of tax dollars to cover your inability to repay what you've borrowed, thus making it harder on the rest of society, as well as yourselves, your children, even your grand children to get credit in the future. |
| 4. Written by Laura, on 31-03-2009 04:45 You realize that while your income has dropped someone that works at Capital One is going to lose their job because of people like you. You take the offer then decide not to pay. Well when you go to bed tonight remember you are taking food out of my daughters mouth because you are not living up to your obligations. Oh yeah, thanks! |
| 5. Written by Lolli, on 13-07-2008 13:44 They should not be suing you. They usually do not in these situations. Bad luck. To the lady who thinks that financial institutions charge interest just to keep from losing money; not really true. They charge far more interest then they need to make a small profit. they make tons of money for simply lending us what we need for a purchase for a short time. They are not giving you a real loan that takes a long time to pay back. They are more like acting as a purse. The most inexpensive way to pay for things is with cash. More people should start doing it. I am starting to like cash more and more. I don't feel like a banks and card companies do anything but rob me. they keep trying to make it difficult to use cash these days because then they can't profit off of people that way. And they try to scare people into thinking they will get robbed or look suspicious if you use cash. Well I no longer care. Im all cash from now on. |
| 6. Written by Mr, on 05-07-2008 22:06 Why is everyone so crabby? The responsibility falls on both parties in these situations. It's fine if you run into hardship; but why the heck are all these agencies lending people money they have no way to pay back? After all, if someone is running into trouble; and notifies the lender, it is insane to sue. The legal fees, compounded with interest, penalty, etc. Simply insane. |
| 7. Written by tc, on 20-06-2008 16:49 Does anyone realize how credit works? A credit card company has to pay interest on the money they are lending, and in turn charge interest. It is not a service, its a money making business. If everyone who had money trouble got off on the debt and interest owed, the companies would go bankrupt and then responsible users of credit would suffer. Bottom line, don't run up 1000.00's in debt then expect someone to bail you out. You did it to yourself. |
8. Written by Rebecca, on 18-06-2008 02:48  Elle...... Your a class act! The problem here is this: this individual used the card KNOWING THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO PAY IT BACK! There is a huge difference in their situation. I understand the financial hardships, I had to move because of them, However that does not excuse me from my financial obligations. Nor does it give me the right to charge up credit cards and intentinally not pay on them. Why should this person be exempt because they chose to do something they knew would come back on them? You say people cannot pay back money they do not have..... however this person did not have the money to begin with and therefore used the card in an irresponsible manner and therefore screwed up their own credit and got themselves into debt, and made no attempt to pay anything. That is a far cry from the problem being an error on the part of Cap One, and yes I know that they have questionable practices, but that is not an excuse for what this person did. It is quite obvious that you did not read my entire post or you would not be so quick to assume I am taking the side of Cap one, which I am not. I am only saying that this person does not want to be responsible for their actions, yet they want to claim foul on the part of the credit card company... so think aboutthis: had this person not used the card so much, maybe they would not be in the position they now find themselves. SHAME ON YOU ELLE FOR NOT READING THE WHOLE POST. P.S. THIS IS THE SAME AS LYING ABOUT YOUR INCOMETO GET A LOAN AND NOT PAYING IT BACK. |
| 9. Written by Erika, on 23-05-2008 22:04 There are many people in financial hardship today. Although you can't just ignore the debt and Capital One has some of the most unethical business practices I have ever seen, pointing fingers never solves anything. Most people wait too long to seek assistance because they don't know where to go. Have you tried greenpath.com? It was recommended to a friend of mine in MI a few months ago and it has helped her tremendously (getting interest rates down and monthly payments to an affordable level for her situation). That company was recommended to her by Neiman Marcus. It is the only company they will work with (I would think they would be reputable ??). Maybe they can assist you. It's worth checking out. I have to go stimulate the economy now with my rebate check for ZERO dollars.  |
| 10. Written by Elle, on 16-05-2008 08:01 To Rebecca, Jim, Jimbob: You have no idea of what you are talking about. Small payments on delinquent debt is still default debt. Those small payments will also destroy your credit. People cannot payback money they no longer have. US jobs have been affected by government policies that were implemented without concern for long-term consequence to the U.S. economy. Those decisions have come back to haunt our legislators. Financial institutions have jeopardized the stability of our banking system by complex instruments dependant on consumer default, and recently, such actions have caused havoc in our financial markets. These institutions have siphoned all the wealth out of Americans that they could and now are whining because consumers can no longer spend to support our Gross Domestic Product - of which consumers spending consitutes 70%. Complicated financial instruments such as credit default derivative swaps are used to collect delinquent and default debt. The institutions have made billions on the backs of Americans who have been victims of poor government economic decisions and financial deregulation. Further, the actions by these financial insitutions threaten not only our economic stability but also national security. The game for these institutions is over but it will take a long time for the U.S. to return to the power and respect it once commanded. No one is helping the situation by draining every dollar out of such consumers as the one who wrote the above complaint. Your financial and economic knowledge is extemely lacking and your blame is grossly misplaced - shame on you! |
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