Has anyone had to deal with creditors?

I have been divorced for 5 years from my last husband. When I put him in jail for battery and I filed for divorce I was 30,000 in credit card debt. He made so many lies after I put him in jail from his family. When I went to court for my divorce I ended up being responsible for the debt. Plus to keep him away from my daughter. We both feared him that's why I took the heartache of the bills. The thing is I want to know is this. I still get calls and now I got a call from a lawyers office that they are making a serious decision on my case. Can they do anything to me? I live in low income housing and food stamps. I work at my Church on the sat. service and I work one day a week cleaning house. I am going back to school to get a better education so I can get a 9-5 job. I can't work at night because I have no one to take care of my daughter. I don't trust my daughter to be alone nor do I trust anyone here. I own my 1990 Honda. It's paid off

Please people who have dealt with creditors only.

Please be serious and kind. I am dealing with so many other issues and heartaches.

Creditors and collectors like to use frightening and threatening language hoping to coerce people into making some kind of payment. Creditors and collectors will threaten all kinds of action but there is only so much they can really do. They can get a court ordered judgement against you for the money owed but they wouldn't be able to garnish any of your money if you basically have none. They can ruin your credit by reporting the "bad debt" which may have already happened. Speaking of which, if your credit is already ruined by the debts owed, you may seriously want to consider bankruptcy. It's not exactly a great thing to do but sometimes it is necessary and in your case it might be the prudent thing to do. You will be able to keep your car and it will relieve you of some of the stress you're under right now. Bankruptcies will stay on a person's credit for 10 years causing a bad credit score, however, the debts you have now and any judgements arising from the debts will also stay on your credit for up to 10 years -- so the bankruptcy may not hurt you in the long run as far as that goes. Please consider it.

As for the collectors, you can tell them to stop calling you...that you want all communication done in writing. After you state that to them, they are required by law to do as you've asked -- to put all further communication in letter form....and better yet, you will stop getting the harassing phone calls.

**ADD**
Above all else, do not let yourself be intimidated by collections calls. You do have rights. And you must assert yourself with them. Tell them that you will not be threatened and that you want any and all communication done in writing. Since many collections calls are recorded, do not agree to any payment plan that you're not comfortable with -- it's best to end the call with "put it in writing" than it is to agree to something just to get them off the phone. Do not give out any information about yourself that you do not want them to know, such as job situation, housing, address, etc. This will only give them further information to harass you with. And again, no matter how much they threaten or what kind of frightening language they use, the only legal action they can take against you is 1. to get a court ordered judgement on the debt and 2. continue to report the bad debt to the credit card companies.

One threat that is often made is to garnish your wages or levy your bank account or take your belongings (such as your car, etc.). What is important to know is that a collection agency cannot garnish your wages or otherwise seize your money until after it has sued you and won the suit. Unless the bad debt is for the vehicle itself, they cannot take your vehicle, period. And in your case, your car is paid off, so it's yours outright. Normally, it takes several months to sue someone in small claims court and win, and few creditors ever even bother to do this. Prior to getting a favorable court judgment, they cannot get any money from you unless you voluntarily send it to them.

So stay strong -- it sounds like you're doing the best you can and I applaud your effort to better yourself and your life. Good for you! It may take some time, but believe me, it will work out. And as I mentioned before, you may want to consider bankruptcy. You have a ton of debt. Bankruptcy is not the answer for everyone in every situation, and I know that it's looked down upon -- but for you, in your situation, it would give you a fresh start.

no.

I'm sorry you are in such a dire situation. It takes a strong person to do what is in the best interest of their child instead of themselves. In dealing with a creditor before, I find that the best advise I can give you is to contact your creditors and explain your situation. Ask them to work out an arrangement where you pay a specific amount per month to satisfy your obligation. If the debt is spread across different accounts, try to consolidate it into one. This will make paying off the debt a little easier. Also, you might want to try contacting a debt consolidation service. They may be able to help you in lowering your payments and making things more manageable for you. Kudos on going back to school to further your education. I commend you for trying to better your life in the wake of such a serious and difficult time. I hope everything works out for you and I hope any advice I have provided will be of use to you. Keep plugging away. Things will surely get better.