Is there a "downside" to filing personal bankruptcy?

[denisenh]

I really don't know how i feel about bankruptcy. Thank goodness its not up to me to decide on.
I DO know that a lot of people are suffering with real anxiety over money issues... bills, medical insurance, basic needs. They are just trying to hold themselves up emotionally. There is real despair going on over lack of money to live decently (which is relative) and debt caused by a variety of reasons...sometimes those reasons are forgiveable, like medical problems and sometimes thay seem frivolous....maybe the person was hopeful that things would get better for them and they spent too much money. Whatever.
I just want to offer a big sincere hug and prayers for anyone reading this who is at the point of despair. Most people would do the same as me but just probably don't join this particular website. It will all work out.

 

[cm8]

On the contrary, your credit takes a hit for maybe...maybe 6 months at the beginning of this program.and then starts to climb. You absolutely CAN get credit for things that are necessary. House. Car. School loans. I have not seen one single person who had their credit worse than bankruptcy by going through debt management. Debt settlement YES, but not management. They really are two different things. Settlement is almost exactly like bankruptcy so perhaps that's what you're talking about.



Again, not true with debt management.





Where is your information coming from? This isn't true at all with debt management. LOL






Again, not true. You must to be talking about debt settlement. Debt management is another dog entirely. I definitely think there needs to be much much more education on the differences between debt managment and debt settlement.






Oh my, what we've encountered is quite the opposite. We've only been met with flexibility and zero threats if/when there's a glitch in our payments. There have also been no threats about raising our now reasonable interest rate nor has there been any discussion of cancelling our contract.






Please look up the differences between debt management and debt settlement. The people you've encountered personally have probably gone the debt settlement route.





LOL Do you think we haven't already done all those things? LOL

IMHO People filing for bankruptcy these days is anyone and everyone.....young and old. Responsible or irresponsible. Divorced or married couples, women with no children and women with many. I try not to judge anyone who might be going through it but would hope they've been given other opportunities with accurate info for paying back their debt.[/QUOTE]
ITA

 

[Carly_Roach]

Please look up the differences between debt management and debt settlement. The people you've encountered personally have probably gone the debt settlement route.

Of the two people I know who were taken to the cleaners over debt management, one of them is working with MMI. I believe MMI is a non-profit debt-management company. That couple has been sticking to their plan for four years right now and we pulled their free credit report last year when they were bitterly complaining about another couple they knew who'd declared BK but were now able to buy a car on credit when they still couldn't. Their CC companies were reporting them at 120+ days overdue and had been since the beginning of their debt management plan. They called MMI and MMI says this is normal - they can't make the CC companies stop reporting and, technically, the full payment IS over 120 days late.

I have no idea who the other guy was going through, but he discovered his credit was still bad even though he'd been keeping his payments up for two years. He lost his job (hence the missed payment and returning collection letters from the cc companies) and finally gave up the ghost and filed BK. He says that was two years wasted that didn't solve anything and he now mourns the fact that all that money he was paying to the cc companies could have been going toward savings so he could survive the job loss. He wishes he'd have filed BK instead of trying to "do the right thing".

Both have houses but it looks like the single guy is going to lose his. Yay. Just what Michigan needs - another foreclosed, empty, abandoned house. The new job he got doesn't pay anywhere near the old one and he's currently looking into relocating out of the state. The couple is hanging onto their house because they have kids and are continuing their payment plan. However, they've seriously started talks about doing what the single guy did. Both are working and struggling and we help them whenever we can.

Nowadays, it seems that doing the honorable thing is what'll kill you. The trickle down theory seems to work: the individual must behave like the large corporation if they're going to survive. Perhaps if everyone played by the honorable rules, then paying for your debt would have the rewards and personal satisfaction it should have. But when corporations are getting bailed out for their bad decisions while the little guy suffers for his bad decisions, it's no surprise that people are now starting to behave like Wall Street does and walking away from their debt.