Collectors-Minute.com

Welcome! This post reflects on the 341 meeting I attended in Charlotte on Wednesday, August 27, 2008. The location was different from last week and this was a chapter 7 meeting. The location was ACROSS from the Federal Courthouse. First picture is the courthouse at 400 Trade St. That was easy to find.

Federal Courthouse Charlotte, NC

The location for the meeting was actually across from the courthouse and was not as obvious. It was marked but not a large entrance at all. It was very nice inside. There was a security gate, but the x-ray machine conveyor was broken. This held things up a bit. There were two men fulfilling the Trustee duties. The first arrived after I did and carried a big box of files. He was the attorney for the members in our case. I introduced myself, and he said we would have to wait until after the hearing to discuss our case.

402 W. Trade St. Charlotte, NC

The members had filed their bankruptcy during a workout agreement we had with them. It was a bit sticky, because we had no signed loan modifications. This was not procedure, but things happen sometimes that we need to work around. There were two vehicles loans – each 1999 models. My only question during the hearing was to ask the members if they had intentions to reaffirm their loans. They said – yes. I wanted that on the records, though I knew they wanted to pay. After the member’s attorney had finished his part of the meeting, we proceeded to conference room. He talked to his clients first, then brought me in to the room. The attorney asked about the signed documents, I said there were none for the last payment adjustment. We had discussed previously the options for payments, and he had talked to the members before I went into the room. After making it clear that the members would be struggling to pay $200/month for each loan, I accepted that arrangement, and we completed  loan modifications with the attorney’s blessing. We will forward official reaffirmations to the attorney, and he will have no problem with the loans being paid. So, what did I learn? When facing a situation like the one we were in with no signed documents or some other error, talk to the attorney BEFORE the 341 hearing and discuss options. Do not wait and spring demands or surprises on the attorney. You get further that way. I had taken time to fax amortization schedules to the attorney to explain to him that the present payment amount will not pay-off the loan in a reasonable time frame. He quickly agreed. Remember the member’s attorney has to sign that he agrees that the reaffirmation will not place “undue burden” on the member/debtor or their dependents. In the words of a very good Credit Union defense attorney in SC, when a mistake is found, be the first to correct it, and it will work out better all the way around.

Technorati Tags: 341 hearing, Bankruptcy, reaffirmation

If you are just viewing this post, be sure to take the time and read the previous post that includes the background to the this case. It will fill in the gaps as I cannot repeat it all here.

After easily finding a place to park, I entered the building. There were no security gates. There was a security guard telling you to turn off your cell phone, if you enter the court room. I was just on time. However, the members and their attorney were not there. I went in to the court just to listen. This was when I saw a man coming to the hearing as a “pro se” filer. (He was his own attorney.) It was not his first time in the court. From what I could understand, he was trying to save at least 2 properties from foreclosure. The Trustee had to tread lightly, as they cannot give legal advice. But, it was so evident he did not have the basics for defending his position or strategy and needed an attorney desperately! If anyone ever comes to you and wants to file pro se; tell them that unless they went to law school, then don’t even need to think about filing. It is way too complicated!

After 35 minutes, they called the case, and the Trustee’s assistant makes the announcement that the case has been delayed due to a conflict with the debtor’s schedule. The case was to be heard at 1:00PM. So, I had a couple of hours. I called a client in the area and learned she was on vacation. So, I just hung-out at a local eating place and spent time on my Blackberry.

The case was not called until about 1:20PM. The member/debtors were present with their attorney. After the swearing in and general info was announced about the case, their attorney made the court aware that the schedule B has to be amended to include the car that the member owns and the father pays for. The Trustee reminded the attorney about schedule “D”, I believe. Then it was my turn. The Trustee asked me to proceed. I began by asking questions about the truck. How many miles are on it? The husband said about 48,750. Was it repaired? “Yes.” As we had been told by their attorney that was in the shop. Where was the damage? “Left wheel” Was it insured? What company and was it full coverage? “Nationwide- full coverage.”

Then I started asking about the vehicle she drives and her father pays for. What value were they going to place on the schedule for it? Their attorney answered, “Kelly Blue Book”. The Trustee was obviously listening and corrected him and said. “Do you mean NADA?” He said, Yes. I added – full retail? He just nodded his head. I asked about insurance and who paid for it and other such things. The answers were now coming only from the wife and she was getting more snooty by the minute.

Two days previous, a teller had allowed the wife to cash a $50 check drawn on the account of another member. She brought it to me and I asked for a copy. The check said “Child care” in the bottom left. I emailed our attorney and he said “There is a clause in the code that states if there is any income revealed within 45 days of the petition that was not disclosed previously, then the petition must be thrown out.” FD I had discussed with the President our strategies. She agreed that we should at least ask. So, I began by saying the two days previous she had cashed a check for $50 at the CU and the notation was “child care”. She immediately rolled hers eyes and huffed. I asked her if she kept children in her home? At that point, she launched into a dissertation about the check and how she kept one child for one day and all kinds of other stuff. It was not a regular thing and she has three of her own to keep! Her voice was climbing in volume, and I knew the next question would not help. The Trustee must have believed her, and we went on to the next issue.

When we asked her attorney initially about the second car, he said that he could not get in touch with his clients, “They are on vacation.” So, I told her that her attorney had told us they had gone on vacation. I asked her how long were they gone? Did anyone go with them? And who paid for it? She was very huffy at this point. They had been gone for a week, and her sister’s family went with them and her Daddy paid for it! Well, by that time she was rambling, and I held my hand up to stop her and told her I was only asking the questions.

The Trustee took over from here. But, I had one more question. So I interrupted, I asked her attorney if we could inspect both units and take pictures for the file some time the following week. He sheepishly said – yes. At the end of the hearing, I did not stay around for chatting, I left.

If all this sounds strange, let me give you my perspective. Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: "pro se', 341 hearings, Bankruptcy, chapter 13

As mentioned, I attended a 341 hearing on Thursday, in Charlotte, NC. The photo is the building at 4600 Park Rd. where the meeting was held. It was a re-purposed office area that was made to fit the need. This was my first time attending a meeting in that building. The work area was functional for the case load scheduled for that day….

4600 Park Rd. Charlotte, NC

First, a little background is needed for this case. Do you have some members that seem to have more situations than others? Things can go right, but then some things can go wrong in a hurry! That is the case here. This couple had been severely delinquent on two vehicle loans, a personal loan and an overdraft loan. After several broken promises, you know “the 401K loan has been delayed”.. we will pay some next week… You have all heard them.. We sent a repo agent to their home to recover both vehicles. He picked up one and said the member told them they were filing bankruptcy and hiding the truck until they get a case number. Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: attorneys, Bankruptcy, repossessions

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Welcome! Thank you, for visiting this new blog. We are excited to make this new format available. If you are like me and are just learning what a “blog” is – see this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog Great explanation about a blog.

John Huddle

I want to thank Paul Sluder for encouraging me to take this step. Also, I want to thank Captain Sage of The Pirates Realm .com for his help and guidance.

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This Collector’s Minute deals with overcoming the fear of the telephone. There are steps to take to make the calls easier and more productive. Learn what has worked for me over these many years!

Collectors Minute #11 How to Overcome Fear of Telephone text

Collectors Minute #11 How to Overcome Fear of Telephone audio

Technorati Tags: plan, Techniques for Calling, welcome

Today, we bring you another Collector’s Minute. This time, we are going to summarize the Topics that have been presented so far.
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Technorati Tags: debt collector advice, debt collector techniques, debt collector tips

Today, we bring you another Collector’s Minute. This time, we take up the topic: “How to Avoid Repossessions…
View text version here. | Listen to audio version here.

Technorati Tags: debt collector repossession, debt collector repossessions