Posted by Sheelzebub August 11, 2007 in Video
Of course I don’t advocate this. But damn, it’s funny.
21 Responses to “Suze Orman will have a heart attack”
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Dare I say it? Do I have the first comment space? That made my day, right there, although the little common sense portion of my brain kept feebly squeaking “I hope he’s not reeeally serious” in the background.
I found my number when I finished grad school with what I thought would be a mortgage in student loan debt. Then I lost my number when I found the real estate market and discovered I didn’t have a mortgage–I had a quarter of a crappy condo. But with the housing market collapse, my number is coming back into focus, especially since I have a full-time job in my field and still qualify for economic hardship deferrals.
That was good! “How long have we known each other? I think we both know that’s not gonna happen.”
This gave me an idea:
Civil disobedience: what if we all just decided not to pay?
I know exactly where he’s coming from. It’s like a wall, like runner’s high. You hit and you’re like, “Hell, what’s another mile? I’ve all ready run five, right?”
It sucks. Few companies are willing to work with people, so during my bankruptcy proceedings, I’m making sure that the one bank that worked with me the whole way is still getting their money.
The main thing, though, he brings up is the card in the mail. Here I am, hungry and broke college student. My parents don’t have money to send me. Then comes the $5,000 Bank of America Visa card. Here’s a Discover. Here’s a MasterCard. Buy a computer, some clothes. Six years and no degree later, I got nothin’. I believe the term is predatory lending.
Meh, at least I got a nice car out of it.
Why should I feel guilty about not paying these guys when in the past week, national governments have poured BILLIONS into the market to keep rich guys from losing their yachts?
And by the way - if you haven’t paid a thing on a debt in seven years, you’re no longer liable. Every time you make a payment, though, that seven-year clock starts ticking again.
And by the way - if you haven’t paid a thing on a debt in seven years, you’re no longer liable. Every time you make a payment, though, that seven-year clock starts ticking again.
But for the love of Christ, don’t forget the date you stopped paying, because at 6 years, 6 months, someone unscrupulous will buy that debt for pennies on the dollar and commence trying to bully you into paying it, and at that point it is critically important to not even admit that it’s yours.
Shrugging off debt and waiting for the clock to run out is not a game for the feint of heart.
Ha…damn that was funny, but it’s not funny. I have seen what bill collectors can do to make your life miserable. Using a credit card is entering into a contractual agreement. Entering a legal contract is the same as giving your word. Your word is your character. What is your word worth?
It is a contractual agreement, Mohjho, but it’s hardly the ideal type where two sophisticated parties of equal bargaining power are able to come to mutually agreeable terms. Credit card contracts give lawyers headaches, to say nothing of folks without a JD. What is more, credit card companies claim the ability to unilaterally modify the terms of the contract or to impose unconscionable fees for minor, rather than material, breaches of the contract. And of course, disputes over the terms of the contract are referred to arbitration boards rather than courts, and as repeat players before the arbitration boards, the credit card companies win at a staggering rate (something past 95% if I recall).
So I wouldn’t worry too much about breaking one’s word to a credit card company. They’re not exactly the sort of folks who are playing fair to begin with.
The seven year thing works as long as you don’t get sued in small claims court and have a judgment entered against you, as I understand it.
He reminds me so much of W.
Susie and Kyso K, be careful with that. It actually varies by state, so make sure you know your own statute of limitations before playing the waiting game.
It’s also useful to research how long something stays on your credit report. If you wait seven years after most delinquencies, as far as a new lender knows, it doesn’t exist. That doesn’t apply to bankruptcies and court judgments.
What is your word worth, Mohjho? That’s very funny when we’re dealing with bandits. Have you seen what credit card companies can do these days? The late fees and jacking up rates over nonsense and playing games that would make a loan shark blush?
I had one credit card charge me late fees for *their* mistake, charge me interest on that late fee –because when I called in, their clerk didn’t make a note in their computer, or so they claim — and when I sent the follow-up letter, I sent it to the wrong address: did you know credit card companies have four different addresses, and you have to send billing complaints to a specific address or the letter gets tossed? Yes! It does! — so they’re charging me interest on my late fee, and then ANOTHER late fee, because that one didn’t get paid, because I had been told it was being cancelled, along with the card…
Don’t get me started on credit card companies. That little wrangle only cost me 65 dollars (they had the bill up to 149, but I fought them down to 65 — but notice it was 65 dollars for NOTHING — they got 65 dollars out of me for NOT ONE THING). These people are pirates.
I’m not waiting out any clocks, don’t worry. I just wanted to point out that it’s not as simple as getting caller ID and just ignoring the bill collectors for seven years. They’re getting unscrupulous and the rules are very complicated. Chances are, by that time, you’re no longer dealing with some indifferent collections agent of the company you owe, you’re dealing with a really involved collections agent who makes his or her living by buying old debts cheap and then breaking some balls to collect the full amount. Yum, almost pure profit.
The seven year thing works as long as you don’t get sued in small claims court and have a judgment entered against you, as I understand it.
Something like that, and if you drop off the face of the planet thoroughly enough that you’ve nearly reached the nyah-nyah can’t touch me deadline, chances are you’ve given them the excuse they need why they couldn’t notify you about the courtdate, or the judgment against you. They don’t have to go out of their way to let you know you’ve been sued, they just have to follow the letter of the law. And this is just what I read before the bankruptcy reform, I have no idea how much the deck has been restacked against the debtor.
I found my number six months after graduating from Michigan Law School. Fat lawyer salary my ass, that debt is NEVER going to be paid.
By me anyway.
Paula Poundstone has a very similiar routine. She talks about owing over a million dollars, and once you hit the million mark and know that there is no possible way of ever paying it off; you stop worrying about it. When the kids say that they want to go to Disneyland you think: “I don’t see why not.”
On top of my student loans, I’m going to have to pay a penalty for not repaying my student loan while I was on a year long break from college. It’s probably my fault, but it still pisses me off.
John Kelly: I had the exact same reaction. I thought “Gee, this sounds like the Bush administration’s economic policy.”
Re: Nasty Bill Collectors: Those people have “purchased” your debt but legally, you do not have to deal with them. You send them a “Cease & Desist” letter (boilerplate language available on the web) tell them you will only deal with the original lender and after 2 or 3 of those the original lender knows they are dealing with someone who has armed themselves with concrete knowledge about how the law works. Between caller ID and Cease & Desist letters, debt collectors don’t have a chance, just DO NOT engage with them. 2 VERY helpful books are: “Back Off” and “Life After Debt” by Benjamin F. Dover.
“by Benjamin F. Dover”
You have GOT to be kidding.
Nope, the guy’s real; whether he’s using that name so people remember it or not… http://www.bendover.com/default.asp