Bankruptcy may well be the “final frontier” for most people, but it is quickly becoming a reality for many more than would like for it to be. However, bankruptcy doesn’t have to be “final” at all.
Unfortunately, I am having to file bankruptcy, even though I am an exception to the irresponsible credit rule. Typically, most people find themselves in a bind due to having charged beyond their means, lost their jobs, couldn’t keep up with their mortgage, or had mounting medical bills not covered by insurance.
While I do have thousands in mounting medical bills (thanks to Progressive not paying my uninsured motorist claim), I am mostly filing bankruptcy to simply get bill collector’s (now filing lawsuits) off my back. I need to be free of their harassments and liens in order to make progress towards making my second million. I am very close but I am scraping bottom at the moment. In fact, these past couple of years have been so filled with trials and tribulations that I feel now like I will be able to breathe again soon.
However, I’m not out of the woods yet.
I won’t go into detail in this post (because we don’t have the hours to go into just yet), but I’m mostly filing bankruptcy because of corrupt police officers. From that ordeal, I ended up having to use my SBA loan to survive and depleted my savings while I lived in another country and then sat in jail for seven months for crimes I did not commit. If that sounds familiar to any of you, that might be because of the new movie called “Felon” that came out recently. Oddly enough, that is a very close version of what I went through (somewhat less violent, though). What surprised me most is that the San Quentin prison looks identical to the “adult detention center” where I was kept. I think that seems a little harsh, when it’s supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, don’t you?
Anyway, I digress.
Another big factor in my decision to file bankruptcy was that DriveTime violated my rights by giving out personal and financial information about me to a 3rd party. This is known as an FDCPA violation and they knew that they were so guilty that they changed their “policies” and offered me money to drop my suit. I refused and made a counter-offer, which they refused. Later, they sent me another offer, this time by certified mail. I sent one final counter-offer, which I thought was a big compromise. Instead of calling or writing back, their response was that they simply charged off my car and reported on my credit that I did not pay and refused to return the vehicle.
Ah well. I suppose that is how these places choose to deal with things. As for me, it is just one more reason to roll that auto loan in with my bankruptcy and they’ll get nothing. Plus, I have not absolved them of any liability regarding my case for the FDCPA violation, so they will still have to contend with me on that eventually. Bankruptcy was always my “ace in the hole” in this fiasco, but I thought we could come to an arrangement that would be amicable and mutually beneficial. Apparently, I was wrong.
In any case, that is a glimpse into my world and my reasons for filing.
I have taken many months and put in quite a bit of effort to prepare for the bankruptcy and to make a quick recovery from it. This included having several good items on my credit closed out, so that they will not get wiped off during the bankruptcy AND discussing with my bank to keep (or re-affirm) their credit card throughout the bankruptcy. By re-affirming the credit card through the bankruptcy, I planned to have a higher line of credit and a great recent history spanning a few years.
However, despite my precautions and talks with the bank, they did end up closing the account anyway. That is really lame, since I had been planning this for over a year and did everything in my power to ensure that this would be a major point of positivity in my rebound. Now, though, I am cut off at the knees in respect to that. It turns out that this was done out of adherence to some lending regulation.
Naturally, I also have contingency plans, because I knew the potential that they would close out the card anyway. Now, I will have to solely rely on secured cards with low limits and secured loans to boost my score back up. The only problem is that the card that got canceled was primarily used for business and not personal, so now I have to spend yet more time, that I do not have, to swap out payments on the credit card to my business debit card.
Once the bankruptcy is discharged, I am told that I can open another secured card to use for the business. This will be a huge factor in helping me rebuild my credit quickly and easing the burden on how to pay my bills each month.
All in all, this bankruptcy will allow me to focus on what is important and will bring me that much closer to getting back on top. I’ve been unfairly having to struggle over the past several years, but I’ve been pushing through like always. Now, I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I just have to keep pushing onwards until I get there.
I have an opportunity (85%) likely, as of today, where I will go live overseas and provide consulting services to an Indian company and a French company. Those will be my first two clients and I will be based out of Paris and London. Those companies are also interested in investing in my company, so that could mean I will be back on top by the end of next year or hopefully by 2010 at the latest.
With secured cards and secured loans, my credit should also be back in tip-top shape by the end of next year. So, I just have to hang on for a little while longer.
The moral of the story is that bankruptcy is definitely not the end.
Though, it can be the beginning.
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