Anyway, I just haven’t had time to research bankruptcy or get myself into the right spot to file. I have a few more preparations that need to be in place. However, I’ve got so much work on my shoulders this month and next that I am really just too overwhelmed to deal with it.

Yesterday, in fact, I had to jump through another “hoop” because the lady at the DriveTime center where I went out of my way to file the deferment paperwork shredded my documents just to spite me. So, I have gotten the phone number to file a complaint against her with DriveTime, and I will be telling them that this is yet another reason why I do not trust their company and that they could lose my business as a result. They need to know that this treatment will not be tolerated –even if I am technically delinquent on the account. That still does not excuse their rude behavior.

So, anyway, I went through the trouble of getting a letter from the bank showing that I’ve had a bank account in good standing with a nice balance for a year. I got someone at the bank to write that letter and it should be good enough –even the manager who accepted the paperwork thought it would be good enough. However, it was immediately rejected by DriveTime corporate and they insisted on 3 months of bank statements. This is the trouble with being self-employed.

Now, I officially surpassed my tolerance level for this situation. I have spent far too many hours dealing with this, and I just told them that I will give them what they have requested when I come down to make my next payment. They will simply have to wait.

I’ve been planning this out for more than a year. I am still not 100% decided on whether or not I will be able to completely repair my credit within the next year or whether I should just file bankruptcy and get this hassle off my shoulders. One reason I am considering it more strongly than ever is because of the hassle I’ve had with DriveTime.

The only real considerations are that my pending bad debts (caused by leaving the U.S. due to police corruption) are nearing the 7-year mark and will drop off but that also means that the creditors will probably step up their efforts in collecting. So, it’s a gamble to wait. I may wait that entire time only to find out that they’ve filed lawsuits and gotten a judgment against me which will be tougher to overcome in bankruptcy proceedings (as I understand it). If I go ahead and file now, then I avoid giving them the opportunity but I lose the possibility of having those drop off naturally and not having a bankruptcy on my record for 10 years.

I will be checking into this more in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned if you are in the same boat as me! I will also divulge tactics I have used on how to pre-build your credit so that once you file, you wont’ be left completely at the mercy of creditors and ultra-high interest rates.

It’s 3:30pm and I’m just now catching up enough to take a lunch break for 30 minutes or so. That’s not unusual but today, for some reason, I’m really hungry!

Anyway, I spoke with my insurance claim adjuster about my uninsured motorist claim and she is working to pull my medical records. So, it shouldn’t be more than a few more days before they make their first offer. I just hope it’s reasonable, although I know -deep down- that it won’t even be close to being fair. So, I’ll have to negotiate like always, but we can always hope for something to be easy. You know, one day, maybe something will just work out naturally on its own. Maybe.

DriveTime is also not doing me any favors and is making things tougher than they ought to be. As many of you probably know, dealing with a used car dealership is a true nightmare. They insisted that I provide them an updated list of new references with phone numbers (i.e. so they can harass those people too), and I refused. So, they told me the application for the deferment could not be approved without it.

Oh well. After talking with the lady up there, I realize now that it won’t really make that much difference anyway. I made a 1/3 partial payment in December and they are only approving a deferment in the amount of $300. That will append to my loan, so as far as they see it, they aren’t even “giving” me anything anyway. They are just extending the loan by a month and charging me a $50 penalty. Now, I do realize that I “agreed” to all of this when I purchased the car, but I had no choice at the time. Sometimes, we gotta do what we gotta do. That is how DriveTime makes its money anyway. They take advantage of those who cannot get a car elsewhere and charge 23% interest (25% in my case) and then 99% of everyone defaults on the loan eventually. So, they repossess the vehicle and sell it at auction for roughly the amount they originally paid. So, they make their money off of the payments and interest to the tune of several thousand dollars per car. In the process, they help destroy a lot of people’s credit. C’est la vie.

In my case, they will be getting back a car worth MORE than when they sold it to me. The reason for that is my recent $1,242 repair bill that was only necessary because DriveTime LIED to me when they sold me the vehicle (always get it in writing!). They told me the 60,000 mandatory service had been completed. It had not. The car had 62,252 miles on it when I bought it and I specifically asked about the service. So, that’s not good.

So, anyway, the point is that regardless of a contract, any good business who wants a good reputation and repeat business would be willing to work with its customers during hardships such as mine (i.e. uninsured motorist accident still not being covered after 6 months financially drained me). Obviously, DriveTime doesn’t care about their reputation or repeat business. There are enough people with bad credit out there to burn.

However, since they are not willing to work with me, then I cannot be very willing to work with them. They made their move, and they feel they have won. However, my contingency plan is about to come into effect and will end the game in my favor. I offered them a way to make even MORE money off of me and then continue to get my on-going business, but their attitudes have made me not want to humor them any longer. I offered them a win-win and they chose what they thought was a win-lose (win for them). Unfortunately, I still have one move left to bring me out on top. I will know soon if I have to pull out all the stops. I will update soon…

Update: Ok, they are really pushing me to my limits. I gave them a way to make money (above) and they turned it down in lieu of threatening me, pushing me, and talking down to me. I offered them a win-win and they turned it down. They think they will get over on me, have earned $3,000+ profit on the car, have gotten $1,242 in repair they claimed to have already made, ruin my credit, and still get the car back to sell at auction. But, I still have a checkmate in hand by filing bankruptcy. Despite how that sounds, bankruptcy isn’t the end-all-be-all and isn’t so bad, if you’ve planned it out carefully. (To be Continued)

By the way: My car dealership is DriveTime

I had everything going so smoothly, or at least it seemed so. I was told I could make partial payments during the time I could not afford to pay in full. There would be penalties but they would be appended to my loan once I was able to make full payments again (i.e. once my insurance reimburses me). Then, I found out that wasn’t true once the harassing phone calls came in.

Side Note: Never, never, never give anyone’s phone number or your main phone number out to a bill collector. You cannot give them the benefit of the doubt. They WILL blow up your phone with calls and end up costing you more when you have to change your number!

Now, I see that things won’t work that way and as I posted recently, I had to play a little word game with them and tell them what they wanted to hear –that the hardship was over. So, that was supposed to be that. They would go get approval to extend my loan and append the penalties. Ha… it was not so easy as that.

You see, I am the type of person that will forego certain things in order to pay my bills. I suppose that is my ethical side, but it has gotten me into a lot of trouble lately and has caused me nothing but headaches while none of the bill collectors will lend a sympathetic ear. So, because I had made my car payments on time for several months after the wreck that eventually plummeted me into this financial bind, DriveTime says that it must not have been that bad of a hardship -since I was able to make my payments.

Unfortunately, they do not know that I am not like most people they deal with from day to day. I actually save my money when possible and I do what I can when I can. So, I paid out of my “cushion fund” until it depleted. In any case, they refused to extend the loan and wanted me to pay right then or have them repossess the vehicle.

I was bordering on becoming irate at that point -as you can imagine. So, I began to complain again about their service, how I was forced into this situation, how they blatantly lied to me when they sold me the car and told me the 60,000 mile service had been completed when it had not, et cetera. That cost me $1,242 just a couple of months ago. The lady stopped me at that point and said she might be able to get an approval based on the recent repair bills. So, here we go down this road. Keep in mind this is all wasting time that I could be using to actually make money.

So, I faxed them the documents. Next day, they call and harass me and claim that I didn’t send the documents. I told them I would bring the documents in person along with the fax printout confirmation from Office Depot -along with the receipt. Surprisingly, they called back a few hours later and told me I had been approved but for only one month instead of two. What’s even more irritating is that it was for the month that I made the partial payment and not for this month we are in now. So, they will expect FULL payment in a few days -when I just made a partial payment a few weeks ago. I get no credit for that payment, however.

No matter. What choice do I have, right? So, the manager says I need to come to their office (45 minutes away) immediately. Umm… no, I don’t think so, buddy. I won’t be inconvenienced because they want to ensure they can continue to rip me off. I am only in this situation because I was the “victim” to begin with, so I have no choice but to drag them down with me –although, they have made several thousands in profit off of me, so they are definitely coming out ahead. I am not.

Anyway, we came to a compromise where I could go to a closer office and fill out the paperwork. We drove 25 minutes out of our way and then waited while some ladies in the back twiddled their thumbs. Then, magically, someone appeared with a clipboard. I signed the paperwork but she says they need phone numbers and references again. They already have that in their computer, why do they need it again? No, again, I don’t think so. She says that they won’t accept it without the references. “Why not? Because you all want to harass my friends and family too? Is that it? No, then, that’s fine”, I said. I cannot compromise; they cannot compromise. It’s seems to be a stalemate. It’s their move.

I have a feeling that tomorrow (or later on today, actually) I will get another harassing phone call and the manager will threaten me and tell me that I must give him phone numbers and references. I won’t do it. If this is how they are going to treat me, why would I do what they want? Why would I give them the benefit of the doubt? Why would I trust them? No, I don’t think so. They should just do what they agreed to do without continuously adding more into the mix. Instead, they try to guilt trip me into doing what they want. Sorry, but I’m stronger willed than that and I can smell bull—- a mile away.

In the end, we will see what happens. For now, it’s their move, and they feel that they have the upper hand. I suppose it would seem that way, but I never make my moves without a contingency plan and when it’s important like this, I always plan my moves at least ten steps in advance. I am a VERY good chess player, so I guess we’ll see just how good they really are.

What I have learned through this experience is that the automated systems for bill collections are set up to have someone call every delinquent account every single day and demand payment. That is very annoying, isn’t it? You bet it is.

I called today and demanded that they remove me from their system -based on my talks with the manager and their accounting department- but they refused and stated that I signed a legal contract and would be responsible for the payments. Yeah, yeah, yeah… My insurance company, Progressive Insurance also signed an agreement with ME that they would cover my medical costs in the even of an uninsured motorist accident but that isn’t happening either!).

So, I told them to just come and pick up the car then. I simply will not put up with harassing phone calls that hinder my progress in making the money to pay my bills. If I was a dead-beat and not keeping in touch with them and not making any efforts and not making partial payments, then I could understand the harassment. But, that is not the case with me. I have gone above and beyond -considering my situation- and I won’t tolerate this kind of treatment.

The girl on the other end of the line simply told me that if I ceased to make payments and let them pick up the car, they would sell it at auction and I would STILL be responsible to re-pay the full amount. Now, that’s laughable -especially considering that they are making out like bandits already (read about Used Car Dealers).

As Bruno would say “Ich don’t think so! Okay!?”

So, things got a little heated in that part of the discussion but I did manage to egg out of her how they play their “deferment game” a little more succinctly than before. Basically, I have to tell her that my “hardship” is over and that I am back at work –even though I do not have a job (i.e. work for myself). Then, they can do a review of what caused the hardship and decide -based on my payment history- whether or not to extend a deferment of one or possibly two months. That way, they will be giving me that time as an extension and I will just pay that much longer on the vehicle.

That’s great but then she told me that because I’ve been making timely payments for several months since my accident, it cannot count as a hardship. The Hell you say! I only ran out of money because I kept paying the note and had to shell out money for prescriptions, medications, a CT scan, an MRI, and costly doctor visits. So, it appears -once again- that because I was trying to “do the right thing”, I am getting screwed over yet again. Yippie-Ki-Yay!

Anyway, I also had to pay a ton on critically overdue maintenance that was promised to have been done already, and she said that *might* qualify for deferment. So, I faxed her the documents and we’ll see what comes of that.

This isn’t really a great situation but it might be workable, because I have spent my money on medical bills related to my wreck with an uninsured motorist who caused me severe injury and I cannot really afford to make the payments right now (since I’m still fighting with Progressive after eight(8) months to get reimbursed!). So, anyway, at least I might be able to keep the car a couple of extra months before I have to figure something else out.

In the meantime, I suppose I will have to deal with the harassing phone calls but I am told that since I have used the “magic words” by telling her I am past my hardship and am back to work, they will get back to me within a day or two about deferring my loan payments. Of course, I cannot expect them to actually call me back, so I have made a note in my scheduler to call them back everyday. Harassment seems to be how they get things done, so I figure that is how to get them to work as well. I guess we’ll see.

Case in point: I worked out a deal with my car dealer but they still called a few days ago asking for payment. When I re-explained things to the manager, all seemed ok for the moment.

However, the calm didn’t last long because my father called me today wondering why my car dealer was calling him demanding to speak to me. Hmm. Isn’t that strange? I gave them my direct number. They never bothered calling me. If it was soo important, why not call me directly? I tell you. Some places just don’t have it together.

At any rate, one thing you’ll learn when you’re down and out is that you are considered “worthless” and your “rights” go out the window.

What I mean by that is:

1. You cannot claim harassment from a legal standpoint -even if you’ve arranged terms- because you are considered a dead-beat and no one is on your side at that point.
2. Once anything posts to your credit as delinquent, that’s it. Your personal and financial information is no longer protected! I bet you didn’t know that!

Here’s a little bit of proof on the lack of privacy of personal information.

Today, I’m talking about “Stretching out your car payments” and how I spoke with someone (name omitted) at my car dealer who told me one thing but then I got a call today from the dealer demanding payment. They were very persistent about it and became more adamant when I told them I had spoken with someone about this already. There were -apparently- no notes or traces that I spoke with someone on the 18th about making late payments until my insurance reimburses me for my medical expenses. So, this is where most people will break down and make a payment.

But, it is always better to ask to speak to the manager in these cases. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. The managers or team leaders are just people -like you and me. Don’t let them intimidate you. More times than not, they are not intending to be mean but it’s just that they have to do their job. If you explain your situation and ask them to help you, they will often times give you tips “off the record” or maybe be a little flexible -if they are able to be.

In my case, they made notes to my account and just asked that I keep in touch with them. Since I have a 2-year payment history that is always on-time and always a few cents more than the minimum (even a few pennies matters here), I will be given a little more leeway than normal. So, that’s good.

Anyway, the manager was more understanding of my situation when he looked into it, and we both realized that I never spoke to him on the 18th -like I had been told. Someone else must’ve answered the phone in his stead and then transferred me. It really doesn’t matter, because once he realized my predicament, he said we would just play it by ear. The dealership may call him at some point and demand the car back, but if that happens; we’ll deal with it then.

So, the moral of the story is that you may have one person tell you one thing but remember that it must be in writing or you may have to continue to deal with other people about that same issue. I’ve learned over the past year or two, that solving a payment or credit problem is typically only temporary. The system is designed to keep you down. That’s why people say “it is so tough to climb your way out of a hole.”

It’s very true. But, I will dig my way out with hard work and perseverance. It’s much easier to do when you don’t have an undeserved “felony” and can work, but I will still make my way back onto solid ground.

First, I’ll tell you the deal and then I’ll tell you why it’s not as bad as it sounds.

• They will accept partial payment -as long as more than $50
• They will charge 5% of the difference -paid versus owed- as a penalty
• The minimum penalty will be $50 per payment, if over 10 days past due
• Once the “hardship” is over, they will work with me on payments
• They will probably roll missed payment onto the end of my loan
• They may work with me on the penalty amounts

Ok. So, racking up all these penalties at a $50/month minimum doesn’t sound great, but here’s why it works -at least in my situation:

• I only have to come up with $50-$100/month to keep the car
• This allows me to keep driving my car legally while I cannot pay for it
• They will work with me for up to 6 months like this
• I should be on my feet again within 6 months
• I should have my reimbursement from insurance within 6 months
• As a last resort, I could make partial payments and then file bankruptcy

Hopefully it wouldn’t come to a bankruptcy, but with all the debt and creditors in my case, it only makes sense. I’ve been putting it off for years because it seemed like I could manage and improve my credit -in spite of the seemingly insurmountable barriers.

However, more and more keeps piling on from out of nowhere, it seems. So, it’s really looking like a bankruptcy is the way to go. Although, if I can salvage it without doing so, I will. In my case, however, I didn’t just spend unwisely causing my debt. In my case, I was wronged and falsely imprisoned and lost everything due to corruption in the government (see my bio). So, I don’t feel like I should be punished to carry this burden -even though I have been for four (4) years now.

Because my insurance is causing my current predicament by not covering the uninsured auto accident, I will charge any penalties for late payments to them. It’s only fair that the longer they delay; the more they should have to pay out. I have found that it’s always good to give people a reason to do the right thing.

Note: I know that many people have a weak stomach when it comes to making requests (or demands as some see it) like that. However, you need to stick to your guns and you just might get them to do the right thing -and do it quicker than otherwise. Besides, it really is true that “It never hurts to ask!”

I have a few notes about the insurance situation, but I’ll write about that here.

If I can talk my car dealership to give me a two month extension, then I can put that $400 to better use or save it. I’ve already overcome so much despite nearly impenetrable barriers, but this time it seems that I need a miracle to overcome the label of being a “felon” -despite my innocence. Ah well.

Because of the bind the two crooked cops have put me in, my 810 credit score has been destroyed and plummeted to 535. That is a fairly bad score and is -sadly- a score near to what many people have today.

So, anyway, I had to buy a car when I got back into the States and my credit was destroyed. So, I bought a car at 24% -which is absolutely horrible. It’s on the level of the buying a CAR on the worst credit card in the world! I had no choice. I needed a car and only one place would give me a loan. This is how they get you when you’re down.

I have some money loaned out that should be re-paid to me by the end of December, so I just need some time. I am also struggling now because of my mounting medical bills and prescription costs. I am hoping that my insurance will finally pay me back soon -which will really help me out a bit.

In the meantime, the problem is that I’m now facing whether or not to buy food or to pay a car note. I also owe more than $3,000 more than it’s worth now. So, I guess the car has to go. Or does it?

I called the company where I bought the vehicle and I told them what’s been going on. At first, they just assumed I am a dead-beat who doesn’t work and doesn’t want to work to pay my bills. That’s the tone they took with me, but I explained the situation and was given the name of the manager. I have to call them back, but the lady I spoke to wished me luck on getting my insurance to pay up and told me that the manager can authorize a 2-month reprieve or extension on the loan.

So, I thought it would be nice to let others know that this is at least a possibility for some. If they do that for me, then it will take some of the pressure off me for a couple of months, allow me to still legally drive my car, and hopefully give me time to get back some money owed to me.