Financial Challenges Support Group
This community is for people who are struggling to meet financial obligations of any kind. Financial challenges include everything from the day-to-day challenges of making ends meet to managing credit card debt to bankruptcy. Get support from others who are going through similar obstacles on the road back to financial stability.
Hi-I'm a single mom of two grown kids who don't live anywhere close. The same with my brothers and sisters. So I am on my own. My husband left me in 1990, I was diagnosed with cancer in 1995, as well as with several other illnesses. I worked very hard to pay off my mortgage and was really proud of myself. I took out a home equity line of credit around 2003 for new appliances, catch up on bills, help with daughters college bills. That is pretty well a brief idea of where I am (or was).
I had worked with special needs children and adults from 1996-2008. In 2008 I was let go from my job because of memory problems I had developed from Lupus and fibro. NY is a hire and fire at will state, so I was gone-I didn't have the money, or emotions, to sue them because of ADA rules. In 2009, I fell in my basement, hit my head on the cement floor and suffered a MTBI/post concussion syndrome. Dizziness and balance problems, no short term memory, problems with getting words out of my brain and to my mouth, also problems with getting words from my brain to my fingers-my typing is now only 30 wpm, where it used to be 90wpm.
Money stopped coming in when unemployment stopped. I filed for SSD, and am waiting for a hearing date-say a prayer that I am approved.
Before my accident, I was able to keep up with my home equity line. But with no income, and now not being able to work-neuro says it would be dangerous-I have had trouble coming up with $400 a month. I get $500 a month from social services. I have told the bank over and over that if I pay the entire $400 due them each month, I'll have utilities turned off, default on every other thing that I owe. Everyone else-credit cards, utilities, etc.-is working with me, and at the moment have adjusted my payments downward till I get back on my feet. Everyone except for this credit union.
A couple days ago, the head of collections told me that if I can't pay the entire $400 for the next 4 months (I turn 62 in Sept and am hoping to get a reverse mortgage to catch up on some bills and help me until I get SSD), he will start foreclosure. He then told me that he had looked at my credit report and records, and noticed that I was not having a problem paying my credit card, utilities, etc. so there should not be a problem paying the home equity line of credit. I told him that I had worked out payment plans with all my other creditors, and payments are much less than they would normally be. He was the only one who wasn't working with me. A while back, he did allow me to make half payments for 3 months, but then made me double up payments to make that up, knowing the amount I was getting each months. He said that I should not pay my other bills and use the money instead to pay for the home equity line of credit each month. I even told him that my oil tank is empty because I can't afford to get any oil-I used up my allotted amount of money from HEAP. So no hot water. He said nothing.
Has anyone experiences this, and is he really allowed to look through all my records with other creditors without my permission. This is really crazy, and I don't know how I'll come up with $400 by tomorrow. I hate the way they are treating me-no respect and no empathy-just want the money.
I am really sorry this got so long-I should have made it a journal entry.
Anyway, thanks for listening and any ideas you might be able to give me. God Bless. Kathy
Does he have the right to look up my creditors and see what I am paying them each month? It just doesn't seem right that he can do this without my permission. And threatening me with foreclosure if I can pay some money to other bills I can pay the full amount to the credit union by using what I normally pay the others. I don't think that they should be able to see what I am paying the others. I have to come up with $400 by tomorrow, or the foreclosure process will start. But if they went through my records with other companies illegally, I'd like to do something. What do you guys think? I'm just so sick of this whole mess. Everyone else of my creditors said they won't change the arrangements I have with them until they see if I get approved for the reverse mortgage when I turn 62 in Sept.
I had worked with special needs children and adults from 1996-2008. In 2008 I was let go from my job because of memory problems I had developed from Lupus and fibro. NY is a hire and fire at will state, so I was gone-I didn't have the money, or emotions, to sue them because of ADA rules. In 2009, I fell in my basement, hit my head on the cement floor and suffered a MTBI/post concussion syndrome. Dizziness and balance problems, no short term memory, problems with getting words out of my brain and to my mouth, also problems with getting words from my brain to my fingers-my typing is now only 30 wpm, where it used to be 90wpm.
Money stopped coming in when unemployment stopped. I filed for SSD, and am waiting for a hearing date-say a prayer that I am approved.
Before my accident, I was able to keep up with my home equity line. But with no income, and now not being able to work-neuro says it would be dangerous-I have had trouble coming up with $400 a month. I get $500 a month from social services. I have told the bank over and over that if I pay the entire $400 due them each month, I'll have utilities turned off, default on every other thing that I owe. Everyone else-credit cards, utilities, etc.-is working with me, and at the moment have adjusted my payments downward till I get back on my feet. Everyone except for this credit union.
A couple days ago, the head of collections told me that if I can't pay the entire $400 for the next 4 months (I turn 62 in Sept and am hoping to get a reverse mortgage to catch up on some bills and help me until I get SSD), he will start foreclosure. He then told me that he had looked at my credit report and records, and noticed that I was not having a problem paying my credit card, utilities, etc. so there should not be a problem paying the home equity line of credit. I told him that I had worked out payment plans with all my other creditors, and payments are much less than they would normally be. He was the only one who wasn't working with me. A while back, he did allow me to make half payments for 3 months, but then made me double up payments to make that up, knowing the amount I was getting each months. He said that I should not pay my other bills and use the money instead to pay for the home equity line of credit each month. I even told him that my oil tank is empty because I can't afford to get any oil-I used up my allotted amount of money from HEAP. So no hot water. He said nothing.
Has anyone experiences this, and is he really allowed to look through all my records with other creditors without my permission. This is really crazy, and I don't know how I'll come up with $400 by tomorrow. I hate the way they are treating me-no respect and no empathy-just want the money.
I am really sorry this got so long-I should have made it a journal entry.
Anyway, thanks for listening and any ideas you might be able to give me. God Bless. Kathy
Does he have the right to look up my creditors and see what I am paying them each month? It just doesn't seem right that he can do this without my permission. And threatening me with foreclosure if I can pay some money to other bills I can pay the full amount to the credit union by using what I normally pay the others. I don't think that they should be able to see what I am paying the others. I have to come up with $400 by tomorrow, or the foreclosure process will start. But if they went through my records with other companies illegally, I'd like to do something. What do you guys think? I'm just so sick of this whole mess. Everyone else of my creditors said they won't change the arrangements I have with them until they see if I get approved for the reverse mortgage when I turn 62 in Sept.
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