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My wife and I have struggled on one income for the most of 2009, as I am sure millions of other people in this country. We had our vehicle repossessed by the bank (Wachovia) today. I called to try and work out a payment plan many times to get caught up and they were very unwilling to work with us to get this caught up. This is one example of a creditor not working with us to get caught up. I was only 2 payments behind and offered to pay one payment now and another in 2 weeks, they wouldnt accept it. they needed both payments now, which was impossible or I could pay that and have no food, electricity for my family.
We both have worked all of our lives and even on two incomes we have struggled, but we managed. We have NEVER asked for any assistance or handout. We made sure we provided for our family. Losing a job is out of one's control.
I lost my job in Sept 2008 and took awhile to get another one. I had to move from Tampa to Ft Lauderdale for the job in March, which meant my wife had to quit her job to come with me. So from Oct to December we were on one income. She found a job in finally in December after having to move back to Tampa.
Given that we were on one income we had to pick and choose what bills we would pay. Rent, utilities, gas and food came first. Car payments (2) would come as soon as funds were available. Credit cards payments were put on hold.
The phone has not stopped ringing. No one is compassionate for our struggling situation. We have been forced to not pay bills to survive on one income for 11 months.
My wife filed for unemployment but since she "voluntarily" left her job to go with me to FT Lauderdale, they denied her the benefit. She appealed and explained she "had to" and that was not good enough. If I were in the Military and got transferred she would have been approved. Why should that matter into today's recession? Those rules should be a little more lenient to help people who really need it.
We are trying to get back on our feet. I am sure there are thousands of more people in our situation.
We lost our car, we rent not own, so we will hopefully be able to maintain our residency, but who knows. With both of us working finally it will take us months to recover.
Why doesn't the government help people who REALLY need assistance? Where is our Bailout? Where are the charities now that we have donated to in the past? No one is there to help us when we REALLY need it, especially our government.
Well not much you can do. You didn't make payments for 2 months. Ultimately for banks to work people have to pay their bills on time, not when it suits them. That you lost your job and your wife ended up quitting hers is really irrelevant to the bank.
I think the best thing you can do in the future is what I have tried to do. I've limited my exposure to credit by paying off my cars or any credit card bills as quick as possible. Also I've been hit hard by the two recessions in the past decade with income swings and unwanted time off, so I always have a reserve fund in savings. In addition I am always looking to grow my career and skills so I stay employable in different industries.
My wife and I have struggled on one income for the most of 2009, as I am sure millions of other people in this country. We had our vehicle repossessed by the bank (Wachovia) today. I called to try and work out a payment plan many times to get caught up and they were very unwilling to work with us to get this caught up. This is one example of a creditor not working with us to get caught up. I was only 2 payments behind and offered to pay one payment now and another in 2 weeks, they wouldnt accept it. they needed both payments now, which was impossible or I could pay that and have no food, electricity for my family.
We both have worked all of our lives and even on two incomes we have struggled, but we managed. We have NEVER asked for any assistance or handout. We made sure we provided for our family. Losing a job is out of one's control.
I lost my job in Sept 2008 and took awhile to get another one. I had to move from Tampa to Ft Lauderdale for the job in March, which meant my wife had to quit her job to come with me. So from Oct to December we were on one income. She found a job in finally in December after having to move back to Tampa.
Given that we were on one income we had to pick and choose what bills we would pay. Rent, utilities, gas and food came first. Car payments (2) would come as soon as funds were available. Credit cards payments were put on hold.
The phone has not stopped ringing. No one is compassionate for our struggling situation. We have been forced to not pay bills to survive on one income for 11 months.
My wife filed for unemployment but since she "voluntarily" left her job to go with me to FT Lauderdale, they denied her the benefit. She appealed and explained she "had to" and that was not good enough. If I were in the Military and got transferred she would have been approved. Why should that matter into today's recession? Those rules should be a little more lenient to help people who really need it.
We are trying to get back on our feet. I am sure there are thousands of more people in our situation.
We lost our car, we rent not own, so we will hopefully be able to maintain our residency, but who knows. With both of us working finally it will take us months to recover.
Why doesn't the government help people who REALLY need assistance? Where is our Bailout? Where are the charities now that we have donated to in the past? No one is there to help us when we REALLY need it, especially our government.
Thank you for listening to our situation.
Sorry to hear about your situation. Are you and your wife now apart, or did you go back to Tampa?
I think the thing to do with these banks is to present a fait accompli. They're playing hardball with you, but if you simply tell them "this is what I'm paying now" they're likely to take it, because something is better than nothing. In this situation, they really don't want to repossess, so you have some leeway to string them along.
My sister had a Wachovia Mastercard for many years ( since the early 90s to be exact ). That is until last Spring when she lost her job. She called Wachovia to tell them her situation. Their response? Exact words now....
My sister had a Wachovia Mastercard for many years ( since the early 90s to be exact ). That is until last Spring when she lost her job. She called Wachovia to tell them her situation. Their response? Exact words now....
"it sucks to be you"
Real professional isn't?
Wachovia has problems of its own, due to reckless lending practices. They suck as a bank and I'd never do business with them.
But it does point out the dangers of owing money to people, something so many Americans have forgotten. When you owe people money, they just want it back, and don't really care about your difficulties.
We should all remember that long after this recession ends.
Wachovia has problems of its own, due to reckless lending practices. They suck as a bank and I'd never do business with them.
But it does point out the dangers of owing money to people, something so many Americans have forgotten. When you owe people money, they just want it back, and don't really care about your difficulties.
We should all remember that long after this recession ends.
I don't bank with them, but had a car loan with them a few years ago and didn't have any issues.
I do hope many remember when the good times come back the dangers of owing money. I've seen it happen with many people who let the debts buildup, the big car loans, the big credit card bills. Everything is cool when the money is rolling in but when that stops they can only last a few weeks or a month at most. To me if you can't last six months without a paycheck you better be reassessing your financial situation regardless of how secure in your employment you think you are.
The banks and credit card issuers I don't blame. They have a business to run with other peoples jobs on the line if they don't make a profit. I don't think it makes much sense for them to waste much time listening to all the sob stories as it really doesn't matter after a certain point.
Tracerall, the banks dont give a flying F about you or anyone else, only their bottom line. Banks as well as mortgage companies are never willing to work with their customers despite what you hear and read. Banks suck. They are the most immoral businesses in America. You should have played hide and seek with YOUR car.
You are not alone. There are not thousands like you said, there are millions of families in your shoes right now. America is in a still falling depression. That recession crap ended last year. I have people coming into my store every day all day begging for jobs with tears in their eyes. They dont even know what they are applying for and could care less. They are desperate.
The politicians dont care. Why would you think that? They have no clue that there is any pain out side their little cocoon. Even if they did they could give 2 Fs about you and I. We are just peasants....peons. They have theirs and to hell with us.
I agree with you on where is OUR bailout. All that stimulas money went to big business and banks.......and for what? Where did it go and what did it accomplish? Nothing. Oh yea, the banks took their few billion that was supposed to be used to free up money to make loans and get us out of the depression. Instead they took that money and gave all their execs big fat bonuses and with what was left bought more banks. So dont anyone tell me about morals. Banks do not know what moral is. I cheer each bank failure one by one. Bunch of criminals.
I wish I could help everyone. I wish I could take charge and make America prosperous again but I dont have enough money to buy the presidency. Hang in there buddy. It could be worse. You could be one of the 20 million homeowners who lost more then half their homes value which will never ever come back in our lifetimes. Not to mention how many of us lost our retirement egg. It's so sad..............
There isn't a good way to say this, but since you are asking I will point out that part of the American problem are people living beyond their means without any provisions for emergencies. You had not 1 but 2 car loans and it sounds as if you had a bunch of credit card debt and no savings to speak of given it only took a few months of just one of you being out of work to get into this position. This is the American Dream that has become the American Nightmare and it was due to nothing more than irresponsible behavior. If that isn't bad enough, there is failure to accept responsiblity. "why doesn't government bail us out?"
I don't agree with any bailouts but the fact they were done, doesn't entitle you to get compenstation because you can't manage your own finances. I don't use credit cards and wait until I have the cash to purchase anything I need. The last two cars I purchased were with cash too. So actually I don't have a lot of sympathy for you and I don't think the government needs to bail out this kind of activity, because basically you are asking me to pay for your mistakes. This is between you and the idiot banks that gave you the financing in the first place.
Desertsun- you missed the point completely. OP had no right to play hide & seek with "HIS" car, as you suggested, because as long as he still owed payments to the bank, the car wasn't his. It was the banks. The bank had the title, not OP.
I don't know when America bought into the myth that taking out a mortgage means you own a house. It means you are working towards owning a house. You own the house when all payments are made and the title is in your possession. Same for a car, boar, or anything you charge on a credit card.
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Good luck to you--I wish you the best for the coming new year!
