Where is my bailout.. I am sitting here in tears...

[southernleftylady]

So I went to pay for groceries today and my card was declined.. frantic i called my bank... a few years ago.. I was laidoff ... (i am a flight attendant) the one month we didnt have insurance because of paperwork issues my son got DEATHLY sick .. we were in and out of the hospital and doctors office.. we were in credit HELL.. but for the last two years I have paid off everything but 2 bills.. I did used to dodge collectors calls but damnit I dont NOW I even answer unknown numbers now with an attitude because I know I am paying my 2 bills I have left off... I mean it was bad for awhile.. barely making it by... having to borrow money from my parents.. its so embarrasing and just nerve racking.....anyways so I have been having the discover card people take out money every 13th.. Been doing this for 16months now ...well they start to process the check on the 13 and some times it takes a few days so I thought nothing of it till today I couldnt get food for my kids... the discover people WIPED ME OUT.. my saving and checking accounts are at 0...
I am so upset!!I am just sitting her bawling!!
Where is my bailout from the goverment !!!
For the people with real issues that are out of our hands????
I am just so upset I am sitting here crying! I am going to call them at 8 when they open but damn... I dont have a cent to my name and what are we supose to do??How am I supose to live? Feed my babies??? I dont know what to do
Thanks for making it thru this post...

[readmoreoften]

1. I'm sorry.

We'll all be there soon. A friend of his just stopped paying on his debt so that he could pay his rent and eat. It seems to be working for him well. But he also lives in a state where they can't garnish wages. (TX)

:hug:

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. So sorry you are having a tough time. You need to go over to the food bank tomorrow.

[Hekate]

3. Oh dear Goddess, I am so sorry to read this.

I don't even know how such a thing is possible in a sane world. :cry: I wish there were words that would help -- others here will no doubt have SOME ideas -- but this is insane. I know it's no help, but I am crying with you.

Hekate

[yardwork]

4. Ok, ok, calm down. It sounds like a paperwork mistake. It will be fixed.

It's understandable that you are really, really upset. However, it sounds like a simple mistake that can be fixed tomorrow. Try to get some sleep.

[ananda]

5. That sounds so illegal!

If you were paying your bills on time,
I don't see how they can do that!

[liberalhistorian]

27. They can and they do, all the time.

It doesn't take long working in debtor's law to realize that. They don't give a shit, either.

[Bluebear]

I am so terribly sorry.

86 billion for this bail-out, millions for that bail-out, yet hard-working people can't afford the basics. It's a disgrace. I am crying with you and hope you can find some assistance, love. :(

[ingac70]

6. Never give any company access to your accounts again...

when you get paid next, I would open new accounts.


http://www.midsouthfoodbank.org/


http://www.angelfoodministries.com/

[EFerrari]

21. Never. Because they can take out more than they should

and it's hard or impossible to get it back.

Send them a money order but don't let them into your accounts.

I'm so sorry.

:hug:
:grouphug:

[Love Bug]

43. That's absolutely true

My sister had set up automatic withdrawal with her utilities and she started having problems with the phone company taking out too much (a computer error, she was told). Even though it got straightened out, they would only refund by check that would take over TWO WEEKS to process. I know it's a convenient way to pay bills, but she was unemployed at the time and because of it, she bounced checks, etc. What a mess.

[badgerpup]

63. This is why I pay all my bills by snail mail.

Get my SSDI on the third, and by the fifth I've sat down and paid off ALL my monthly bills. I don't wait for them to send me the notice.

I have a 'master list' that I've put together. Has all the names, addresses, phone numbers, account number, as well as what the monthly amount is...chose 'balanced billing' on my utilities that have that option.

I just put the account number for that service on the 'memo' line of the check.
Been doing this for 7 years now, nobody's complained, and since my bills are always paid early, my 'credit rating' is OK.
On the ones that are not ongoing, but have a finite amount to be paid off, I update how much I owe every month.

Then I either take them to the post office or HAND THEM to the mailman as he goes by. I don't leave anything with checks in the mailbox.


Yeah, I have to buy stamps every couple of months, and envelopes every four months or so...but it prevents 'accidents' and abuse of this sort.

Tried to edit for clarification...

[madeline_con]

7. I'm so sorry to hear this.

Be as practical as possible. I know you're frantic right now. Look in your phone book for local food banks and charities, so you can tide yourself over till this is straightened out.

If you have to, get to the welfare office and get some food stamps. that's what the program is there for. don't despair. Things will get better, even though it looks bleake right now. I'm sending you a little sunbeam and a :hug: I hope it helps.

[Subdivisions]

8. I'm sorry to hear this, southernleftylady. I'm afraid we're going to

hear many more stories like yours in the months and perhaps years to come.

You need to be strong and hold your chin up and go to the local food bank and churches tomorrow.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. Wow, that sucks!

I've been there -- once tried to buy gas at a self-service gas station and the pump rejected my card because I was so broke. I barely made it home. It's just a horrendous feeling.

If you are a flight attendant you can get an account with this credit union, which is usually pretty good about working with airline employees in financial trouble: http://www.wingsfinancial.com/ASP/home.asp

Although that does not solve your immediate problem. I hope things get better for you soon.

[southernleftylady]

12. Thats my bank I got the number for the lady who deals with this but she was..

gone by the time I called ... what can she do to help though I cant think of anything so I am going to call Discoverfirst then her.. but I dont know what she can do to help me

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

15. I dunno -- it sounds like Discover screwed you and maybe the credit union

can get the money back? I had a situation where money was taken out of my account by mistake and Wings was really good (and fast) about straightening out the problem and putting the money back. At least you can usually get a human on the phone...

Good luck.

[aquart]

23. Dunno what can be done but....

Bear Stearns had a habit of emptying customer accounts to pay off debts incurred in a wholly separate area. Supposedly separate. For that and other sins they paid a $37 million settlement.

You may want to inquire why your account was not protected. If there is a law, why wasn't it enforced? If there is no law, WHY THE HELL NOT????

[DoctorMyEyes]

52. There is no law

There is no law to protect people from this kind of "raid" by a pre-authorized draft. There should be - and it's kind of a no-brainer - but, the banks don't spend all that money lobbying for laws that protect us from them.

The first time I encountered a situation like this when I worked in banking I was livid - I called the collection agency on a 3 way call with our customer and confirmed that they had taken WAY more than the customer had agreed to by way of making payments on the debt. The bastard laughed about it and mocked our customer. Quoted to me the law that authorized his doing so and I double checked with my manager.

I couldn't believe it - kept saying "But, Mr. XXXXX is OUR customer - not Joe Blow's Collections - how can we NOT protect our own customers accounts?"

Please, everyone - NEVER let anyone debit your account for "convenience" or otherwise. You pay them - don't let them help themselves.

[dolo amber]

10. Your bailout is going to AIG

Sorry...better luck next time. But hey, at least you're doin' your part for America! :patriot:

I'm so sorry for your situation. My heart goes out to you and so many others who are going through the same thing. Hell, there but for a little luck go I. :( :hug:

[firedupdem]

11. I am so sorry...it's so hard right now for so many people...

I am just digging out myself and still have nothing saved. You are not alone. You will be fine. My prayers are with you and your family.

[jberryhill]

13. Spent a looooong time on credit repair for similar reasons...

As noted above, even if you have to pay extra for express mail and money orders, try not to allow anyone to take automatic payments from your bank accounts.

You might also want to look into one of the credit counseling organizations to have them manage a payment plan. I realize these organizations are actually fronts for the credit card companies to ensure that people don't declare bankruptcy, but they can lower your monthly payment tremendously.

[liberalhistorian]

28. That's not true of all of them.

Many credit counseling agencies are perfectly legitimate, have been around a lot longer than the bankruptcy laws, have nothing to do with cc companies or creditors and therefore are not "fronts", and generally do very good, helpful work for desperate people. They need to be a member of the National Association of Credit Counselors. If they're not, then I'd be suspicious.

[LiberalHeart]

33. I agree. Many years ago I got cancer and didn't have insurance, so....

...after I had my pile of bills, I went to one of those places right away to work out a way to pay the hospital, surgeon, specialists, laboratories, testing facilities, and chemo folks. It was a LOT of money. All I wanted was to have an arrangement so I could do the payments in an orderly way with no one getting worried they wouldn't get paid and so I wouldn't get collectors on my back -- it wouldn't be fast, I told them, but it'd get done. The credit counseling people actually got my bills reduced (and by a lot) by extracting from me a promise that I would have all payments made each month on time and that I'd have the bills all paid off in x-amount of time. And even with that agreement in place, the hospital later offered to cut their bill to almost nothing if I'd pay a chunk immediately (I think it was about five times the usual monthly payment; they just wanted to take the debt off their books). I agreed, naturally, but had to borrow money from my dad to do it. All in all a good experience and no black mark on my credit.

[aquart]

14. Tomorrow you tell this to your Congressman's staff.

And both your senators. Then your state assemblyman. Then your state senator. Then every representative you have in local government.

Let THEM begin to feel the fear you feel. Let THEM wonder how deep the pain and rage will go.

If they tell you to put it in writing, take what you wrote here and send it to them. In fact, print out what you wrote with the DU heading. Let them know how far this story is circulating.

They have failed you. You have been doing everything right and they have been doing everything wrong.

This is my family motto:

Silence is consent. Never suffer in silence. And NEVER suffer alone.

BTW, my bank once closed my account on me for no good reason. I complained to my state assemblyman. I got my account opened, my money reimbursed, and several letters of apology.

They are scared shitless of what voters like you are about to do. Make sure that the only stock that soars is the one that makes Maalox.

[liberalhistorian]

50. We all need to phone and email our

senators and congress critters TODAY, asking where the hell OUR bailout is? Flood them all with such calls and emails TODAY.

And while we're at it, let's ask them why we're not good enough to have the kind of health care plan that THEY do and why they stall every effort to help Americans with health care access and payment while enjoying a near-perfect plan themselves? You can bet your bippy that most of them will never fall ill or have a family member fall ill and be buried in medical bills, even WITH insurance, and then be ceaselessly hounded and have credit ruined because of it. Medical bills should never even be on or even considered on credit in the first place, but that's a whole 'nother thread. They pay attention to credit card companies, banks, financial institutions, drug and insurance companies and doctors and the medical industry. Now they need to pay attention to US. PERIOD.

[demodonkey]

16. SIngle Payer Healthcare. NOW.

How many billions of dollars are lost and good people's lives ruined because of our barbaric disregard of providing healthcare in this country.

We'd rather bail our bankers than pay for kids (and adults) to go to the doctor.

HR 676 -- John Conyers gets it and we need to as well.

[lutherj]

17. This is how it goes in this country. People who do real work, who actually

create value in the economy, have their jobs sucked away while the credit card companies sit around on their fat asses and garner 30% interest out of these people's accounts.

It's time for a revolution.

[LiberalHeart]

18. How could they get into savings AND checking? How would they have both numbers?

You're sure it's the credit card company that did this and not theft of some sort?

[southernleftylady]

19. I dont know... but when I called the bank they told me it was the Discover Card...

I guess maybe there is something with maybe when I run out of money my savings is used to not bounce checks? SEE I HAVENT DONT THAT since I was 16 so I dont know what happens when I bounce a check

[Hekate]

37. Unless you signed something with the bank that authorized them to make that kind of transfer...

... then NO.

Others here are suggesting theft of some kind, and that you tell the bank that no such transfer of funds was ever authorized. I agree with them -- try to get some sleep tonight and start with your bank manager in the morning.

:hug:

Hekate

[liberalhistorian]

51. That's probably exactly

what happened, the bastards. That's the way it often works.

[SOS]

65. Some info that may be of help...

In 2005 the paid-off lackeys in Congress allowed yet another change in banking regulations to rob us.
Prior to 2005, if your debit account was zero due to uncollected or insufficient funds, the card was declined at point of sale.
Wanting to steal more from those with the least, the financial industry got the law changed.
Now they will honor the debit at the grocery store, but they will slam each use of the card with a $35 fee.
To insure their theft of your money, they limit this to $500-$1,000. Then they cut you off. (When your next paycheck is deposited they take that too!)
So even if you think you should have money in the account, the thieves have already cleaned it out with "fees".
They did this to me recently. Charged me $245 for 7 debits. I argued at the bank and said I would sue them.
I knew it was hopeless, but I figured they wouldn't want to waste their lawyers time for $245. I got my money back ten minutes later.

Be careful with debits, even if they are linked to savings.

PS: We are in a similar situation and our thoughts are with you and all the other victims of Wall Street/Congress.

[An Intellectual]

20. According to the fascists/libertarians, you aren't important enough for "the economy".

They couldn't spare you a couple thousand dollars of government money yet they find billions to give to rich capitalists.

[samuraiguppy]

22. I'm so sorry.

I have been there--hey I am still there. Lots of us are suffering along with you.

I hope things get better for all of us.

[Lil Missy]

24. I am sorry to tell you, that you can't close an account that takes automatic payments.

Cut off your direct deposits IMMEDIATELY! And considering the way they did this, I wouldn't open a new accout anywhwere either, because it sounds like they would attach that too.

This never happened to me, but more than a few people I know.

Good Luck.

:pals:

[liberalhistorian]

25. SLL, they cannot legally do this if it's

a set amount they've been agreeing to deduct from your account every month. The problem is, creditors do this shit ALL the time with cleaning out accounts. Sometimes it's a genuine mistake, too many other times it's not. That's why you never, ever give collectors or creditors direct permission to access any of your accounts, always send checks or money orders for payments. Believe me, as a paralegal, I've seen this happen many, many times. Way too many. And even if it's a paperwork mistake it takes forever to correct, usually, and they make you jump through eight thousand hoops for THEIR mistake. They generally don't give a shit if you have nothing, as long as they have your money. And you will have to deal with Discover and not your bank. All the bank will tell you is that it's a matter between you and the creditor and that you'll need to work it out with them. Banks are of absolutely no help in these situations. They don't want to get involved with a "he said, she said" thing about how much money was supposed to have been taken out. And frankly, they don't really care.

They count on your giving up. You will be playing the phone tag wait game shuffle tomorrow morning, trust me. Then they will tell you there's "nothing they can do right now." Insist on speaking with a supervisor, someone who can actually make real decisions instead of the frontline workers who really don't have any authority to speak of, and continue going up the chain if you don't get any satisfaction from each level of supervisors. It is VERY important, absolutely crucial, to stay calm, cool and collected and not lose it on the phone. I know that's hard not to do, but it's very important because it will get you nowhere if you do lose it. In fact, it'll make it worse.

Better yet, go to your local legal aid. They deal with this kind of thing all the time, especially on emergency situations such as this one, and they know the red tape to cut through and who to talk to and how to talk to them. They can also file immediate paperwork to begin to rectify the situation.

If this doesn't work, or if you just have more questions, please PM me and I'll do my best to help. I know the FDCA (Fair Debt Collection Act) and the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) inside and out and upside down; I know what they can and cannot do and how to rectify a lot of their so-called "mistakes." I know it's really, really hard to do, but try not to panic. They count on that, that's how they get away with things. Hang in there and PM me any time if you need to.

[FourScore]

61. You're a saint, liberalhistorian.

Thank you for helping her.

:yourock:

[Alcibiades]

26. Maybe Discover stole the money

Seriously. Companies in financial crisis sometimes do crazy stuff, such as raiding customer accounts to fund operations. Maybe they have been so badly mismanaged they are just going through and sucking all the money out of all accounts of everyone they can get ahold of.

My sincere condolences. No help is coming from the Bush administration, obviously, but we have billions for major financial corporations. Corporations that don't have kids to feed have more right to bailouts than we do, apparently.

[sueh]

29. Oh, SouthernLeftyLady...I've been there...consider doing this...

get a stop payment put on the Discover automatic payment withdrawal. The bank, of course, will charge at least $25 for this priviledge.

If you try to pay anymore on the account, use checks. The point is to not let them into your account anymore. The bastards will get their bailout, so you may have to take yours in a rather extreme way. Quit paying the bill-period. I know, it will screw up your credit history (like I said, I've been there), but your kids and you have to eat.

God, I HATE what these BASTARDS have done to US.


:grouphug:

[liberalhistorian]

55. The stop payment won't do any

good. The bank won't stop any payments like that, they consider it a matter between you and the payee. You can try to put a stop on it, but if the creditor still keeps putting the charge through, the bank will still keep allowing it to be taken out. They'll say you have to work it out with the payee.

[LiberalHeart]

30. This is such a puzzle because...

It seems like, to do this, they would have had to have known the exact amount you had in your accounts. Too low of charge would have left dough in your accounts and too high of a charge would have resulted in a non-payment and a bounced payment charge for you at your bank (insufficient funds). Something's hinky here. I hope you get to the bottom of it.

Here's someone who got messed with in a similar way:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/267/RipOff0267709.htm

[OHDEM]

31. I'm so sorry!

I see the the "free market" has treated you great, too! :mad: The banks & credit companies do what they want to us, but when they're in trouble, it's OUR money that saves them!

If you can't get your money back, then look for some aid at least for food. I know it's hard because if you were raised like me, you're not supposed to ask for "handouts". But that's ridiculous in times like these. You deserve the help & compassion of your community because that's what good & decent people should do. I wish you were here in Ohio so I could help you personally.

You & your beautiful babies are in my prayers tonight. O8) :hug:

[MrSlayer]

32. You don't get a bailout. You just get told to grab those bootstraps.

Socialism is only for the very rich. Sorry for your plight. Hope you can pull out of it.

[sudopod]

34. THIS IS WHY

Get your asses out on the streets, people.

[BzaDem]

35. If you didn't authorize the charge, tell your bank that you didn't authorize the charge.

They should provide you with an affidavit that you can fill out, and then they might reverse the charge. (I don't know what this will do to your standing with Discover, but unless you explicitly or in the form of some agreement authorized them to take out the money, you might be able to get it reversed.)

[uppityperson]

36. PM me. Send me your email, I'll help you get past this.

No, I don't have a lot, but I can help. Seriously. I cannot do it tonight, but can get you some $ tomorrow to pay for food. Then you can figure it out.

[JanusAscending]

38. God Bless you for this!!

I would do the same if I had a cent to my name. I'm at the point where I pay my rent, my utilities, and food. The hell with the rest!I don't answer phone calls anymore unless I know who it is! To hell with my credit. I'm almost 70, and I don't give a crap anymore. They would have only my Social Security to "attach", and I don't think they can do that ......yet. Perhaps if Mcsame and Palen get in...but we can't let that happen people!!!!

[sunnystarr]

59. They can only attach SS for student loans and maybe taxes ...

that's what I was told and I sure hope it's true. Also if your account only has SS deposited in it they can't touch it.

[jannyk]

41. I would like to help too - PM me your mailing address - I will overmight

some $$ to help feed those beautiful children. So do it, I could have some cash with you by Friday.

[roguevalley]

39. I hug you southernleftylady. you are my hero. you get up each day

and do honor to your name. I wish I could do more.

RV, hoping you are going to be better tomorrow, honey. we are with you. we truly are.

[Captiosus]

40. You are in my thoughts, southernleftylady

I know how you're feeling right now, as my family and I are in a very similar situation.

I got laid off early last year and have had one hell of a time finding any kind of work. And I do mean any. I've tried everything, including swallowing my pride and applying at fast food joints - and even they wouldn't take me. Why take a 31 year old who had a taste of being in a real career when they can hire some 17 year old who can't even do basic math? Sigh.

Earlier this year I had a bout with cellulitis. No one knew why, but it took two months to resolve because it was CA-MRSA cellulitis. I almost had to be hospitalized, but got lucky that the "last ditch" medications they gave me finally knocked out the infection. No insurance, no job, no COBRA - and for two months the medications made me feel so bad I couldn't do anything but lay here. The hospital was understanding and wrote off a lot of the debt for the facilities, allowing me to pay only a certain percentage, but the billing for the doctors? Well they're not so nice about it. They threw me into collections within two months and their collections people hound me every day, multiple times a day.

I have one piddly credit card that I haven't been able to pay on, less than 600 dollars in debt on it, and CitiBank wouldn't work with me after I got laid off. That's in collections and they hound me over that, too. Funny, isn't it, how when one of us gets two months or so behind on a small consumer debt, they pull out all the stops including making fake, but official looking, legal notices and hounding us on the phone but when a company like AIG goes into debt into the billions the government hands them money.

My wife, bless her, has been supremely understanding and has been taking care of the household as best she can. We've applied for benefits but keep getting turned down. Medicaid actually had the audacity to tell me that I was disqualified because we owned a car and a mobile home (which we own in the clear) and that if I wanted Medicaid, I'd have to "sell my assets". WHAT? I have to sell our one and only form of transportation AND the roof over our head to qualify for Medicaid? What kind of bullshit is that?!

Hang in there. I'm confident things will eventually get better for people like us.
I just can't quite nail down when, but I'm sure it will.

[southernleftylady]

42. Thanks everyone for their kind words and ideas! I will call them in about an hour to see..

If they open yet. I will keep yall posted with what is going on but thank you again this is a great group of people!

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

44. Just a side note about automatic payments.

Sometimes a credit company or mortgage company or a car finance place will ask you to fill our THEIR paperwork to authorize automatic payments, and you give them a voided check, etc. Sometimes there is even a little incentive added to get you to do this. DO NOT EVER DO THIS!!!!!

It is much better to use the online bill-pay in your account which you and only you have control over. You can set up an auto-pay yourself. I do this with my mortgage just so I never forget it or overlook it inadvertently. BUT, if I decided one day to take it off automatic or change the pay date, or make another adjustment, I can easily do that. I have authorized no outside entity to come in and help themselves to a payment and if they ever did that, I would raise holy hell.

[Odin2005]

45. Jesus...

:cry: :hug:

Credit card companies are PURE EVIL! :grr:

[liberalhistorian]

48. It isn't just cc companies that do this,

it can be any creditor who has access to your accounts. Medical collectors (I call them collectrolls) are the absolute worst with that. People bitch about lawyers but, in my fifteen years of being a paralegal, ninety percent of the doctors and hospitals I've seen and/or worked with are much worse. Almost every lawyer I've worked with or known has rarely put any fees into collections, been a lot better and more reasonable with fees, and have often helped people for little or no fees. I sure can't say the same for most doctors I've known or come across in my work. Most won't even look at you if you don't have insurance. Been there, done that.

[Vinca]

46. Your kids are hungry and your tax dollars are bailing out big insurance.

What a country.

[DoctorMyEyes]

47. Used to work in banking - nothing you can do - sorry

Some people here are advising that your bank can help as you didn't authorize the amount that they took. I'm very, very sorry for what's happened to you and I hope some of the people reading this will remember:

NEVER EVER EVER pay a debt collection agency (internal or external) by letting them take pre-authorized drafts from your account. EVER!

If you set up an agreement to pay a $100 a month, but "legitimately" owe $2000 - they can suddenly just decide to hit you up for everything you've got. If your savings is tied to your checking, by way of overdraft protection it will clean that out as well.

Always "push" when doing payments online - never "pull". Push is where you set up your online bill pay to automatically make a payment. "Pull" is where you authorize someone else to debit your account. It's bad news generally and even worse news when it's a debt collector.

I could tell horror stories about people who couldn't get AOL or their former insurance companies, cable companies etc to STOP debiting their accounts after their service was canceled.

But, it's the debt collectors who are the worst - and your bank cannot help you. It's like in the vampire movies - don't invite the vampire through your door.

[liberalhistorian]

56. EXACTLY!

And I've also seen a lot of this kind of shit as a paralegal, and personally. Always authorize it monthly from your end, never set up automatic payments.

And the thing is, even if you close the account with the bank, if the creditor still tries to put through payments, both the bank and the creditor will charge you their stupid fees for overdrafts. Once these people are onto your accounts, they are, as you say, like vampires.

[LiberalHeart]

60. A friend has been raided by earthlink twice this summer. Looks like...

...my advice to him was wrong if he'll get overdrafts anyway. I told him to cancel the bank account that earthlink was taking dough from. He owed them nothing, but twice they took out money that then caused several checks to bounce so he got fees for those. But earthlink admitted both times they took the money in error. The first time it took about two months for him to get the dough back and he's still waiting for the second refund for a raid that took place about a week ago.

[JerseygirlCT]

49. I'm sorry. nt

[tpsbmam]

53. Oh southernleftylady, I'm so sorry. I wish we lived closer.....

I've been stocking up on food and such and would be happy to share some. I hope you have friends nearby who will help while you straighten this out. :hug:

[El Pinko]

54. My heart goes out to you. But there is a bailout - it's called bankruptcy

I've been there, and there is no shame in it. I don't pretend to know your particulars, but if the overall amount of debt is more than you'll be able to pay off in decades, it might be the right thing to do for those beautiful kids.

You can call me any name you want, but the days of my putting creditors first before seeing to my kids' basic needs are OVER.

Best of luck to you in making it through this, whatever route you choose to take.

[fight4my3sons]

57. I'm so sorry that happened to you. I've been there.

This has happened to me before. I've had to walk out of a grocery store, away from a full cart of food with my kids screaming "mom that's our food!" after my card got declined. :cry: :hug:

We went through bankruptcy and just last month finally got off of food stamps. We are still barely making it paycheck to paycheck.

I am hoping that you woke up to a better day this morning.

[Indenturedebtor]

58. I'm so very sorry to hear about your troubles. Have you considered bankruptcy?

It sounds like you would qualify for chapter 7... have all your debts wiped out and start over.

[shrike]

62. Take liberal historian's advice and seek legal help

Go to legal aid, accept help from anyone on this board, you're going to need a hard ass on your side and nobody can be a hard ass quite like a lawyer can.

[southernleftylady]

64. Ok I called and this is what they told me what happened

The man I have been dealing with has for the last 16 months been automatically taking out my funds on the 13th but that wasn't company policy and the reason why this months hasn't come out was because he is "no longer with us" and so since I didn't pay this month they took a bank garnishment of everything I had... I said that I have never been to court so I don't have a court ruling on this and they said yes I do and that I didn't have to see a judge to have a rulement against me... so this was part of the ruling.. if I missed one payment they could do this to me.. but its a one time deal and so next week when I get paid we should be getting back on our feet slowly... So now we are just owe them 1,000 less than we did two days ago.. it sucks that this happened but we will get past it..
I just wanted to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.. for the Du'ers who have contacted me giving me some great comments and thoughts and help.. this is such a great place.. and just wanted to say again thank you for all your comments and encouraging words and ideas! So once again... I can.. with the help of you guys.. will be able to make it thru this week with my head held high and know I have a place to cry now and then when I need it.. thank you so much you guys!

[liberalhistorian]

66. SSL, that is still bullshit. They cannot

take a bank garnishment without going to court, period. They get away with it because people don't know their rights under collections law and they take advantage of people in desperate situations. Also, when employees leave like that, their accounts are supposed to be reviewed and the people contacted. So, they were wrong all the way down the line.

Here's what you should do. I would close and remove both of my accounts from that bank asap, open new ones at a new institution, preferably a credit union this time since they're not nearly as bad as banks in this kind of situation, and do NOT, under ANY circumstances, give Discover or any other creditor or collectroll direct access to the new accounts, period. Send the payments by money order instead. Fuck them. Your family's needs and well-being are much more important than their fucking bottom line.

Oh, and before you close out your accounts at the other bank, make sure you've already opened other accounts at the new bank or credit union first.

[Stand and Fight]

67. I've PM'ed you...

Send me a PM back and I'll send some funds your way. I'll be dammed if I don't help in some way. This is bullshit. I had the same thing happen to me, and ended up being told it was perfectly legal in Nevada.

[snappyturtle]

68. This kind of thievery has to stop. We too are in trouble.

Wish I could help you. We are older, late 50's/early sixties and I don't know what's going to happen next. BUT what I can't stand is seeing the youth of our country living in such miserable circumstances. I remember good times but so many have not had that pleasure. That just isn't right. Looks like you've got some resolution started....the very best to you. I'll keep you and your sweet little ones too in my prayers. Keep us posted if you can.

[southernleftylady]

70. Thanks again everyone for your kind words.. this place for all the good and bad is really..

a great place and has a great group of people in it! Thanks again everyone for all your kind words!

[SCBeeland]

69. No one will like this, but

the problem is that the government bailed out these companies, not that the government doesn't bail out citizens.

[roody]

71. Hang in there. BREATHE!

Hug your babies; you have your true valuables there with you.