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Would Filing for Bankruptcy Be Best Thing for Us? – Mary

“Dear Steve,

We were in need of some money to pay our rent that we got behind on after our son died in 2011, when he passed he had no insurance and it was a struggle to come up with the money for his funeral. we have been struggling with all our bills after his death and have not been able to catch up since. My husband works 40 hours a week and I just got a part time job at minimum wage.. I don’t know what to do anymore… Would filing for bankruptcy be the best thing for us? and if so would the loan from the cash store be wiped out? Please help I am at my wits end here..

My husband took out a loan with the cash store for 1300 dollars, when we were approved for the loan there corporate office sent us an email stating that we would get 50% off finance charges so he agreed. Our first payment was to be made on Wed August 29,2012. We were told that if the was a problem making that payment we were to contact them right away, which my husband did, He told them that he would not get payed until this Friday August 31,2012 and the manager stated that was not a problem. Well it was a problem, today I checked with our bank only to find out that they sent it through anyway, which was a huge problem for us as we did not have the funds in the bank, so not only did it cost us the 286.81 payment with them it is going to cost us 34.00 in overdraft fees. I called the store and informed them that my husband contacted the manager there on Tuesday the 28 to inform them of the late payment to which the manager stated that would be n o problem. I called them back today and asked why they posted it to the account and the girl not the manger stated that that was what he agreed to.. Now his whole paycheck will go to cover the fees that they caused. so last week he will basically worked for free.. what option do we have if any over there misleading us and telling him that the payment could be made on Friday instead of Wed?

Mary”

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Dear Mary,

First step should be to call the corporate main office and see if you can get someone there to assist you in resolving this.

Debt Coach

Do you have a consumer debt question you'd like help with?

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Do you have other debts as well or is this the only debt?

If you want to learn more about bankruptcy and evaluate your options. Consider reading the information below.

I’d suggest you first read How to Get Out of Debt. The Honest and Unvarnished Truth and The Truth About The Success Rates, Failure Rates and Completion Rates of Credit Counseling, Debt Settlement, and Bankruptcy. They will give you a great overview of what we need to deal with to get you moving in the right direction.

Then use the free How to Get Out of Debt Calculator to review your options.

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Please post your responses and follow-up messages to me on this in the comments section below.

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Facing a Similar Situation? You’re not alone — and you have more options than you think. Start with the all your debt relief options page to see what’s realistic, or take the 2-minute bankruptcy quiz if the debt feels unmanageable. Federal Reserve research shows filers recover faster than those who don’t file. If a company is involved, run them through the Scam-O-Meter first.

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Steve Rhode The Get Out of Debt Guy | Consumer Debt Expert
Consumer debt expert & investigative writer. Personal bankruptcy survivor (1990). Washington Post award-winning author. Exposing debt scams since 1994.

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