My 86 y.o. grandmother can't pay her credit card bills!?

My grandmother lives on social security %26amp; has had c.c. for many yrs %26amp; owes a few thousand $. The credit co. have been calling her multiple times daily for $. She pays them a little bit per month, but cannot make the minimum payments. She is talking about filing bankruptcy, however she does not own anything %26amp; is it really necessary to do so? I offered to speak with the c.c co, b/c I%26#039;m sure they%26#039;re taking advantage of her circumstances by raising her interest rate, adding late fees, etc. Any advice how to proceed?? Thanks

My 86 y.o. grandmother can%26#039;t pay her credit card bills!?interest rate

Hello I was a debt collector for 3 years. I am still ACA certified. First it starts with writing a cease and desist letter to the collection agency or credit card company that she owes to cease any communication between your grandmother and the company in question. State in the cease and desist letter to stop call communication with her. Then if you want to be dealing with this debt instead of your grandmother then you would ask your grandmother to give you power of atty over her debts and assets. You can then call the company she owes to see if they will lower the intrest/settle on the debt/ set up a pmnt plan that your grandmother can afford/ and if necessary you can also look into bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is not good for ones credit but because of her age im guessing she has everything she wants anyways. If her only income is SS they cannot garnish that what so ever, and not to mention SS is often not enough to cover ones bills that they do have. When you talk to the creditors/collection agency be very up front and let them know that (they cant call you because of the cease and desist but you are trying to do the right thing by calling in to talk to them. find out what they can do for you) If you get someone nasty keep calling back tell you get who you want to talk to. You can also ask for a supervisor. If they dont allow you to talk to one let them know you have it on recording. You can also file a complaint with the atty general and the better business bearu. That might get their attention. Those numbers can be found in your local phone book.- good luck

My 86 y.o. grandmother can%26#039;t pay her credit card bills!? loan

Tell them the next time they phone that she has passed away and that they should not call anymore.|||Tell cc company that she can%26#039;t pay, I would not recommend bankruptcy. She%26#039;s 86 years old What are they going to do throw her in jail,take her posessions. Call cc company explain the situation ask if they will stop adding late fees,raising interest etc. If they don%26#039;t want to cooperate with you contact a credit counseling service and they will help you solve the matter. P.S. Use a non profit credit counseling service (phone book) they don%26#039;t charge and they are legit

Sometimes family members will be responsible for their family members debt upon their death, try to work out a a solution|||find a company like Preferrred Financial Solutions who will stop the late fees and the escalating balance and make arrangements for a low monthly payment.....your grandmother will not have a credit card and since she%26#039;s been living off it (obviously soc. sec. isn%26#039;t enough) you and other family members may have to help her out with daily needs. Let%26#039;s face it....she%26#039;s 86.....the credit card company really can%26#039;t do anything to her once she passes on.....why does she need to ever pay them back? Does she own her own home? If so, perhaps she could sell it, pay everyone off and find a more financially reasonable way to live....you should be concerned about her future, what if she needs a nursing home? Who will pay?|||First, write them a letter and tell them that she no longer wants to be contacted via phone. Any future correspondence regarding her accounts needs to be sent to her in writing. That should stop the harrassing calls. Then, have her contact someone like Consumer Credit Counseling. The non-profit services is free to consumers and they will work to set up some type of payment plan that SHE can afford, not dictated by the credit card companies. They then call the credit card companies and tell them to call them if they have any questions and they stop contacting her. Some cc companies will also stop the interest once you join a service like this.

For grandma its nice because she pays what she can afford and they stop calling and harassing her and she doesn%26#039;t have to go through a banruptcy which would probably be stressful and expensive b/c you still need to do financial counseling before and after which is $100, then you need to file which can cost you $400+ if using an attorney.|||i cant see how family members can be responsible for someones debt............... that just dont sound right!

i wouldnt worry about it, i would go as far as letting it go and not paying anything, like the other person said, what are they going to do %26quot;throw her in jail%26quot; NOT. she would be better off keeping her money to live on. they will call but just do what i do %26quot;hang up on them%26quot; dont say anything. all they will do is try to scare you and argue. and if she is on social security they cant sue or garnish.|||Has she considered using a Consumer Credit Counselor? Doing so will stop the credit cards from raising her rates, may actually be able to reduce some of the late fees that she has been charged, and they will be able to combine her payments into one monthly affordable amount. Not all credit companies offer it, but some will give her a hardship status, which could lower her interest rate and make a lower monthly payment if she goes directly through them, but some companies don%26#039;t directly offer this and will require her to go through the credit counselors. But this option will prevent her from filing bankruptcy. Otherwise, at her age, would filing Bankruptcy affect her greatly, as there are two bankruptcy types (one they can sell possessions to repay debt, the other one they don%26#039;t). Also, the credit card companies are just following standard procedures that are outlined in her agreements with them, that when the full minimum due is not paid, they will charge those fees as well as raise the interest rate, and do this across the board, and you must realize they aren%26#039;t just singling out your grandmother, but their computer systems automatically do this on all delinquent accounts. If she is leary about bankruptcy, the Credit Counselors are the best way to go, and will stop all the additional fees and interest rate hikes.|||My grandmother%26#039;s going through the same thing (only she%26#039;s around 70). They can%26#039;t garnish social security and if she doesn%26#039;t own anything - they can%26#039;t take anything. She told them that over and over and they still took her to court. Her attorney went in and five minutes later - it was all over. Just have her send a letter asking them to quit calling. They have to or they%26#039;ll be in violation of the FDCPA. In the meantime, have her keep making the payments she can.|||Call the credit card companies and tell them exactly what you have told us. If you do not get any cooperation from them go to an attorney and file for bankruptcy. Be sure to take away all the credit cards. You may want to take a look at her other financial dealings. Be sure she is current on her utilities and rent.|||I usually write the creditors a letter telling them that grandmother is judgment proof. It usually works.