It’s felt like a trifecta of pain today. After a full work day, I began getting on the phones again to deal with the creditors.
American Express (total balances: $2,783)
I have two AMEX cards. Lines of $500 and $2000. The balances are: $772 and $2011 respectively.
When I reached the CSR (customer service rep), I asked first about loweing the APR. “not possible”. Any hardship or forbearance programs available? “No”. “What can you pay?” “$25/month, I say”. She says that is fine. I was taken aback by this. I asked about the consequences of this, and her only answer was “higher finance charges”. She really didn’t seem to understand what I was trying to do, and while nice, not very helpful. So I paid $25 on each card and will have to come back to those in a week or two (both of the “current amount due” amounts were over $50).
Chase (total balance: $10,579)
What a mess. I calll around 6:20pm PST. I know that they close at 7pmPST, so I figure I have lots of time. I wait on hold, and wait, and wait, and wait.
30 minutes go by. I hang up.
I call back….”our offices are now closed (6:57pm), please call back…”
Grrrr. This is an important card for me to take care of. The balance is: $10,579, but I am quite behind and the amount due is nearly 2K. I have to get this payment down to at least $150/month
Citi (total balances: $26,407)
Another dissapointment. I was hoping to get my 4 citibusiness cards resolved today, but apprently my “new options” won’t be available til tomorrow. Bummer.
I spoke with my father for a good amount of time tonite. He is seeming a little more optomistic about my progress, and hasn’t called the lawyer yet…
Yet.
