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Huge new debt
I got a letter yesterday from my old landlord, and immediately freaked out when I saw the envelope. After roughly 10 months of not trying to collect, they sent me a bill for the remaining balance of $1125, threatening interest and/or legal action if I don’t pay up.
A little background: I dropped out of the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport after 1.5 years of failing miserably to come home for my mom due to actions taken against her by my father at the time. Though my landlords were sympathetic when I explained the situation to them, they still wanted the rent for the second semester, even though I wasn’t living there, as per contract. My mom threw then a couple of $500 checks, and they’ve been quiet ever since April. I figured they were satisfied with what they had gotten.
I know these people. They will take me to court if I don’t pay them. However, I don’t exactly have that kind of money on me. I really don’t want to clean out my emergency fund (which currently stands at $453.18), either, just for the sake of shutting them up. So what should I do? The only thing I can figure is to find room to send them a small check every month, say $50 or so, so at least I’m paying them something. Thoughts?
I buzzed through my taxes today, since I finally got my W-2 from AlliedBarton, and it looks like I “owe” the IRS $26.77. They can wait.
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I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Tim Ramsey
Thats tough. This happened to my mom when I was growing up. Luckily our landlord was human and understood that taking her to court was going to cost more than they were going to get. She settled with a small monthly payment.
I’d suggest talking to them and offering a “down payment” and then a monthly payment. Don’t be afraid to give them $200 (certainly don’t give them everything you have) and then $50/month after that. Even offering to pay some interest might convince them to go with you on your offer. Afterall, they would be getting more money in the long run and an extra month’s payment shouldn’t break your bank. The more they feel you are offering upfront, the more likely they think you actually care about paying the debt.
I’d work out a payment plan with them and get it in writing!
And uh… no the IRS cannot wait! They will add penalties and intrest and your 26 will grow faster than you’d think. Pay it NOW and get them out of your life!
I’d definately suggest contacting them. There’s no way they WANT to take you to court – that is the final option. Trust me, if you are polite, explain your situation & show a willingness to pay back what you owe, I would be extremely surprised if they did not accept your offer.
This kind of thing really annoys me. They don’t do anything for 10 whole months & then suddenly land this on you. It stinks, and worse of all, you have no legal protection.
I’ve found a great article on help in dealing/talking to creditors. I’m going to post a link to it in my blog for others too, as this kind of thing is all too common. Check it out if you want.
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