I know I am one of millions, but that is cold comfort when facing not one, but two government bureaucracies.
I am partially unemployed at the moment, which translates to working as a temp when I can get an assignment. I am also drastically under-employed, earning roughly one third in 2008 of what I earned in 2007. During the year, I was always just around the corner from that permanent position, having been promised two which never materialized. So I lived, unwisely, on credit cards. I could have lived more frugally, I am sure (as I am doing now), but for the most part, I was taking care of living expenses, not living large. Plus I had some unexpected but sizable vet/pet care costs which took their toll.
Fortunately, I qualify for some unemployment. Only 17 weeks, I am not sure why, but that is better than nothing, and my benefit calculation takes into account at least some of my 2007 earnings, so the amount is better than I expected. Even so, I cannot pay 100% of my basic living expenses (mortgage, car, insurance, utilities) on that amount alone. Because I only got partial hours the last two weeks of the year, I attempted to claim the difference between my benefit amount and earnings, but when I filed the information with the Employment Commission online, it took the information as if this was a new claim, not a reactivation of an existing claim (I had 3 weeks in which I didn’t claim anything). So I called. It took 45 minutes for me to get past the initial recording which says to try back later, and then I was on hold for 1 hour and 44 minutes waiting to talk to a person. I actually hung the phone on a shower hook at one point, took a shower, put on makeup, dried my hair and got dressed before I ever talked to anyone. Once I got a person, she proceeded to yell at me that I could not file for December benefits in January. I tried to explain that I couldn’t file earlier, because I couldn’t confirm holiday pay until this week. She continued to yell at me and treat me like some moron. Finally, she asked me to hold on a minute. She never came back. I held for another 20 minutes, then gave up.
So I showed up in person at one of the branches today in order to get this straight. (This was after my meeting with a bankruptcy attorney, which I’ll cover next). I waited for approximately 2 ½ hours, shuffled from room to room, list to list, finally to talk to a person. She was very polite and professional, but explained what the person on the phone could not: I could pursue my claim for partial benefits, but it would require a whole new set of paperwork, with verification forms having to go to my employer and it would preclude me from claiming full benefits for subsequent weeks until the partial claim was settled and paid. All this to obtain about $110. I elected to abandon the partial claim in order to get full benefits beginning next week. While I was there, I was told they were fielding 72,000 calls per day with only 2 call centers, and the office I was in now had to handle claims from 3 different cities when they used to cover only 1. I can only imagine how difficult and demoralizing it must be for those trying to obtain unemployment and public assistance (although I may find out). The sheer waste of time is phenomenal.
I am not a deadbeat. I always have paid my debts, was never late on a mortgage payment or car payment in my life until just recently (and I have had 2 homes and 6 cars over the years). I did not buy more house than I could afford, keeping my mortgage around 2 times annual earnings. I am college educated, with 20 years of progressively substantive employment and a very stable employment history, no job-hopping, excellent references. However, when I make my obligatory application contacts to get my little slice of the unemployment pie, I have little hope that anyone will offer me an interview, much less a job. I rarely get even an acknowledgement when I apply now.
In the meantime, my creditors are calling constantly, even though in some cases I am only a week past due on my payments. They know the economic climate, they know they may not get paid, so they are aggressive. I decided to look into the bankruptcy option when I didn’t get any new assignment for work this week and knew that there was no way I was even going to make the mortgage in time. My preferred option was Chapter 13 rather than Chapter 7. For those of you fortunate enough not to know the difference, it is this: with Chapter 13, you stop any and all foreclosure, collections and repossession action, develop a repayment plan with the court (usually 3-5 years) and begin making payments to the courts which then pays your creditors. In Chapter 7, foreclosure, collections and repossession also stops, but your debts are wiped clean. In both cases, you can usually exempt your house and your car, continuing those payments in order to keep both. In Chapter 7, you can also "reaffirm" other debts for property not yet paid for that you want to keep.
Off I went this morning to the attorney’s office, with my list of debts, personal belongings and questions. This was after my sister called me in tears to plead with me to find another way-the stigma of bankruptcy runs strong in my family. I assured her I would not do anything rash and would only proceed if no other options remained. She needn’t have worried. I don’t qualify to file either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, unless I want to surrender my house. It seems that because of my modest mortgage, I have too much equity in the house to file Chapter 7, unless I turn it over to the trustee who will sell it, use the profits to pay my creditors, probably at a discount, and keep a tidy sum of money for himself/herself for having done so. To file Chapter 13, I would need to have a steady job in order to commit to a fixed payment to the court.
Here I am, back where I started, broke with few options. The system stinks.
Update: Thanks, dadanation, for the Diary Rescue!