I'm being sued for being poor
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2023 was the worst year of my life.
- We started the year with my husband having been downsized from his job with no warning.
- My mom died in January.
- My husband's mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
- Our the transmission in our car exploded, leaving us without a vehicle
- My husband's mom passed away 4 months after her diagnosis.
- We spent most of the year struggling to find new employment for my husband without luck
- During this time, we ran through every penny of savings and available credit we had to keep a roof over our heads
- When he finally did get an offer, it was at a 35% pay cut
- It now takes THREE FULL WEEKS (out of 4) paychecks just to pay rent each month (leaving little behind for everything else)
- My health, already difficult with multiple autoimmune diseases, has gotten significantly worse from stress and grief
We're still barely keeping our head above water.
In the meantime, Capital One is suing me for $5,500 for defaulting on my credit card with them. It wasn't by choice. I just had no means or options.
I've spoke with an attorney because I have a court date. He'll charge a flat rate of $500 and he believes he can negotiate a 50% settlement or about $2,600 due to keep it from going to trial. But that's still more money than I have in the entire world.
We're not bad people. We're just normal people that have had a truly awful year and we can't dig out way out of this hole by ourselves. We weren't "foolish" with money. We don't live lavish lifestyles. My car is a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am and it's currently not working (and I don't have the cash to fix it.) We're driving the 2012 SUV his mom had right now just to have ANY working vehicle. We've lived in the same apartment for 17 years because we can't afford to move or buy a house.
We just fell behind. We prioritized rent over credit cards because keeping a home was more important. It was the "right" choice, but Capital One doesn't care about those kinds of choices.
I don't know what else to do, so I'm asking for help.
I am a small business owner, PhoenixFire Designs and I make jewelry for a living.
I can also accept donations via or
Organizer
May Turner
Organizer
Tampa, FL