Here is my story. It concerns my attempts to negotiate an equitable arrangement on a WaMu credit card. I have been unemployed since April 2008 when the airline I worked for for 18 years closed their doors and ceased operations. I have negotiated satisfactory agreements with 5 other credit card companies but WaMu has been unwilling to negotiate. My first attempt to reach an agreement with them were rebuffed and I was forced to deal with their collection agency, IT Systems Inc. I contacted them and agreed to a 4 month program with a reduced payment. I was led to believe that at the end of the program the account would once again show as current and I could then negotiate directly with WaMu for a reduced interest rate and reduced minimum payment. The final payment of the 4 month program was made on 11/28/08. On 12/02 I attempted to contact WaMu customer service and was not able to get past the automated attendant. Upon entering my account information the system would play a recording advising me that I needed to contact IT Systems. I contacted them and that is when I found out that the program had done nothing to reduce the past due amount and in fact all that it did was stop late fees, over limit fees and the phone calls. I asked what my alternatives were and they offered a 3 month extension to the program. Realizing that I would be in the same situation at the end of those 3 months, I told them I would think about it and call them back.

I decided to make one last effort to contact WaMu and speak to an actual human being and see if there was any way that we could work something out. I called direct to their corporate switchboard and was transferred to their "management offices". I spoke to a gentleman there and he took my information and advised that he would have one of their managers call me back within 2 or 3 business days. The next day I was contacted by one of their managers and after explaining my situation and what I had hoped to accomplish with the phone call I was summarily and rudely dismissed with, "I'm sorry but we don't have any programs that you qualify for, and there is nothing we can do for you! Your account will be going back to a 4% of the balance minimum payment and 28.8% APR with a minimum payment of $550/mo. and you need to make a payment of $590 now to bring the account back to current". There is no way I can meet those terms. I told him that I have consulted an attorney and the only thing stopping me from filing bankruptcy is my moral objection to doing so. I told him that I want to meet my obligation but that I will need cooperation from WaMu on a temporary basis so that I can complete the courses I have enrolled in to help me secure gainful employment at which point we can go back to more equitable terms for them. His response was, "I'm sorry but you don't qualify for any of our programs and we can't help you". I asked him how it could be a sound business practice to stonewall me and not negotiate a short term hit on the account as opposed to me filing bankruptcy and getting nothing. His response was to repeat the previous quote.

After stewing about it for a few days I was going to call IT Systems back today (November 9th) and agree to the 3 month extension just to keep the fees from accruing and the phone calls from starting up again. I had misplaced their number so I called WaMu, expecting to get the same recording I had gotten back on the 12/02. To my surprise I was transferred to a customer service agent named Jesse. After telling my story and advising that my situation has not changed, Jesse told me that a one time payment of $405 would bring the account back to current and that the monthly payments would then go to approximately $130/mo. I told him that I could probably swing that and to sign me up. He then advised me that he couldn't do that at this time because the program that I had enrolled in at IT Systems was still showing pending. I assumed that was because the were still waiting for me to call back and accept or decline the 3 month extension of the program. Jesse advised me to call IT Systems and decline the extension so they would show the program completed and closed and then to call WaMu back. I went over all the details with him one more time and he confirmed everything was correct. I hung up, called IT Systems and asked to speak with the individual that I had been dealing with. He was at lunch but they said they would have him call me back upon his return. He called me back 15 minutes later and I declined the extension. I called WaMu back and spoke with an agent by the name of Calandra. She confirmed everything that Jesse had told me but told me that upon bringing the account to a current status the minimum payments would be more like $475 per months not the $130 that Jesse had quoted me. After much discussion I was passed to her supervisor, Latoya who confirmed what Calandra had told me. Attitude became increasingly beligerent when I inquired how this deal could change in the 15 to 30 minutes that had elapsed since Jesse had given me the figures. She then told me in no uncertain terms that he had been incorrect and there was "nothing she could do for me". I told her that I had taken actions based on what their legal representative had told me and that I felt she needed to honor the agreement that Jesse and I had reached. She didn't agree and began to repeat the mantra of "there is absolutely nothing I can do for you". That is where things stand at the present.

I am simply outraged. This email is my second step. I have already sent emails to Senators Bayh and Lugar as well as Congressman Boyer. My next step is to contact local and national news people. I also have a couple of friends who are attorneys and I will be contacting them to see if I have any legal recourse to hold them to the agreement that Jesse and I first reached since I took actions that eliminated any other recourse for me based on the information he gave me.

I am an honest individual who has been cast into an unfortunate situation through no fault of my own and even though I could easily file bankruptcy and be done with it, I have elected to attempt to honor my obligations. To have WaMu be so totally inflexible, considering their own financial issues makes me wonder how they have managed to stay in business as long as they have. I certainly hope that they are not getting a dime of the $750 billion dollar bailout money. I have offered to pay them what I owe them, albeit on different terms then originally agreed but to pay them all the same and they have refused all of my attempts.