bad mail day

**gmarie** · 10-08-2010, 02:56 PM

We just received a notice today that the unemployment division calculated that they overpaid my husband by $1600, and want their money by 10/31!

However, they labeled him "not at fault" which means that he could call and set up a payment plan w/ no interest.

We have this crazy goal of paying off our CC's by 12/31.

We can pay the $1600 without touching our emergency fund, however our chances of paying of our CC's by 12/31 will be dramatically reduced.

What should we do?? Part of me just wants to pay the bill now because I would hate to owe money for something like this... the other part of me thinks that since there is no interest, I should just make payments and continue our debt snowball.

**StanleyJohnson** · 10-08-2010, 03:04 PM

Originally Posted by gmarie

We just received a notice today that the unemployment division calculated that they overpaid my husband by $1600, and want their money by 10/31!

However, they labeled him "not at fault" which means that he could call and set up a payment plan w/ no interest.

We have this crazy goal of paying off our CC's by 12/31.

We can pay the $1600 without touching our emergency fund, however our chances of paying of our CC's by 12/31 will be dramatically reduced.

What should we do?? Part of me just wants to pay the bill now because I would hate to owe money for something like this... the other part of me thinks that since there is no interest, I should just make payments and continue our debt snowball.

I don't think either way you decide to go is going to be wrong.
Personally, I'd rather get the govenment people off my back.
There's a good chance they'll screw up the payment plan.

**mateosbaby** · 10-08-2010, 03:22 PM

Yeah, pay them off asap, like now. Gov't messed up the first time, they'll mess up again. How in the world did they overpay you in the first place?

**frugalfriend** · 10-08-2010, 03:40 PM

Pay if off and get it behind you. Then you can focus and put everything possible on debt and move past it. Sorry that happened!

**frugalwarrior2** · 10-08-2010, 04:01 PM

No,pay off the CC because of the interest. And set up plans w/ the unemployment. I did that and got a deal in the end. Their fault,not yours.

**Kitten20** · 10-08-2010, 04:06 PM

That stinks!

I personally HATE payments, so I would pay the unemployment back in full, if I had the money. Yes, you will pay a little more interest on the CCs, but at the end of the day, I would just rather not have the stress of knowing that I owe one more person money! It would be worth it for me and I would feel good about taking care of it. Just my 2c!

**Josephhgoins** · 10-08-2010, 05:16 PM

I would pay whatever has the highest interest rate first. If the unemployment repayment is interest free I would stretch it out as long as possible. Worst case is you pay off your credit cards and then pay the balance of the unemployment earlier than due.

BTW, I read somewhere that you could argue that and get the debt forgiven.

**piney** · 10-08-2010, 05:49 PM

I agree with frugalwarrior2 i would pay off the cc first it was their mistake not yours.just my 2 cents worth.

**craftypam** · 10-08-2010, 07:43 PM

Pay off cc first, but keep all records of paperwork from unemployment about payments you will have the proof. That way you will be protected.

**gmarie** · 10-08-2010, 10:54 PM

Thanks everyone - I've been thinking about it and decided that if he were to lose his job (or some other emergency), it would be much better to have the CC debt than owing the government money! for my peace of mind, we need to pay it off now!

But, I think it's worth a phone call on Tuesday to find out if there is any way out of it. I've been adjusting the budget, and if we get super gazelle intense, I think we can pay it in full this month, pay off the rest of my old college debt (800 left) and still be out of CC debt by 12/31. We are short, but I will try to make up the money with a part time job and selling everything but the cat!

I keep thinking how great it will feel to be credit card debt free by 12/31! Then we can focus on our car loan and student loans.

**gmarie** · 10-09-2010, 06:37 PM

today was a better mail day - I rec'd an updated invoice from the school and I owe $91 less than I thought! Sounds good to me!

**gmarie** · 10-12-2010, 09:27 AM

Update: Wow, they really are dumb.

DH just called and they immediately realized that they put in the wrong dates - the overpayment is $370 - not $1600!

No credit card debt in 2011 is a real possibility!

**StanleyJohnson** · 10-12-2010, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by gmarie

Update: Wow, they really are dumb.

DH just called and they immediately realized that they put in the wrong dates - the overpayment is $370 - not $1600!

No credit card debt in 2011 is a real possibility!

I'd pay them before they change their mind

**gmarie** · 10-12-2010, 09:47 AM

Yes, we will, and he is getting it in writing!

I'm shocked that they answered so fast! I thought he would be on hold all day!

**Keildra** · 10-17-2010, 12:41 AM

I wouldn't pay them anything after that, it was their mistake. Not to mention they made a second mistake but I'm also the kind willing to sit on hold all day just to yell at people.