by Neal Painter

Created on: December 10, 2008

In a stressed out economy, workers and businesses enter a stage of extreme flux where everyone and every organization tries to balance the price for goods and services rendered against receivables and cash. Cash becomes king and we all writhe in pain trying to strike an economic outcome that is manageable. Workers lose their jobs and seek to conserve cash by spending less and stretching personal budgets. Companies stretch out payment terms and simultaneously, attempt to collect in an aggressive manner. Lenders scrutinize customers and their situation looking for clues that signal default or worse, bankruptcy.

The nice thing about human nature is that we are all sensitive to the personal struggle to remain afloat and forge ahead. Quitting is not an option. Individuals and organizations who have managed to thrive and stay ahead under these conditions realize that those who have not are experiencing true pain.

I am one of those workers who has started treading water and out of work for the moment. I have always been able to predict outcomes with a good degree of certainty however; I did not see this last event coming. Fortunately, I have some money in savings and a retirement nest egg to draw from if needed. Our credit is not perfect but pretty good. We have always communicated with our lenders and nurtured a healthy relationship. Our family lives a comfortable lifestyle that is not extravagant.

My wife and I decided that we would start working with our creditors as soon as possible and attempt to get temporary relief on interest rates and payments even though we can meet our obligations for the foreseeable future. The first call we made was to the only credit card we hold, FIA Wachovia. FIA manages the credit card business for Wachovia as I understand. The feedback and subsequent events were shocking and worth revealing to others who find that they are in a similar situation.

My wife called the 800 number on our card and began to speak with a representative about lowering our interest rate. We have not missed payments and our balance is half of our available credit. We assumed that we would have some goodwill leverage for negotiation. The representative began asking a series of personal questions. Are you still at this address? Is your husband still employed at? Everything stopped and the conversation then worsened. My wife was put on hold for several minutes. When the representative returned, my wife was informed that our card had been immediately suspended and

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