Posts tagged as:

credit

Debt Collection Help: Free Resources

February 26, 2010

Getting called or served with a lawsuit by a collector is a pain, at best. You can help yourself deal with debt collection with free information and tools online, but not everything you find will actually help. Here is a selection of resources that will:

If you are contacted or sued by a debt collector, use [...]

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How to Get a Free Credit Report (That is Actually Free)

December 2, 2009

To get a free credit report, visit annualcreditreport.com. Stay away from the misleading “free”creditreport.com, which is not free, but somehow still doing business despite its incredibly misleading name.

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Three Debt Assistance Companies Sued by the Minnesota Attorney General

September 24, 2009

The Minnesota Attorney General took action against three companies that promised to lower customer’s interest rates on credit cards for high fees.
Swanson filed suit against Priority Direct Marketing, Clear Financial Solutions, and Moneyworks, LLC. The suit alleges that all three companies charged high up front fees, between $999 and $1,995, and promised to lower the [...]

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New Credit Card Rights For Consumers

August 20, 2009

Starting today, credit card holders have more rights:

More time to pay. Credit card companies have to mail bills 21 days in advance of the billing date.
More time to reject changes. Card holders now have up to 45 days to reject rate increases.
More time to pay off existing balances. Card holders now have the option of [...]

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Consumer Complaints Up, But Resources Are Down

August 5, 2009

The latest survey of front-line consumer agencies shows that while complaints went up, the resources to help consumers went down. 62% of the agencies reported that they received more complaints in 2008 than in 2007, and 47% of the agencies suffered budget cuts just prior to or during the survey period, with one being eliminated [...]

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Kucinich right on arbitration, wrong on courts

July 30, 2009

Dennis Kucinich and his House Domestic Policy Subcommittee just released a report on arbitration abuse in the National Arbitration Forum (PDF). In the report, the subcommittee stated that “[c]onsumer arbitration lacks the safeguards that have been designed into our judicial system by our Constitution, by state and federal statutes, and by centuries of judicial decisions” [...]

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Bankruptcy lawyers succumb to economy-induced stress

July 29, 2009

In its monthly newsletter, the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys mentioned that several bankruptcy attorneys recently committed suicide, had heart attacks, or gave up on bankruptcy practice entirely to get away from the stress.
Consumer rights lawyers, including bankruptcy attorneys, see some of the worst effects of the recession. But until now, I did not [...]

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Credit score basics

July 23, 2009

All the information out there on credit scores can be confusing. At the heart is the FICO score, which is what lenders use to determine your riskiness as a borrower.
Here are the main elements of the FICO score:

Payment history – Account payment information on specific types of accounts you may have, such as credit cards, [...]

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Debt settlement firms are not working for you

June 9, 2009

Thinking of using a debt settlement firm? Think again. These services don’t help you as much as you think.
Many of these firms are not helping as much as their subscribers think—sometimes at least half of what the customers pay goes to administrative fees—money that is never paid on the customer’s behalf.
The Minnesota Legislature, at the [...]

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Rebuilding credit after bankruptcy

May 8, 2009

According to Alex from Queercents, rebuilding credit is a seven-step process:

Clean up your credit report
Learn from your mistakes; do not repeat them
(Carefully) apply for a secured credit card
Or become an authorized user on your partner’s credit card
Pay your bills on time
Do not be in a hurry to incur more debt
Be patient and research your options

Alex [...]

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Deal with your debt; do not ignore it

May 5, 2009

Nobody likes to talk about their debt. Not me, not you, not anybody. But your debts do not like to be ignored. As I wrote in my column for Consumerist yesterday , if you let your debts go into default and do nothing, it could end up hurting.
Credit card companies in particular want you to [...]

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Student Loan Nightmare: Help Wanted

April 1, 2009

“[W]hy aren’t student loans receiving the same attention, same care and forgiveness as every other loan in America?” Student Loan Nightmare: Help Wanted | AC360

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Coping with garnishment

March 27, 2009

Undoubtedly, one of the most frustrating aspects of debt collection for consumers is having their bank accounts garnished (or levied) by creditors. It is a process that is often misunderstood and my goal is to provide general information that I hope is helpful.
A creditor is entitled to garnish a consumers bank account to recover an [...]

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How not to defend a debt collection lawsuit

March 26, 2009

When I worked as a collection attorney, I would see the same erroneous defenses over and over again. Here are some of the most common:
You don’t have a signed contract
Somewhat surprisingly, creditors are not required to produce a signed contract to prevail in court. There are others case theories, such as account stated, that may [...]

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90% of life (and defending debt buyer lawsuits) is just showing up

March 25, 2009

Although skeptics argue that Woody Allen’s famous observation over-simplifies the path to success, consumers sued by debt buyers will benefit from following Woody’s advice.
Of course, a debt buyer is a business that purchases debt from the original creditor and then sues consumers to collect the debts. Because the debt buyer did not originate the debt, [...]

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There are no secret programs to get out of debt

March 23, 2009

Consumer lawyers and collection lawyers agree about as often as Bill O’Reilly and Keith Olbermann. But one thing they do agree on is the dubious value of most for-profit companies that promise to get consumers out of debt.
They go by many different names: credit counseling agencies, debt settlement companies, debt negotiators, etc. They usually charge [...]

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Buying a car on credit (Auto Fraud Week)

February 11, 2009

For starters, if you are going to buy a car on credit, the best way to start is to go to a credit union and “pre-qualify” for a car loan. In other words, find out what you will be able to afford from someone who is not trying to sell you a car. When you [...]

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Debt collector in the news: two sides to every story

January 26, 2009

Last night I posted a link to a New York Times story written by debt collector Pat Marshall. Then, this morning, I stumbled across this twitter post from blogger Bill Bauer:

I admit, reading “I feel that I’m helping people see that there are options for getting out of their situations—maybe by taking out a second [...]

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Creditors willing to haggle with debtors in tough economic times

January 6, 2009

In anticipation of an increase in economic and credit turmoil, creditors and debt collectors are racing to collect as much as possible from their debtors and to minimize future losses. While many banks are cutting credit lines, raising fees, and reducing lending, creditors are also giving debt collectors more latitude to work with debtors in [...]

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Close the money hole? Consider this debate.

December 23, 2008

A good discussion on what to do with a real national treasure. Pardon the language.

In The Know: Should The Government Stop Dumping Money Into A Giant Hole?

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