Posts tagged as:

debt

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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Credit card eliminations spike

June 8, 2009

The credit card industry is purging accounts, shutting down just over 19% of their accounts in the past year. As you can see, that is a huge increase over past rates. And this is on top of all the credit limit reductions (not to mention lines of credit). Since the industry is threatening further account [...]

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Congress calls out FreeCreditReport.com

May 27, 2009

FreeCreditReport.com is sort of an “honest” scam. “Hey, we’re FreeCreditReport.com! Nah, you have to pay for your free credit report. Yeah, but the name is FREECreditReport.com!!! But you totally have to pay. For your FREE FREE FREE credit report.”
Under the new credit card reform legislation, outfits like FreeCreditReport.com that offer free* services will have to [...]

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Deal with your debt: file bankruptcy

May 11, 2009

Bankruptcy is sometimes called a “financial weapon of mass destruction.” I think of bankruptcy more as a financial Project Genesis, because after the bomb goes off, you get a fresh start.
Whether to file bankruptcy is a business decision, not a moral one. If a business has more debt than money, it declares bankruptcy or goes out [...]

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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: negotiate a settlement

May 7, 2009

Once a debt is in default—meaning you stopped paying it—one option is to attempt to negotiate a settlement with the creditor. (You can try this before you go into default, but creditors are rarely willing to play ball until you prove your poverty—and before they rack up some more fees.)
You could just pay the full [...]

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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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Mann Bracken under fire in Atlanta

April 30, 2009

Mann Bracken has been sued over 100 times in the last five years, giving the lie to partner William Bracken III’s claims that they do not tolerate harassing conduct.
Click the picture above for Atlanta news station WSBTV’s investigative report into Mann Bracken’s collection practices.
Consumers Accuse Law Firm Of Harassment, Abuse | WSBTV (via Five Million [...]

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Bankruptcy: knowing when to walk away

April 26, 2009

When faced with large amounts of debt, many consumers first think about filing bankruptcy. But while bankruptcy may be the best option for some, it is not the only option.
Consumers with only one or two accounts in default should consider dealing with those accounts, especially if they have been sold. It may be possible to [...]

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Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights Passes Out of Full Committee

April 22, 2009

From NACA: “Here is a very quick update on credit card legislation. Just now the House Financial Services Committee passed the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights by a 48 to 19 vote. According to Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA), the bill is expected to go to a full House vote next week! . . . [...]

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Folks losing homes dial 1-800; no one answers

April 16, 2009

Too many consumers in trouble, too few resources to help them? Folks losing homes dial 1-800; no one answers | CNN

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Debtors’ prison returns to Florida

April 16, 2009

I understand the need for courts to enforce their orders, but when hard times mean that a state like Florida is throwing thousands of people into jail just for failing to pay fines of a couple hundred dollars, something ain’t right.
The problem, of course, is that state courts are strapped for cash along with everyone [...]

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Are we a nation of deadbeats?

April 1, 2009

Yesterday evening, on MPR’s Marketplace, John Dimsdale reported on private equity firms that may buy up bad debts under the government’s economic recovery plan. In the report, he referred to the business of servicing bad credit card debts as “collecting payments from deadbeat borrowers.” Here is the segment:

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With unemployment at its highest in decades, many [...]

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Dateline takes on the debt collection industry

March 27, 2009

Tonight, Dateline took a good, hard look at the debt collection industry. Dateline went the extra mile to show that, for many collection agencies, abusive tactics are the rule, not the exception.
Dateline even tracked down a debt collector who lied about being a Maryland sheriff, lied about being a lawyer, and scared the living hell [...]

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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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Do’s and don’ts of dealing with debt collectors

March 24, 2009

There are too many to list, but here are a couple of the most important ones:
Don’t tell a debt collector where you bank or where you work
Debt collectors are always in hot pursuit of bank and employer information because bank and wage garnishments are easy and inexpensive ways to collect a debt. A favorite trick [...]

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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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Another five mistakes homeowners make when facing foreclosure (Foreclosure Week)

March 20, 2009

Another five common mistakes for homeowners in foreclosure.

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