… an article in the Star-Telegram, the Better Business Bureau is warning consumers away from using debt settlement companies, which often worsen their financial condition and fail to deliver on their promises.

The article said:

“The Better Business Bureau at Fort Worth has just completed a report on debt settlement businesses and warns consumers that seeking their help is rarely a good idea. Debt settlement usually adds to the consumer’s debt load and rarely leads to a significant …

Category: Bankruptcy , Debt Consolidation , Economy

Tags: Bankruptcy Better Business Bureau Debt settlement Financial services

Permalink: /debt_consolidation/better-business-bureau-gives-debt-settlement-companies-an-f/

According to an article in the Star-Telegram, debt settlement can often leave debtor’s worse off than they were before they attempted to settle the debt.

The article said:

Anybody buried in bills has seen the ads or received letters or calls from companies promising to settle credit card debt for 50 cents on the dollar. The pitch is that debt settlement is a better way out than credit counseling, debt consolidation or bankruptcy. But …

Category: Debt Consolidation

Permalink: /debt_consolidation/beware-of-debt-settlement-pitfalls/

… is to obtain a discharge of debts, which means the debtor is no longer personally liable for that debt.

Q:  What does a “discharge of debt” mean, exactly?

A:  The goal of bankruptcy proceedings is to obtain a discharge of debts, which means the debtor is no longer personally liable for that debt.

Q:  So what does “personal liability” mean, then?

A:  Having personal liability for a debt means that creditors who obtain a judgment against you can use legal means, …

Category: Bankruptcy Q&A , Debt and Tax Relief

Tags: Bankruptcy Questions Discharge of Debt

Permalink: /debt-and-tax-relief/bankruptcy-qa-discharge-of-debt/

… of a qualified bankruptcy attorney, yes it can! You may be able to get a discharge of your tax debt under certain circumstances. With a skilled bankruptcy lawyer by your side, it is certainly possible if the debt meets certain criteria. The tax year in question must have been filed in a timely manner, and without the intent of fraud. The tax liability also must be more than three years old in order to qualify for discharge. In addition, the IRS must not have assessed your liability for the …

Category: Debt Consolidation , Debt and Tax Relief , Tax - Debt Garnishments

Permalink: /debt_consolidation/under-certain-circumstances-it-is-possible-to-discharge-tax-debt/

… proceedings. It’s not impossible to accomplish if you can show that paying the student loan debt “will impose an undue hardship on you and your dependents”. Bankruptcy judges use various tests to determine whether a borrower has proven undue hardship.

One common test is the Brunner test. This evaluation requires proving that 1) the debtor cannot maintain, based on current income and expenses, a “minimal” standard of living for the debtor and the debtor’s dependents if …

Comment by Linnie Buckley: … told me I signed a consolidation. I have read some on …

Category: Bankruptcy , Debt Consolidation , Student Loans

With many Americans struggling to repay debt, advertisements for debt settlement companies are on the rise.  Many debt settlement companies claim that they can help debtors pay only a fraction of their debt and walk away debt-free.  “Pay only pennies on the dollar!,” they say.  Many debtors are under the false impression that debt settlement is like bankruptcy.  The truth is that debt settlement and bankruptcy are completely …

Category: Debt Consolidation

Permalink: /debt_consolidation/how-is-debt-settlement-different-from-filing-bankruptcy/

According to an article in the Gazette, the amount of medical debt afflicting Americans is on the rise as the number of job losses mount and the recession worsens. That’s why many Americans facing mounting medical debt are filing bankruptcy for relief.

The article said:

“A new national study showed that more than 60 percent of all personal bankruptcies in the country were related to medical problems and most of the people were middle-class and …

Comment by Marlene: … how much medical debt there is in the U.S. The amount at …

Category: Breaking News , Debt Consolidation , Medical Bills

Permalink: /medical_bills/medical-debt-goes-up-as-recession-worsens/

… do everything they can to avoid filing Bankruptcy, an effort that often sends them through debt consolidation before they end up in bankruptcy court. As we have warned before, be very wary of debt consolidation or debt settlement companies who are not legitimate and/or make claims that they can make debt “disappear.” This is simply untrue. Debt consolidation simply puts all of your debts together so that you make one payment as opposed to several payments. Unfortunately, many …

Permalink: /breaking-news/be-wary-of-debt-consolidation-scams/

Many debtors are intimidated by debt collectors who often cast themselves as these all powerful entities who can wreck havoc on a debtor’s life.  But the truth of the matter is that debt collectors aren’t as powerful as they seem, it’s just that many debtors’ lack of knowledge about their rights and the limitations of debt collectors make them vulnerable to debt collector tall tales.  Here are a couple myths and …

Category: Debt Collectors , Economy , Managing Your Finances

Tags: Debt Collectors facts Myths threatening

Permalink: /economy/myths-and-facts-about-debt-collection/

The first step to conquering debt that has gotten out of control is to get honest with yourself.  Take the time to find out how much you owe, how much you earn and what the real gap is in between.  One of the biggest shockers debtors experience when they file bankruptcy is just how indebted they really are compared to what they had imagined.  Don’t engage in self-deception, get to the root of the truth now.

 Create A …

Category: Bankruptcy , Bankruptcy Q&A , Debt and Tax Relief , Economy , Filing Bankruptcy

Tags: Bankruptcy Attorney budget Debt

Permalink: /filing_bankruptcy/five-steps-to-conquering-monstrous-debt/

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) successfully sued three debt collection companies who scammed consumers into paying money they did not really owe.   A total of $1.6 million was recovered from the debt collection scammers and will be distributed to 24,916 consumers.

In 2003, the FTC sued three companies, operating under the name National Check Control, charging them with harassing and abusing consumers, falsely threaten­ing criminal prosecution, …

Category: Breaking News , Debt Collectors , Economy

Tags: consumers debt collection

Permalink: /breaking-news/federal-trade-commission-to-reimburse-consumers-scammed-by-debt-collectors/

There are several requirements that a debt must meet before it becomes governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:

The debt must be a consumer debt that was incurred for personal, household or family reasons. For example: Medical debt incurred because of a spouse’s illness would meet this criterion; however, medical debt incurred because of an employee’s accident would not meet this criteria. …

Category: Debt Collectors

Tags: Debt Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Know Your Rights Threatening Collector

Permalink: /debt-collectors/which-debts-are-covered-by-the-fair-debt-collection-practices-act/