… 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

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… 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

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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

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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

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According to an article in the Star-Telegram, American Corrective Counseling Services, a debt collection company has agreed to a $2.55 million judgment to settle a lawsuit brought by thousands of debtors who claimed they were wrongly led to believe they had to pay costly fees to avoid criminal charges for bouncing checks.

The article said:

“The company sent out letters as recently as last winter purporting to be from various Pennsylvania district attorneys’ offices to …

Category: Debt Collectors , Lawsuits

Tags: American Corrective Counseling Services Debt Collector Judgement

Permalink: /lawsuits/debt-collection-company-accepts-2-55-million-judgment/

… don’t plan on falling behind on their bills.  Then… to add insult to the financial injury, a debt collector with an attitude calls you.  Their job is plain and simple…to get you to pay.  Some collector’s though have the belief that their job is to get you to pay, regardless of what it takes.  You might owe the debt.  You probably feel guilty about what you haven’t been able to pay, because that’s how your parents raised you:  pay what you owe.  Even if you have guilty …

Category: Bankruptcy , Debt Collectors , Debt and Tax Relief

Tags: Consumer protection Debt Collectors Federal Trade Commission Know Your Rights

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… card companies are frantically taking drastic actions in their attempt to “work around” the new credit card legislation that will restrict their ability to randomly raise interest rates and hit credit card consumers with surprise fees.  Already credit card consumers are beginning to scream foul. An article in the NJ featured a distraught credit card consumer whose monthly minimum payment has literally doubled.

The article said:

“Like other credit card users, Avi Frisch got an …

Comment by Jacob Decker: … any credit card debt? Allmand & Lee can make that …

Tags: Credit card Debt Money Management Personal Finance

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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/

In the bankruptcy case of Mammola, Robert J.; In re , 20 the bankruptcy debtor failed to list a creditor who later filed a lawsuit against the debtor.  After attempting to reopen the bankruptcy case so that the omitted creditor could be included in the discharge, the bankruptcy court denied the debtor’s request.

The details of the bankruptcy case:

The debtor filed for Chapter 11 …

Category: After Bankruptcy , Bankruptcy , Chapter 7 Bankruptcy , Debt Collectors , bankruptcy law

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… His ex-wife accused him of hiding assets and Hulk Hogan claimed that he was drowning in medical debt. Here’s a snapshot of just what that battle looked like back in March:

Lawyers for Hulk Hogan filed documents requesting $300,000 of the his frozen assets. The hulkster had surgery on his back last month and said he is subsequently unable to work as a result. The documents claim Hogan’s bills eclipse $300,000 and he only has $411,000 in his bank account. Linda Bollea, his ex was …

Tags: Bankruptcy Divorce Hulk Hogan Linda Hogan Medica Debt

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Household debt accounts for the largest share of the United States’ debt load. From the period of 2000 to 2008, American household debt grew $6.8 trillion.  And many American debtors have found that a large amount of debt, coupled with job losses is a toxic combination.  Bankruptcy has become the remedy for many Americans who have accumulated so much debt that they can’t survive any longer now that …

Tags: Bankruptcy Debt Economy Mortgage Recession

Permalink: /bankruptcy/why-more-americans-are-cutting-debt-with-bankruptcy/

… and many experts expect that number to increase in 2010. Many Americans who are struggling with debt woes, foreclosure and other financial issues delay bankruptcy.  Too many of them turn to questionable debt settlement firms who charge the exorbitant fees while failing to deliver on their promises. The truth about debt settlement is…

Debt settlement firms claim to have the power to negotiate your debt balance; but the truth is that they have no legal authority to force …

Tags: Bankruptcy Debt settlement Financial services

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