Are debt collectors calling and calling and sending you letter after letter? Well guess what, you don’t have to take it anymore.
Mortgage Originator Dean Wegner says, “if they continue to harass you, you can actually take them to small claims court and win for harassment.”
Harassment seems like a strong word, especially since they’re simply trying to collect a debt that you owe. But Wegner says it’s stress that you don’t need.
Debt collectors can no longer claim ignorance of the law as an excuse for violating the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) while attempting to collect a debt.
On Wednesday, the United States Supreme Court handed down a ruling that severely restricts the “bona fide error” defense under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for debt collectors that send erroneous collection notices.
In a 7-2 ruling, the high court ruled that collection law firms could not use misinterpretations of the law in a “bona fide error” defense under the FDCPA.
Consumers have recently reported a rash of phone calls from a man claiming to be collecting on a debt to a payday lender and threatening criminal charges if they don’t pay up.
Since most of the consumers say they have never had a payday loan, they would normally brush it off as an obvious scam attempt, except for one thing. This man, consistently described as rude and having a foreign accent, has their Social Security number, email address and the name of their employer.
APRIL 14, 2010 – Treasury Department announced a series of new laws that would prohibit debt collectors from freezing bank and garnishing bank accounts belonging to recipients of Social Security and disability for the purpose of satisfying a debt. The proposed laws were published in the Federal Register and citizens will be given sixty days in which to voice their support or opposition to the new legislation.
According to radaronline.com, Lindsay Lohan has more than $600,000 in credit card debt at age 23. Let’s see, that’s more than $26,000 a year in debt for each year of her life.
I think we need to help Lindsay. First, she needs to check her credit report to be sure there are no errors. Maybe someone else is charging thousands on her credit cards?
Next, she needs some advice on how to get out of credit card debt. She can start with Bankrate’s calculator that shows how long it will take to pay off the cards if she only pays the minimum. Unfortunately, the calculator won’t calculate a debt of more than $100,000. But paying only the minimum — which on $100K equals $2,000 a month — it will take her 89 years to pay it down to zero.
She could talk to her credit card issuers about working out a payment plan, but these days card issuers are concerned about their risk — and she’s probably not a good credit risk.
Unlike the rest of us, a celebrity like Lohan might make a hit movie or have a hit record and earn enough money to wipe out her debt. You and I have to pay our debts every month … keeping our debt-to-income ratio in mind.
Have you gotten out of credit card debt? Want to share your secrets with Lindsay?
And even though parts of the economy are starting to look stronger, the unemployment rate remains at 9.7%, many families are absorbing weeks of unpaid furloughs and others are simply trying to rebuild what they have lost.
Don’t compound your problems by making these eight major money missteps:
Click Here To Learn The 7 Steps
A state regulator, consumer credit giant Capital One and consumers are going after a Chicago lawyer and his company, alleging deceptive debt settlement practices.
The West Virginia attorney general seeks to bar Robert Lock and CCDN LLC, also known as Credit Collections Defense Network, from doing business in that state. The April 1 complaint also names as a defendant Lock’s business partner, Philip Manger, a New York lawyer who lives in Connecticut.
West Virginia officials said CCDN is the center of a web of companies that lured clients with assurances that they could settle credit card debt for less than what was owed. The suit said the company promised that if consumers followed its program, their credit scores would improve. CCDN collected more than $20,000 from about 20 West Virginia consumers who did not have any of their debts resolved, said Douglas Davis, assistant attorney general.
In 2005, Illinois passed the Payday Loan Reform Act because lawmakers and consumer advocates believed some payday lending practices were landing borrowers in heavy debt.
Now lawmakers and consumer advocates are taking aim at another consumer finance industry, this one promising to get people out of debt.
The for-profit debt settlement industry, they say, entices consumers saddled with heavy credit card debt by offering to settle with creditors for amounts far less than those owed. What consumers often get, however, are heavy up-front fees, greater damage to their credit rating and, ultimately, even more debt.
I recently did an interview with Marvin King Host of King Politics concerning the foreclosure and debt crisis in the African American Community. He has a weekly podcast that talks about issue’s concerning the African American Community such as health, debt, foreclosure, re-gentrification, politics and more.
I highly recommend my subscriber’s or anyone reading this post to visit his website and listen to what he has to offer.
My Interview on April 12, 2010 King Politics Podcast
King Politics Website Click Here
Thanks again for subscribing to my list I really appreciate the opportunity to communicate valuable information about getting out of debt!
There are rarely times that an individual can truly say “I saw it coming” and really mean it…
But I’m about to put my reputation on the line and make a very bold prediction!!!
By June, 2010 the housing market will crash again. Single family housing!
But there will be a little twist…Not the purchasing market – the crash will consist of families that can’t afford to live in their homes anymore.
These will not be sub-prime homeowners like the last time. This will be good credit / good job holding American’s.
So why will this happen? DEBT!!! These families have good jobs but they have too much debt. They are about to start experiencing what I call a “Pyramid Effect”
If you were to draw a pyramid on a piece of paper and at the top of the pyramid you start with the number 1 and under that 2 and keep going down until you get to the number 10.
As you go down you’ll obviously see the pyramid getting wider and wider. Now draw a line down the middle of the pyramid. The line represents Income – the number on the side represent accumulated debt!
I used this example because its a great way to demonstrate how your income would need to widen to keep up with your spending.
Unfortunately there is a point of ‘No Return’ a lot of these families will have to move and cut their lifestyle because they owe too much.
If you need help contact me or visit my website before it’s too late!
http://www.therealdebtsolution.com
Steven Williams
The Real Debt Solution, Inc,.
262-745-6879