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Posted on Wednesday, 30th June 2010 by Lucy Hales

Q: I had credit scores around 740, that before I was 30 days late twice in 4 months on three credit cards with different issuers. I am currently settling credit card debt with Bank of America. I had to take a much lower paying position, hence must settle. The deal is quite good, settling $12,000 in credit card debt for $3,800. Wells Fargo and Capital One will be next. My main concern is my credit score, after missing payments and now settling. Where would they be and how long it would take for them to recover?

A: The two 30 day late payments has already shaved close to 130 points, I am pretty sure, so let us suppose you are at 610 to 620 credit score range. Settling the remaining credit card debt with Bank of America will probably knock it down another 25 points or so. Obviously, settling a credit card debt means that the lender agrees to accept less than the amount owed on the account, thus indicating a higher level of risk. Since your credit score lost quite a few points, the debt settlement impact is less severe, since the higher the scores, the lower they fall.

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Tags: America, Card Debt, Credit Card, Credit Card Debt
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Posted on Tuesday, 29th June 2010 by Toby Duncan

I went to a trustee meeting last week with a single debtor who owned a car free and clear. The car blue book value was $10,000. The debtor said the car “needed work” and that she had a repair estimate of $3,000. I looked at the estimate and most of the items were normal maintenance- new plugs, new belts, brake job etc. There was a single scratch on the exterior. In the debtor’s best case, this car had approximately $6,000 non-exempt equity which amount the bankruptcy trustee could demand from the debtor. 

Before the meeting, my client was very upset about her car. She was unemployed. She lived with a family member who also was unemployed. She had no money and no prospect of future employment to buy back the non-exempt car equity from the trustee. Without a car, she said she had no way to look for a job or to go to a job if she found one. Things looked bleak- I explained that the trustee is not a bad person who is only doing his job by going after the $6,000 car equity.

 So, the debtor tells the trustee about why she filed bankruptcy. She Read more…

Tags: Car
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Posted on Monday, 28th June 2010 by Eden Fryett

You get a call at 9AM, then 11AM, and it just seems as if the calls keep rolling on in.  Sure, it gets awfully annoying and you would think that the debt collection companies are going to get the clue.  Do you really think you’re going to pay after talking with them 3 hours ago?

Well, even if you intend on paying and you’re just down on hard times, you’re going to learn that these companies are going to do everything in their own power to harass you.

First off, you’re going to need to know the rules according to the FDCPA which stands for the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  There are many rules in there such as the following…

• They can only call from 9am to 9pm.
• They can’t call you at work.
• They can’ t harass you.
• They can’t lie to you.
• To get more of the rules, you can get them all here.

What happens if they break these rules?

You can either take them to court, void out your debt, or get them fined by the FTC.  If any of this happens, it’s important that you know that you document what has happened.   You will want to make sure that you write down the date, time, the company name, who you were talking with, and explain the situation.

Is there a way that I can stop collection calls?

To stop collection calls either at home or at work, you can simply send them a cease and desist letter.  You’re going to want to make sure that this letter is certified, so that you know that they have received it.  They can lie to you and say that they never received it, even when they did.

When you certify it, they are going to sign stating that they have received it.  This is now your evidence to show that they have the letter in their possession.

How can I write this letter?

It doesn’t have to be long, but rather just get to the point.  Make sure that you state your name, address, as well as your contact information and account number.  If you want, you can also attach a copy of your bill as well.  The more information that they have, the better it’s going to be.

Here is an example that I would use…

Company XYZ
Address
City, State ZIP

RE:  Account number 1234ABC

To whom it may concern:

I am requesting that you cease and desist any further communication with me.  According to the federal debt collection laws, I’m asking that you solely communicate with me via the mail and nothing else.  You also can’t contact any of my co-workers, family, or friends.

If you fail to comply with this request, I will file a complain with the FTC, as well as the State’s Attorney General’s office.

Sincerely,

Name

Again, make sure that you give them a lot of information.  Account numbers, names, and other things will help.  Also make sure that it’s certified, I can’t stress this enough!  You will need proof that they have received it.

Tags: Calls
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Posted on Friday, 19th February 2010 by admin

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act or most commonly called as the ECOA was formulated to give account holders a leveled field in getting high credit worthiness ratings. This law was passed as a counter measure to the possible biases and inclinations that lenders may have to certain group of people. This law is responsible for the incentive points in the credit scores of individuals at certain age brackets. This law attempts to make every part of the credit worthiness evaluation system more fair and leveled to those who wish to participate.

In line with the aims of this law, ECOA started the segregation of accounts based on the statuses of account holders. This move of the law enables the different demographic groups of account holders more recognized as compared to others, based on their efforts in keeping themselves credit worthy. Some of these groupings are individual, joint, co-signer that is secondary liable, co- signer that is primary liable, authorized user and undesignated. These groupings are generally called as ECOA codes.

Individual ECOA code refers that an individual is solely liable for his or her credit worthiness ratings.

Read more…

Tags: Ecoa, Implications Ecoa
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Posted on Wednesday, 17th February 2010 by admin

I was watching the Winter Olympics this evening when a Visa commercial popped up, claiming it was the only payment card accepted at the Vancouver games.

This seemed a bit strange, as it would make life difficult for those holding MasterCard and American Express credit cards, not to mention out-of-towners and their random assortment of credit and debit cards.

But low and behold, it really is true, not just a marketing gimmick.

Visa has an exclusivity agreement with the Olympic Games to be the sole payment card provider accepted.

That means only Visa credit, debit, and prepaid cards or cash can be used to purchase Olympic tickets, official merchandise, and/or food and beverages in the Olympic venues.

The same goes for the official Vancouver Olympics store, which states, “In recognition of Visa’s long-standing support of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, we proudly accept only Visa cards on vancouver2010.com.”

Visa also created and manages the entire payment system infrastructure and network throughout the Olympic venues, so looks like they’re the boss.

It’s a bit surprising for Visa to shut out the other card issuers like this, but that’s competition for you.

Just unfortunate for the many visitors that will need to travel around with wads of cash, which could prove to be a boon for area pickpockets.

Oh, and the merchants that will lose out on all those would-be sales…

Tags: Card Accepted, Olympics, Payment Card, Payment Card Accepted
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