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Your credit report says loads about you. Are you a dependable bill payer? Does the amount you have outstanding in bills mean you might not be a good credit risk? Have you been sued? Useful information for creditors seeking to potentially extend credit to you. So, don’t you want the information on your credit report to be accurate? It may not be accurate, according to a recent government study.
The Federal Trade Commission’s report found one in four consumers had errors on their credit reports that might affect their credit scores. These errors could either prevent them from getting credit or raise the rates the consumers paid for credit.
These are eye-opening numbers for American consumers,” said Howard Shelanski, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Economics. “The results of this first-of-its-kind study make it clear that consumers should check their credit reports regularly. If they don’t, they are potentially putting their pocketbooks at risk.
It is very important that you check your credit report at least once a year to identify and correct inaccuracies. The Federal Trade Commission gives consumers the ability to get a free credit report once a year from all three credit reporting agencies. Don’t be misled by those “free credit report” sites. The FTC is the only place to get a true free credit report. The web address is annualcreditreport.com. Once you get a copy of your credit report, then you can start correcting errors. According to the FTC report, the credit score for one in 20 consumers increased 25 points following disputing incorrect credit entries. This can be the difference it takes to qualify for a home or car loan.
In FTC Study, Five Percent of Consumers Had Errors on Their Credit Reports That Could Result in Less Favorable Terms for Loans.
A Creditor’s Right to Wage Garnishment in Florida Hinges on Whether the Debtor Supports a Family and How Much They Earn Yes, Florida law does allow creditors to garnish your wages. However, a creditors right to garnishment, and the amount they’re entitled to garnish, hinges on whether you qualify as a “head of family” under [...]The post Can Creditors Garnish My Wages in Florida? appeared first on National Bankruptcy Forum.
When you are struggling with your bills and in need of a bankruptcy attorney, where do you turn first? For most people, they will search the internet to gather information. There is a wealth of information available regarding the different Chapters under the bankruptcy code as well as a plethora of attorneys ready, willing and+ Read MoreThe post Choosing The Right Bankruptcy Attorney In Illinois appeared first on David M. Siegel.
Bank of America wouldn’t fix Ed and Ann’s credit reports after bankruptcy.
Our disputes were ignored, so we sued. The judgment was ignored, so we’re garnishing.
Here’s the whole story.
Two years ago, in February 2011, Ed and Ann checked their after-bankruptcy credit reports. They were surprised to see, at two of the three credit bureaus, their paid-in-full Bank of America accounts were showing “discharged in bankruptcy.”
That was making it harder for Ed and Ann to get back to good credit. Over the next year, in March, and April, and August, Ed and Ann wrote to the credit bureaus to get the Bank of America accounts fixed.
No luck.
In January 2012, we sued.
We sued the two credit bureaus, Trans Union and Experian, and also the bank. The credit bureaus then fixed the credit reports, but the bank just ignored us.
A Prince William sheriff will drop in on the local Bank of America to collect $5668, because the bank wouldn't fix Ed and Ann's credit report after bankruptcy.
Nobody was there for the bank on the May 2012 court date, so the judge gave both Ed and Ann $2000 for willful damages and $834 in legal fees. We mailed the judgment to the bank, we mailed a letter to the bank president, and we called the local bankruptcy lawyer who usually represents Bank of America around here.
None of that brought any response.
So, for 2013, we’re trying a garnishment.
There’s a Bank of America branch about six blocks from my office in Manassas. In the next couple weeks, a Prince William County sheriff will go there, and ask them for $5668, for Ed and Ann.
Will we get a certified check? A stack of hundred dollar bills? We’ve never done this before, so we’ll just have to see.
We tell all our clients to check their after-bankruptcy credit reports, and we work with them to do dispute letters, when the reports aren’t right. When letters don’t work, we sue.
We’ve sued hundred of times; this is the first time we’ve had to garnish a bank.
The Goal of Credit Card Lawsuits is to Strengthen the Lender’s Collection Position Credit card debt, unlike mortgage debt, is unsecured debt. This means your credit card company can’t come immediately take your stuff when you don’t pay. Having said that, if you fall behind on credit cards, your lender will quickly try to transition [...]The post Can My Credit Card Company Sue and Take My Stuff If I Don’t Pay? appeared first on National Bankruptcy Forum.
This is the case of Warren and Shirley Becker from Aurora, Illinois who are seeking advice concerning debt relief. The Beckers do own a single family home worth approximately $80,000. They have a first and a second mortgage on the property. The first mortgage with CitiMortgage is approximately $125,000 to pay it off and they [...]The post Aurora Bankruptcy Lawyer Advises Filing Chapter 7 For Warren And Shirley Becker Of Aurora, Illinois appeared first on National Bankruptcy Forum.
In Utah, the annual income tax refund is the most liquidated (taken) asset by bankruptcy trustees. Why? Because it is easy pickin's. Often, the only way to avoid losing the tax refund money to the bankruptcy trustee is to make sure you receive it and spend it (appropriately) prior to filing the bankruptcy. However, many I meet with are happy to be able to contribute something toward their debts, and/or don't want to delay their bankruptcy filing, so they choose to surrender either part or all of the refund money. But, losing the money isn't the only consequence of having the trustee go after the refund. Very often, a chapter 7 case will end up being a "no-asset" case if the trustee can't or won't go after the tax refund. This means the case normally closes at the time the discharge is granted, meaning the case is completed in about 3 months. However, if the trustee goes after the tax refund, the case becomes an "asset" case, and this means the trustee will spend months and months collecting the funds, distributing funds to creditors, and filing reports with the bankruptcy court. It is not uncommon for an asset case to last at least 1 year. Though the bankruptcy filer is not normally involved in any of the trustee's liquidation operation, the case does remain open which can cause problems in certain financial endeavors, like getting a loan. Be sure to consider all of these implications when discussing the timing of your bankruptcy filing with a qualified attorney.Adam Brown is a bankruptcy attorney for Dexter & Dexter, a debt relief agency helping people file for bankruptcy.
It is certainly possible, and sometimes advisable, to file bankruptcy without one's spouse. Many couples in this scenario want to know how the non-filing spouse will be affected by the bankruptcy, particularly as it pertains to the tax refund, which in Utah ends up being the most commonly liquidated asset in a chapter 7 bankruptcy. Normally, the bankruptcy trustee will consider the tax refund to be a joint asset, being owned equally by each spouse. Sometimes a trustee will prorate the refund based on W2 forms, meaning the higher earning spouse may have a larger ownership share of the tax refund. So in most cases, if you file bankruptcy without your spouse, your spouse will be able to preserve a portion (usually half) of the tax refund.Adam Brown is a bankruptcy attorney for Dexter & Dexter, a debt relief agency helping people file for bankruptcy.
It is not uncommon for someone to ask me if they can file a chapter 7 bankruptcy despite having filed a chapter 13 previously. There are a few scenarios where this is applicable:
- Chapter 13 was Dismissed. A lot of chapter 13 cases get dismissed--the most common reason being the inability to make the monthly payment. If a chapter 13 case gets dismissed before completing the 3-5 years of monthly payments, then no discharge is granted and the debts remain. Some choose to begin the chapter 13 process again, but most choose to file a new chapter 7 case. The fact that you recently filed a chapter 13 case has absolutely no bearing on your ability to file a new chapter 7 case. The rules governing when and how often you file bankruptcy are centered around the discharge. If you never received a discharge, then most likely you can file as soon as possible after the dismissal of the previous case.
- Chapter 13 was Completed. If you completed a chapter 13 case, which means you made monthly payments for 3 to 5 years or until 100% of the debts were paid off, then you can file a new chapter 7, but only after a certain amount of time has elapsed since the filing of the previous case. Again, the time is measured from the "filing" date, not the "discharge" date. If the plan paid off less than 70% of the unsecured debt, then you'll need to wait 6 years to file a new chapter 7 case. If you wanted to file a new chapter 13 case, the wait would only be 4 years. If you paid off more than 70% of the unsecured debt, then you won't have to wait the 6 years to file a new chapter 7 case.
Put simply, you can likely file a chapter 7 bankruptcy immediately if your chapter 13 was dismissed, and you'll likely need to wait 6 years if you received a chapter 13 discharge. Adam Brown is a bankruptcy attorney for Dexter & Dexter, a debt relief agency helping people file for bankruptcy.
This is the case of Daniel Davis who hails from Chicago, Illinois who is interested in Chapter 7 fresh start. Mr. Davis does not own any real estate. He is currently renting from someone in Chicago and he is on a month to month lease. He owns outright a 1994 Toyota Corolla which is worth […]The post Recommending Chapter 7 Bankruptcy For Daniel Davis Of Chicago, Illinois appeared first on National Bankruptcy Forum.
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