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Don?t be an April Fool

By Ted Michalos, CA, Trustee

So, you go to your barber and start talking to him about your debts ? you’ve got lines of credit, credit cards, income taxes ? you name it, you owe it. You talk some more and your barber says, you should file a consumer proposal. Go and see this guy. Great, your problem is solved. Then the barber says, ?that will be $15 for the haircut and $750 for the financial advice??

 

Would anyone out there pay him?

Of course not, but those same people will answer an ad for a ?debt consultant?, meet with them a couple of times and then hand over hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars to be told the same thing ? you need to file a consumer proposal. Go and see this guy??

?This guy? is a licensed trustee in bankruptcy. Here?s the foolish part ? you can easily find a trustee on the internet or even in the phone book, you don?t need to speak to a debt consultant first, you certainly don’t need to pay a debt consultant a ridiculous fee. In fact, we have a list of all of our licensed Ontario bankruptcy trustees right here on our web site.

If you want proof ? go and speak to the debt consultant, but before you pay them any fees or sign any agreements, call a trustee yourself. I’m willing to bet donuts to dollars that the trustee will give you similar, if not the same advice, and they won?t charge you a fee to speak to them.

If that sounds like too much work then simply ask the debt consultant if the procedure they are recommending for you is called a consumer proposal. If it is, ask them if they are a licensed trustee and can therefore provide this service. When they tell you that they are not, ask them what their fee is for?

It?s your choice and it’s your money, but it seems to me rather foolish to pay your barber hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars to be told to go and see someone else?

Don’t be an April Fool. If you have debts, call us, or e-mail us, or complete our free on-line bankruptcy and consumer proposal evaluation, or use our free on-line debt options calculator to review your options. Either way I guarantee that my firm will never charge you an up front fee, so with us, you will never be the fool.

Full post as published by Hoyes Michalos and Associates Ontario Personal Bankruptcy Blog on April 01, 2011 (boomark / email).