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Last Entry: July 07, 2009 at 02:23:33

Banks Cutting Back Credit To Business

Posted on July 07, 2009
Banks have been cutting credit card limits for consumers for several months now. But consumers shouldn’t feel picked on. It turns out the banks are cutting credit for businesses in a big way, too. Large businesses do not finance their operations on a credit card...

How Do I Find a Good Deal on a Secured Credit Card?

Posted on July 01, 2009
Not surprisingly, bankruptcy lawyers like me often get questions about life post-discharge. Are there any “best practices” for rebuilding your credit after your bankruptcy (or period of bad credit) is over? Thoughts about how to re-establish credit after bankruptcy have been written about on this blog...

What is a Credit Default Swap? And Why Should You Care?

Posted on June 30, 2009
A credit default swap is a kind of insurance. It’s also like a ticket for a bet on a horse race — a bet on which horse will lose. A CDS is a simple idea. In its most basic, safe form, it’s a way to hedge the risk of a loan failing...

Credit-Related Scams

Posted on June 30, 2009
Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett’s office released information regarding credit-related scams. “Consumers searching for an easy way out of their credit problems are susceptible to a wide range of credit-related scams in addition to credit repair fraud,” the PA Attorney General’s office states...

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Credit Card Lenders Still Hoping Consumers Will Get In Too Deep?

Posted on June 30, 2009
Credit card banks have been scrambling to raise capital and cut credit lines for consumers across the country lately. So imagine my surprise to discover at least one bank still wants me to carry balances? Here’s the deal that came in the mail last week: My bank is offering a promotional 4...

Will Health Care Reform Stop Fraudulent Medical Billing Practices?

Posted on June 30, 2009
Congress is considering proposals that would reform the health care system. Some, like Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont are citing massive fraud by the health care industry and calling on “real health care reform to prevent major insurance companies, drug companies and hospital chains from perpetrating fraud and abuse on government health care programs and individuals...

Protect Your Identity & Credit by Protecting Your Personal Information

Posted on June 29, 2009
Remembering and following these important tips, provided by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office (relevant nationwide), will go a long way in protecting your credit by protecting your personal information: Don’t give personal informationon the phone, through the mail, or over the Internet, unless you’ve initiated the contact or know with whom you’re dealing...

Bill Collectors - What Are They Good For?

Posted on June 25, 2009
You might think that bill collectors are good for nothing. After all, they drive many of us crazy with their harassing phone calls and letters. But bill collectors are not all bad all of the time. At least not yesterday, when a bill collector saved a Victorville, California woman who was being held hostage in her home by an [...

Credit Cardholders? Bill of Rights Act of 2009 Signed into Law

Posted on June 24, 2009
On May 22, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Credit Cardholder’s Bill of Rights Act of 2009. The provisions of this new law go into effect in February, 2010. A detailed explanation of the provisions of this new law may be found at Adam Levitin’s informative article on the CreditSlips...

Debt Settlement: An Idea Whose Time has NOT Come?

Posted on June 21, 2009
In the course of corresponding with folks contemplating bankruptcy, I frequently get emails and calls asking about debt settlement. A recent letter got me thinking about debt settlement and I was inspired to create a post on my Atlanta Bankruptcy blog entitled “Debt Settlement vs...

Sumerians Were The First Culture To Use Interest.

Posted on June 17, 2009
The concept of interest on a loan pre dates the Birth of Christ to the time period of the Sumerians. The Sumerians expected loans to give birth to a higher return. Sumerians often lent cattle instead of money. This is where the concept of “giving birth” came from...

How Does My Credit Card Company Find Out So Much About Me?

Posted on June 14, 2009
Privacy about our personal lives declines further as credit card companies get more information about us. Now, in order to increase credit card collections, they are training employees to bond with people, and connect emotionally, to get us to pay them...

High Rate Loans Might Be Limited By A New Senate Bill

Posted on June 14, 2009
High rate loans continue to plague consumers. But, new legislation, introduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse from Rhode Island, will limit creditors from collecting on high-interest loans in bankruptcy court. The bill has gone to the Senate Judiciary Committee for review, according to an article from Bloomberg...

Owning Two Houses Isn?t Always Fun

Posted on June 02, 2009
Many people facing bankruptcy today because they bought a new house before they sold their old house, only to find that they can’t sell the first home. Real estate has always been thought of as a safe investment, and one you could sell if you needed to get away from it...

New York Attorney General Cuomo Goes After Debt Collectors

Posted on May 30, 2009
Unfair and deceptive collection practices has become a concern of NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo has said he wants to halt harassing phone calls, frivolous lawsuit threats from collectors, and other practices which violate the law. His office has shut down one debt collection firm and has expanded a probe into twenty others...

Experian Beats Lifelock In First Courtroom Battle

Posted on May 30, 2009
Over a year ago, I blogged on the lawsuit between Lifelock and Experian. Well, Lifelock is still in business and so is Experian. Both companies are making money, and both companies are still fighting in Court. Why? The bottom line is millions of dollars in profits...

Credit card changes come too late

Posted on May 27, 2009
I was managing to pay on my credit cards til they jacked the rates to 28%, reports client after client in my bankruptcy law office. Often, the call to the card issuer for a payment arrangement itself results in an increase in the interest rate. You have to ask yourself what is the thought process of [...

Get a Copy of Your Chex Systems Report

Posted on May 26, 2009
Everyone has seen that TV commercial for FreeCreditReport.com and its catchy jingle. We all know that we can get a free credit report pursuant to Federal Law by going to www.annualcreditreport.com. And some of us have heard about Chex Systems,a company that keeps track of how well or poorly you manage your checking account...

Credit Card Reform Did Not Fix Everything

Posted on May 25, 2009
As Doug Jacobs notes, Congress has passed significant Credit Card Reform legislation. The Federal Reserve Board had previously required some reforms, not effective until the summer of 2010. The Fed rejected requests from Congresspeople to move up that date, so they can still impose retroactive interest rate increases, among other things...

Credit Scores Should Not Be Your Main Concern

Posted on May 25, 2009
Much has been written about maintaining your credit report and your credit score. Credit reports are free (once per year) by Federal law and it is easy to set up a system of monitoring them. However, you still have to pay to obtain the point score. But another point of view is that your credit score [...

The Credit Cardholder?s Bill of Rights Passes

Posted on May 23, 2009
The Senate passed the Credit Cardholder?s Bill of Rights on May 20, 2009. The bill already passed the House of Representatives and will now go to President Obama for his signature. This piece of legislation actually limits some of the credit card company?s methods of doing business...

We Need A Credit Card Bill Of Rights.

Posted on May 17, 2009
The Credit Cardholder?s Bill of Rights has passed the House of Representatives and is on its way to the Senate. This bill will limit the amount of interest credit card companies can charge; force the credit card industry to disclose how much they do charge; and provide consumers with appropriate information as to the way [...

Should You Guarantee A Student Loan?

Posted on May 11, 2009
Promising to repay a student loan can be an expensive proposition. First of all, there doesn?t seem to be any determination as to how much you can afford to repay. The lending companies will simply write the checks so that the student can finish her education...

Debt Cures: Does Kevin Trudeau Make Money or Sense? Part 16: Rebuilding Credit

Posted on May 01, 2009
Part 16 of my review of Kevin Trudeau?s book, ?Debt Cures ?They? Don?t Want You to Know? examines Chapter 22: Rebuilding Credit. The purpose of the review is to examine whether Trudeau, who has had extensive involvement with credit card fraud and the Federal Trade Commission for some of his previous books, makes any sense in this [...

Credit Card Industry Tactics?Suddenly, Bankruptcy Becomes Less Painful Than Default On A Credit Card

Posted on April 30, 2009
For the last several weeks, I have been posting reviews of chapters of Kevin Trudeau’s book, Debt Cures “They” Don’t Want You To Know. The reviews have been posted on the Bankruptcy Law Network, Credit Law Network, Debt Law Network and Mortgage Law Network...

Debt Cures: Does Kevin Trudeau Make Money or Sense? Part 13: Three Ring Circus (credit card/financial industry)

Posted on April 29, 2009
Part 13 of my review of Kevin Trudeau?s book, ?Debt Cures ?They? Don?t Want You to Know? examines Chapter 18: Three Ring Circus. The purpose of the review is to examine whether Trudeau, who has had extensive involvement with credit card fraud and the Federal Trade Commission for some of his previous books, makes any sense in [...