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Harassment From Creditors: Many
debtors would vouch for this fact: not all creditors restrict
themselves to phone calls! There’s a very thin line between reminder,
and harassment. It’s up to you to decide whether the creditor is maybe
crossing the line in his attempt to collect a debt. Persistent calls at
home, abusive and disrespectful behavior are not rarities. Bankruptcy is
the legal way of tackling such things which are not just unethical but
can also lead to unlawful situations. Once you’ve filed for bankruptcy
and you’ve informed your creditors of the same, and once a repayment
plan has been put in place with the proper approvals from the Court
these ‘reminders’ become illegal. Bankruptcy will force your
creditors to abide by federal law and wait in line with other unsecured
creditors. Once you’ve filed for bankruptcy you are no longer
vulnerable, and are on the right side of the law.
Repossession of Property:
Not just phone calls and unfriendly visits, filing for bankruptcy will
help you get back any property (including cars) that the creditor may
have repossessed. (Provided the property has not been sold!) Any past
payments you may have missed would be consolidated into your Chapter
13 plan. As per the Chapter 13 rule you will of course be making
payments henceforth to a trustee not to the finance company. The law is
clear on this issue, if you file for bankruptcy in time, which includes
preempting that your car maybe repossessed because you are several
months behind in your payment, bankruptcy will stop of the repossession.
As we said earlier, these are the
major advantages of filing for bankruptcy.
Your attorney will be the best person to convince you of its benefits.
Our attorneys have experience with all kinds of cases of bankruptcy, and
their knowledge extends beyond knowing the laws and the clauses. Filling
out our free bankruptcy evaluation will be
best way for you to see if you are suited for bankruptcy filing
Resources
The Fair
Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a
federal law that helps ensures the collection, dissemination and use of
the data contained in a credit report is accurate and confidential.
It details how long negative information stays on a credit report and
that any information reported must be complete and accurate. It states
disputed information falls on the responsibility of the furnisher
(creditor). Creditors must also inform the consumer’s about the
negative information about to be placed on their credit report within 30
days. If a consumer makes a claim, creditors have 30 days to
respond. For full text of the act, click
here.
Fair and Accurate Credit
Transactions Act (FACTA)
Ammended in 2004 to provide
additional protection against identity theft, The Fair and Accurate
Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) gave consumers the right to pull a
free credit report annually while ensuring lenders base loans on the
full credit history rather than stereotypes. Flags and alerts can
now be placed on the credit report should the consumer fear they are the
victims of identity theft or are military personnel overseas. This
act also stated only the last five digits of a credit card can be
printed on receipts. For full text of the act, click
here.
The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA)
This act was designed as an
amendment to the Truth in Lending Act, protecting consumers from errors
or unfair practices committed by merchants on credit card purchases.
This includes, but is not limited to, billing errors, charges for
unsatisfactory services, charges for product never received etc..
Consumers must submit the dispute in writing to the creditor within 60
days of receiving their creditor statement. For full text of the act, click
here.
The Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act (FDCPA)
Added in 1978 to help ensure
collection practices are fair and not abusive toward the consumer.
Guidelines were developed on proper and improper tactics when collecting
debt such as the proper times of contact or the improper adding of
collection fees. Parameters of this act also include the
consumer’s right to notify collection agencies within 30 days of
receiving a collection notice that the debt the agency is attempting to
collect on is fraudulent. The collection agency must investigate
and verify the debt is accurate before they move forward in the debt
collection process. For full text of the act, click
here.
Bankruptcy
Chapter 7: The
court would discharge most of the debts, however, it is possible,
depending on the debtor’s state, that assets and property would be
subject to liquidation. Bankruptcy is reported on your credit report for
7 to 10 years. Chapter 11: Generally for business
entities, the debtor maintains control of the business unless the court
appoints a trustee). Chapter 13: The court would structure a
repayment plan by appointing a trustee to disburse the excess income
provided by the debtor to satisfy their debts. For more information on
Bankruptcy, click
here.
Consumer Advocacy
Consumer advocacy is essentially
about supporting a responsible amount of government regulation in the
world of business with the purpose of supporting and protecting consumer
rights. In this arena of advocacy, our office fights for you, the
consumer, against unfair business practices, fraud and privacy
protection.
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