Your Credit and Bankruptcy

Financial crisis does not just affect your pocket, but is also a constant cause for stress. It would be appropriate to say that the main benefit of filing for bankruptcy is to rescue you from this worry. They may seem commonsensical, but once you get into conversation with your attorney you would realize that there is much more to bankruptcy than you would have ever imagined.

The New Beginning:

The most basic advantage of filing for bankruptcy is the promise that your creditors will be a story from the past. The smallest credit card debts can look large, medical bills are extremely upsetting, and these are just some of the ways in which your nights can be turned into endless dark days. Once you file the petition for bankruptcy, before anything else the agent of this ‘trauma’-the creditor-is locked out of the house, disconnected from your life. While some of these problem areas are of course are tackled permanently if a discharge on the debt is given, others are only temporarily kept on hold. As much as it may seem like a psychological advantage, bankruptcy is as practical a solution as it gets. Your worries come to an end, and you are afforded the possibility of start afresh again.

Prevent Foreclosure on Your Home:

Amongst the many advantages of bankruptcy one is that you can keep your home out of foreclosure. Although dependent on individual cases to some extent, generally speaking both your real and personal possessions are exempt from your bankruptcy estate, including your home. Once again the benefit is practical in the sense that bankruptcy will allow for a repayment plan which would take care of the debt that is posing the threat of losing your home.

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.