Jailed For Past Due Credit Card Debt

Earlier this week, an article appeared in the Minneapolis-St.Paul Star Tribune describing how some citizens of the state of Minnesota are being sent to jail for having past due credit card debt. As much as I hate to say it, apparently this is really happening. However, the article is somewhat misleading because the actual reason [...]

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The New Credit Card Law: No Big Deal

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the new credit card law that went into effect on 2-22-10. In case you missed it, here are some of the highlights: Credit card companies are now required by law to disclose how long it will take you to pay off the balance and how much interest [...]

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In Defense Of Credit Card Companies

Over the past several weeks there have been numerous reports slamming credit card companies for their alleged shady policies and practices. I’ve even seen where certain individuals are leading a “debtor’s revolt” against the credit card companies to “send them a message”. Ira Rheingold, director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, has said, “Banks have done really [...]

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Three Gems From Michael Moore’s 15-Point Action Plan

Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that Michael Moore is not afraid to speak his mind and challenge the status quo. Although I don’t agree with all of his views, I’ve always admired Mr. Moore for having the courage to ask the tough questions and keep people accountable. His latest movie, Capitalism: A Love Story, was [...]

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Beware Of Misleading Advertising From A Few Debt Settlement Firms

              During the past several months, a number of our clients have received very official-looking notices in the mail regarding credit card debt relief, possibly suggesting that there might be some government sponsored program to assist people with excessive credit card debt. Upon reviewing these notices they turned out to be nothing [...]

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Bankruptcy FAQs

No one ever wants to file bankruptcy, that’s for sure. But if you’re having financial difficulties you owe it to yourself to educate yourself on the basics of bankruptcy because it might just end up being the best solution for you afterall. Today I ran across an excellent resource that answers virtually any question you would want answered [...]

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Cross-Collaterization: Yes, They Really Can Take Your Money

Yesterday I got a call from someone saying that his credit card company just went into his checking account and cleaned him out. They took his money and gave no advance warning. He was flabbergasted and wanted to know if this was legal. As much as I hate to say it, the answer is yes. [...]

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The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act

  President Obama signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act on May 22, 2009, which provides a sweeping overhaul of how consumer credit is handled by credit card companies. The bill provides strong and reliable protections for consumers against what some have considered unfair and deceptive practices by certain financial institutions. The new law will go [...]

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Credit Card Charge-Off vs. Credit Card Write-Off

A charge-off and a write-off sound a lot alike, but they are two very different things. Charge-Off The term “charge-off” equates to when a credit card account reaches 180 days past due. At that point, the credit card company is required to reclassify the account for accounting purposes. Specifically, from a performing asset to a [...]

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Back To Basics

  Last night was the season premiere of “24“. As usual, it was non-stop action while Jack Bauer eludes danger and saves the world from bad guys. But there was one particular minute last night that really struck a chord with me … one of the commercials. It was a commercial from Allstate Insurance. The commercial reminded me of an article [...]

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Credit Card Bailout … Your Lucky Day?

During the past several weeks, one question that clients and prospective clients have been asking me every single day is, “What effect is the current financial crisis in the U.S. (as well as the rest of the world) going to have on my ability to obtain a settlement for less than full balance with my credit card [...]

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Review Of I.O.U.S.A.

Last night I went to see I.O.U.S.A. at a theater near my house and to be very candid I was going primarily for “work-related purposes” since my job for the past 13 years has revolved around credit card debt. In other words, I was looking at this as kind of a continuing education class just keep up [...]

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