Credit Card Debt Advice: Honest Debt Resolution Help: Settlement: Counseling: Bankruptcy
Need Debt Help? Confused by Debt Resolution Options? Get Unbiased Credit Card Debt Advice to Find Honest Debt Settlement Programs, Credit Counselors, and Bankruptcy Attorneys
This was the comment I woke up to this morning on my Google Plus page. Who is Charlotte Newell? I have no idea. I looked at her Google profile and it appears that it was set up recently simply to leave a nasty comment on my post. Wow, someone had some dedication to create an anonymous gmail account and a profile just so they could attack me. Curious to know what the post was that caused such a viceral reaction [...] Read more »
Marketing Gurus say I have 3 seconds to catch your attention. Ding. Oh Shit… Wait… Look… A funny cat picture on the Internet. If my Kung Fu Cat sucked you in this far, perhaps you will invest 30 more seconds learn about my awesome service. Click the Video and Enjoy Read more »
Ok, so I might have taken a few liberties with that title. Bloomberg doesn’t even know who I am specifically, but if you need financial help a recent article on Bloomberg.com clearly recommends paying for unbiased financial advice vs talking to a commissioned sales person for free. The article was discussing the rampant financial illiteracy among the general public and pondering what, if anything, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could do to actually protect consumers from getting ripped off. The [...] Read more »
I get it. You’re busy, you’re scared, you’re juggling debt payments and you just want a solution. There are plenty of programs offering debt relief, just begging you to call them for free help. Is Free Help what you need? You need Honest answers about what to do. You need someone to level with you and tell you the truth about how to fix your financial situation. Here is the dirty little secret about the Debt Relief Programs tripping over [...] Read more »
Before I wrote this article, I did a quick google search for Does Credit Counseling Hurt Your Credit and I learned 2 things. 1. That the prevailing wisdom (if that is what we are calling the first page of Google these days) seems to indicate that no, Credit Counseling also known as a Debt Management Program (DMP) does not Hurt your Credit Score. 2. Prevailing wisdom is not always an accurate source for information. Many people think that a DMP [...] Read more »
One of the major pitfalls to acting on financial advice given to a general audience is that the advice is…well, general. A perfect example revolves around using a 401k to pay off debt. If a consumer was to read several personal finance books and blogs, they would easily come to the conclusion that you should never use a 401k to pay off credit cards. I disagree with that conclusion and say that sometimes, using retirement funds to get out of [...] Read more »
Here is a guide to help try to avoid being cheated or scammed by a business or company and check out or evaluate a company for free before you decide to pay them money for services. Over the years a common theme has emerged where people feel they are scammed by a company or taken advantage of and it appears they have not checked them out before giving up their hard earned money for services. Here is my guide on [...] Read more »
Ronnie Dunn, Cost Of Livin’ Lyrics Everything to know about me Is written on this page The number you can reach me My social and my age Yes I served in the army It’s where I learned to shoot Eighteen months in the desert Pourin’ sand out of my boots No I’ve never been convicted of a crime I could start this job at any time. I got a strong back Steel toes I rarely call in sick A good [...] Read more »
Today I thought I would try something different and take a stab at hosting a Personal Finance Blog Carnival started by my friend Steve Rhode over at How to Get Out of Debt. For those of you who don’t move in blogospheric circles, a blog carnival is simply a roundup of articles from various blogs, typically centered around a common topic. I’ll admit that I was fairly selective this week and here are the posts that made the cut. Steve [...] Read more »
Debt Settlement Pros and Cons. This article may be a bit satirical and exaggerated, but any consumer that has found themselves in the unfortunate situation to have to get some straight answers about the different debt relief options available can certainly appreciate how this article closely mimics reality. Ask a Credit Counselor and a Debt Settlement Representative about the pros and cons of debt settlement. What are you supposed to think when they each provide answers that are basically 180 [...] Read more »
The concept, although quite simple, can actually be very confusing for consumers, especially because of false information offered by some debt relief sales people. The bottom line: Unless exempted by the insolvency rules or another exemption, you will owe taxes on debt that has been forgiven by a creditor. In this article I assume that none of the exemptions apply. Some of my clients have expressed an attitude of distaste that after finally getting out from under a crushing debt [...] Read more »
In April of 2009 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged makers of a “Hoodia” weight loss supplement with deceptive advertising. The companies, Nutraceuticals International, Stella Labs and key company players and controllers David Romeo, Deborah Vickery, Craig Payton, and Zoltan Klivinyi claimed that using their product would lead to weight loss and appetite suppression. In its complaint, the FTC alleges that the defendants not only made false and deceptive claims about what Hoodia could do, but also, on one or [...] Read more »
Attorney Todd Allen in Collier County Florida gets my vote for Man of the Year for defending home owners against foreclosure. Apparently Bank of America tried to foreclose on Maurenn Nyergers and her husband. However the homeowners claimed to have a valid defense. Their defense was, not only did they not owe any money on the home, but that they had paid cash for the house and didn’t even have a mortgage. For some reason Bank of America still moved forward [...] Read more »
After listening to and reading about countless stories from unhappy former clients of Legal Helpers Debt Resolution, reviewing their contract myself, and observing the process they put their clients through, I have formed a personal opinion about the business model of Legal Helpers Debt Resolution and in past articles I have not been shy about my complaints. Judging from the news of late, some regulators and Attorneys General seem to share my opinion of the Legal Helpers Business Plan as [...] Read more »
Credit Collections Defense Network Recently, West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw, won a victory for consumers against Credit Collections Defense Network (CCDN). The judgment was granted against CCDN, Robert Lock Jr. and Phillip Manger and bars them from doing business in the state. In addition to the permanent injunction, the court also imposed a $130,000 civil penalty against each defendant as well as $21,985 in restitution for West Virginia consumers who paid CCDN but received no meaningful service. A quick [...] Read more »
Legal Helpers It is nice to see regulators on several fronts stepping up the pressure on Legal Helpers and taking action against programs that I have been warning consumers about for quite a long time. Click the video player to watch to the news story and hear some of the allegations of the Illinois Attorney General. Among other things, it is alleged that… 1. Legal Helpers Debt Resolution contracts out virtually all debt relief services to a third party [...] Read more »
“The 5 dumbest things you can do if you have too much debt,” says the headline. Naturally, I want to know what someone thinks the 5 dumbest things are, so I click. Here is what I see… 1. Paying only the minimum payment on your debt, as this will result in the amount you owe actually growing, and your problems will only become worse. 2. Relying on friends and family, as this can damage relationships with the most important people [...] Read more »
Put yourself in the shoes of a caring Grandmother. Let’s say one day you receive a call from your grandson telling you they’ve been in an accident and are being held in jail in the Dominican Republic. They want you to keep their little debacle a secret but they need you to wire money to them ASAP to get them out of jail. What would you do? Claudia Beach of Jacksonville, Florida recently faced this exact scenario recently and in [...] Read more »
When you call most 800 numbers looking for help with your debt, you will usually be talking to someone like Dave. Here is a guy that laughs all the way to the bank for pocketing $7680 for throwing some unlucky consumer into a B.S. Front loaded fee debt settlement program that is a horrible financial solution under any circumstances. Keep in mind, that was just his commission for screwing this unlucky consumer. This video was posted 11 months ago. The [...] Read more »
It has now become almost a daily occurrence for me to help a consumer fix the mess that a debt settlement company has dropped them into. The universal reaction from my clients after I explain how debt settlement really works and why the program they have been sold never even had a shot at working, is “How could I have possibly signed up into such a horrible deal?” If you are a victim of a debt settlement program gone bad, [...] Read more »