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Monthly Archives: June 2009

Local Bankruptcy Attorneys Agree That Medical Bills Play a Role In a Majority of Bankruptcies

Published on June 30, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

In the wake of a Harvard study published in the American Journal of Medicine, which found that medical bills were a factor in 62% of bankruptcies nationwide, the Dallas Morning News interviewed local attorneys and consumer advocates concerning those findings.
Carolyn Chesnutt, a bankruptcy lawyer with Addison-based Charles R. Chesnutt, P.C., stated, “Often the most responsible, [...]

Categories: Bankruptcy Basics, Bankruptcy News, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Uncategorized Comments (0) »

Harvard Study Finds Illness and Medical Bills Are Linked To Nearly Two-Thirds of Bankruptcies

Published on June 29, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

According to research conducted jointly by Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, and Ohio University, medical bills were a factor in 62.1% of all bankruptcies filed in 2007. The data for the study was collected prior to the current economic downtown, and likely understates the current impact of illness on bankruptcy filings.
The study, which is [...]

Categories: Bankruptcy Basics, Bankruptcy News, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Comments (0) »

Dallas Ranks Eighth In Vehicle Dumping and Insurance Scams

Published on June 25, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, Texas is second in the nation for potential “owner give-up” cases, with 353 between January 2004 and March 2009. “Owner give-up” is the insurance fraud scam where drivers abandon or destroy their cars, then report them stolen to collect insurance money.
During the first quarter of 2009, owner give-ups [...]

Categories: Bankruptcy Basics, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Consumer Law Basics Tags: Comments (0) »

Change to Foreclosure Law to Benefit Renters

Published on June 23, 2009 by Robert A. Kraft

The House and Senate have each passed bills providing that any current lease survives a foreclosure unless the new owner intends to live in the property. Currently, in many states, a landlord has no obligation to notify tenants of pending foreclosure actions, and a renter’s lease becomes void the moment a foreclosure sale is completed. [...]

Categories: Consumer Law News, Mortgage Dispute Topics Comments (2) »

North Texas Foreclosures Decrease for June’s Auction

Published on June 22, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

According to a spokesman for Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service, foreclosures scheduled for June 2009 in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, and Denton Counties have decreased by 10% from the figures for May. However, even those rates are up from the same period in 2008 by 40% in Tarrant County, 39% in Collin County, 25% in Dallas County, [...]

Categories: Consumer Law Basics, Mortgage Dispute Topics Comments (0) »

Prime Loan Foreclosure Rates Rising

Published on June 21, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

Among all the publicity about the rash of sub-prime loans that are being foreclosed, prime loans – those held by homeowners with once-solid credit ratings – are increasingly facing the same fate.
Many economists expect the current 8.9% unemployment rate to rise into the double digits, and foreclosures of all types of mortgages are likely to [...]

Categories: Consumer Law Basics, Mortgage Dispute Topics Comments (0) »

Texas Attorney General Targets Debt Settlement Companies

Published on June 20, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

Financially distressed consumers have been flocking to debt settlement companies during the economic downturn, hoping to avoid bankruptcy and limit damage to their credit scores. Unfortunately, some debt settlement companies promise more than they deliver, and charge exorbitant fees to consumers.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott sued Richardson-based Credit Solutions of America, Inc., in March 2009, [...]

Categories: Fair Debt Collection Comments (4) »

FTC Offers Guidelines for Consumers Regarding Debt Collection

Published on June 18, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

The website for the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov) offers valuable information for consumers concerning their rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). “Debt Collection FAQs: A Guide For Consumers” answers the most frequently asked questions concerning the FDCPA. Among the questions answered are:
What types of debts are covered?
The Act covers personal, family, and [...]

Categories: Fair Debt Collection Comments (0) »

Obama Administration to Propose Creation of New Consumer Financial Protection Agency

Published on June 17, 2009 by Robert A. Kraft

McClatchy news bureau reported, “The Obama administration is proposing the broadest changes in financial regulation since the Great Depression, calling for the elimination of some bank regulators and giving the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve vast new authority.” Among the changes, the administration “will propose creating a special commission that would regulate consumer credit, watching [...]

Categories: Consumer Law News Comments (0) »

Loan Modification Scams On The Increase

Published on June 15, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

As more and more homeowners face the threat of foreclosure, scam artists are moving into the loan modification arena. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates nationally chartered banks, is warning consumers to beware of such crooks.
“They may tell consumers to stop paying their mortgages while the con artist works out a [...]

Categories: Consumer Law Basics Comments (0) »

Credit Repair – Do It Yourself and Avoid Being Scammed

Published on June 14, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

Despite all the advertising by companies who promise to “erase your bad debt” or remove bankruptcies, judgments, liens, and bad loans from your credit file, the attorneys at the Federal Trade Commission say that they have never seen a legitimate credit repair operation making those claims. There is no quick fix for creditworthiness, although you [...]

Categories: Consumer Law Basics, Fair Credit Reporting, Fair Debt Collection, Most Popular Comments (2) »

1st Quarter 2009 Wiped Out $1.3 Trillion for Americans

Published on June 12, 2009 by Robert A. Kraft

Today’s Washington Post has a rather frightening article about the effect, to date, of the recession on U.S. consumers. Here are the opening paragraphs of the story:
The brute force of the recession earlier this year turned back the clock on Americans’ personal wealth to 2004 and wiped out a staggering $1.3 trillion as home values [...]

Categories: Consumer Law News Comments (0) »

Collection of Time-Barred Debts

Published on June 11, 2009 by Robert A. Kraft

“Time-barred” debts are debts so old they are beyond the point at which a creditor or debt collector may sue you to collect. State law varies as to when a creditor or debt collector may no longer sue you. In most states, the period is from three to 10 years, and in Texas, the limit [...]

Categories: Fair Credit Reporting, Fair Debt Collection Comments (1) »

Trade School and Online University Scams

Published on June 10, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

In times of economic difficulty, many people decide to bolster their qualifications by seeking more education. Unfortunately, where there is money and desperation involved, scam artists are the first ones to recognize a promising new trend.
Over the last six months, enrollment in community colleges has increased by 26%. [...]

Categories: Consumer Law News Comments (0) »

The Most Expensive Phones In America

Published on June 1, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

It may be hard to believe, but there are still millions of Americans who are being charged for “leasing” a telephone from what was formerly AT&T. When AT&T was broken up in the mid-1980s, customers were given until the end of 1987 to opt out of their telephone leases and buy their phones. Those who [...]

Categories: Consumer Law Basics Comments (6) »

Foreclosure Scams Targeted By The Federal Reserve

Published on June 1, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

Beginning on April 10, 2009, the Federal Reserve began running ads in movie theaters in several states which have been hardest-hit by foreclosures as the recession worsens. The ads warn consumers against scam artists who are charging people for help that is free from non-profit groups working with the government.
The ads [...]

Categories: Mortgage Dispute Topics Tags: , Comments (0) »

New Regulations Concerning Payday Loans

Published on June 1, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

As of early April 2009, the Texas Legislature and the U.S. Congress are both considering legislation to regulate payday lenders. Last week, state senators announced pending bills that would establish oversight of the largely unregulated payday loan industry. The proposals include licensing requirements, a 36% limit on interest rates charged on payday loans, a limit [...]

Categories: Fair Debt Collection Tags: , Comments (1) »

8 Bankruptcy Secrets

Published on June 1, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

SECRET NO. 1: MOST PEOPLE KEEP ALL OF THEIR PROPERTY
The Bankruptcy Code provides for you to keep your home, cars, furniture, appliances, retirement plans, and other essentials that you need to get a fresh start. Although it is true that there are limits to the values of what you can keep in bankruptcy, those limits [...]

Categories: Bankruptcy Basics, Most Popular Tags: , , Comments (2) »

10 Things You Should Know If You Are Considering Bankruptcy

Published on June 1, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

Often, clients consult with an attorney regarding a possible bankruptcy after they have taken actions that can cause them problems with a bankruptcy case. Usually, these things are done because they misunderstand what their rights and responsibilities are when they file a bankruptcy case. Most bankruptcy attorneys find that their clients would have been in [...]

Categories: Bankruptcy Basics, Most Popular Tags: , Comments (2) »