2777 Stemmons Freeway Suite 1300 Dallas, Texas 75207 • Call Us At 1-800-989-9999

Monthly Archives: March 2010

Five Credit Score Killers

Published on March 25, 2010 by Robert A. Kraft

As Dallas bankruptcy lawyers we are often asked by our clients about what helps and what hurts their credit scores. Bankruptcy hurts, of course, but you can recover from that over time. There are other actions you can take, usually in a futile attempt to avoid or delay bankruptcy, that also can hurt your credit [...]

Categories: Consumer Law Basics Comments (1) »

Federal Reserve Cracks Down on Gift Card Abuses

Published on March 24, 2010 by Robert A. Kraft

In a bit of good news for consumers, the Federal Reserve issued new rules yesterday prohibiting certain restrictions on gift cards. Under the new rules taking effect August 22, 2010, consumers must have at least five years to use the gift cards before they expire. The Fed also says service or inactivity fees can be [...]

Categories: Consumer Law Basics Comments (0) »

New Rule Will Clarify Free Credit Reports

Published on March 22, 2010 by Robert A. Kraft

One of my pet peeves is the abundance of TV commercials advertising free credit reports from companies that actually charge you for your credit report. This is totally deceptive, and finally the government is going to start putting an end to this practice on April 1. Here are excerpts from a column by Susan Tompor [...]

Categories: Consumer Law Basics Comments (0) »

More Than 10% of Texas Homeowners Behind on Mortgage Payments

Published on March 15, 2010 by Robert A. Kraft

More than one in ten Texas homeowners with mortgages are behind in their payments, according to the Dallas Morning News. Texas’ mortgage delinquency rate is now just slightly behind the national average of 10.44 percent. Texas ranks 18th nationally among the states with the highest percentage of late home loans. The article states that “The number [...]

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

Dallas-Fort Worth Foreclosure Rate May Be Artificially Low

Published on March 11, 2010 by Robert A. Kraft

The Dallas Morning News recently ran an interesting and somewhat disturbing article about the decrease in local foreclosures in 2009. The good news is that the number of foreclosures dropped in 2009 from previous years. But the bad news is that this drop may have been artificially induced by strategies employed by financial institutions. Here [...]

Categories: Consumer Law News, Mortgage Dispute Topics Comments (1) »

Tips for the Suddenly Unemployed

Published on March 10, 2010 by Robert A. Kraft

As the national economy slowly recovers, jobs are lagging badly. People who have lost their jobs over the past year are still having a difficult time finding new employment. The McClatchy-Tribune News Service recently ran an article with tips for the unemployed. In the article was a list of Web sites that seem helpful.
The threat [...]

Categories: Consumer Law News Comments (0) »

Obama May Compromise on Consumer Agency to Pass Financial Regulation

Published on March 1, 2010 by Robert A. Kraft

The Obama administration is no longer insisting on the creation of a stand-alone consumer protection agency as a central element of the plan to remake regulation of the financial system, according to an article in the Washington Post. The article is lengthy, but interesting and important. Here are the opening paragraphs:
In hopes of quick congressional [...]

Categories: Consumer Law News Comments (0) »