Posts Tagged ‘Credit Report’
Bankruptcy Myths– BUSTED
There is a lot of false information regarding bankruptcy. Here is a list of the most common myths we’ve encountered.
1. My employer will find out and fire me, or my potential future employer will not hire me because I filed for bankruptcy.
Usually FALSE. Discrimination solely because you filed for bankruptcy is prohibited under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Certain persons with security clearance and sensitive financial positions can have issues with bankruptcy, though even then, a Bankruptcy can show that you are dealing with the problem, and enable you to have the security clearance or sensitive financial position. The exceptions to this are positions that tend to handle money, like bank tellers.
2. I have to be broke or behind on my bills to file bankruptcy.
FALSE. Do not wait until you’ve drained out your savings, or 401(K), or borrowed more money from relatives and friends. There are no rules that say you have to be behind or broke to file for bankruptcy. In fact, draining your retirement account may be a serious problem if done immediately before the filing of the Bankruptcy. Consult with a bankruptcy attorney right away if you do not see a way out of your current financial situation, BEFORE you do something.
3. Bankruptcy is not affordable.
FALSE. We do our best to provide reasonable time to pay attorneys’ fees and costs. In fact, many clients find that stopping payments to credit cards for a couple of months cover attorneys’ fees. In Chapter 13, usually part of the fees are paid up front and some through the plan payments. Additionally, because many of our clients have violations of the law, they end of getting their money back from the debt collectors who come after them.
4. I will lose my home.
Usually FALSE. In Chapter 7, as long as you are current on your payments and meet the equity limits, you can keep your home. In Virginia, there is an exemption up to the following amounts:
(1) $5,000 for each debtor.
(2) an additional $500 per child under age 18.
Refer to Virginia Exemption Chart.
You are given the same equity limits in Chapter 13 as Chapter 7. But you do not have to be current on your mortgage. In Chapter 13, you are given up to 5 years to repay the missed mortgage payments.
5. My credit is destroyed forever.
FALSE. Bankruptcy is reported on your credit report for up to10 years (see 15 US Code section 1681c). Most people mistakenly believe that they get a Scarlett Letter stamped on their forehead and won’t be able to get credit for 10 years (or some even believe for life). In fact, most of our clients get credit offers within a few months after filing. Bankruptcy stops the bleeding and places you in a position to rebuild your credit worthiness. Clients usually start with credit cards with smaller limits. They use these wisely (never carrying a balance), and get higher limits. The credit score increases and permits more extensive credit such as car loans. It’s similar to building credit for the first time like a high school or college student graduate. Additionally, Krumbein Consumer Legal Services is one of the few law firms with the experience and skills to help make sure that your credit is accurate. With Bankruptcy, your debts should stay in the past, not follow you along forever.
6. I will never get a home, an apartment or car.
FALSE. People do rebuild their credit after bankruptcy and go on to buy homes and/or cars. Your credit score may actually increase after bankruptcy, especially since bankruptcy will have a positive effect on your debt-to-income ratio. Additionally, some clients have purchased a home because of the efforts of Krumbein Consumer Legal Services to correct the errors on their credit report.
7. You can’t go bankrupt anymore since the new law.
FALSE. As the business and consumer bankruptcy filings that have exceeded well over 1 million people per year show, this is not the case. The 2005 changes to the bankruptcy laws made it more difficult to file for bankruptcy, but we have spent a significant amount of time using the amendments to our clients’ benefit. Consult with a Richmond bankruptcy attorney from Krumbein Consumer Legal Services to determine how you qualify.
8. The new law says you have to pay everything back.
FALSE. In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, debts are wiped out completely with the exception of certain taxes, child support/alimony, student loans and specially designated debts. In Chapter 13, the amount you repay is based on your disposable income (money left after your expenses are subtracted from your income) or liquidation analysis (property that we cannot exempt). In most situations, 100% repayment is not required.
9. It will be in the newspaper.
Usually FALSE. We suppose this could change, but this does not occur in the Richmond Area unless you are generally a news maker. As it stands, your bankruptcy filing will not be announced in a publication. However, it is public information, and anyone that wants to can go to the Bankruptcy Court and request your file. Additionally, the information is available on a Federal Bankruptcy database. To access it, you must have an account and pay to view it per page. Hearings related to your case are also posted on the court’s website for a brief time, however a person would have to know that they should look.
10. I hear “you can’t go bankruptcy on credit cards any more”.
FALSE. Credit cards are unsecured debts and will generally be discharged by bankruptcy. Credit cards and medical debts are the debt we discharge the most often.
11. After you take a credit counseling course you must wait 6 months before you can file a bankruptcy.
No, in fact it’s the opposite. One you take the credit counseling course and receive the certificate, the certificate is valid for 180 days. You must file bankruptcy within that 180 day period to use the credit counseling certificate. If you wait too long and the credit counseling certificate expires, you will have to take another credit counseling course and get a new certificate. Check with the US Trustee’s Website for authorized Credit Counseling courses. We provide clients with information about credit counseling providers that we find are cost-effective and consumer friendly. Under most circumstances, the credit counseling course is included in the cost of the Bankruptcy through us.
In short, there is no waiting requirement after completing credit counseling to file for bankruptcy.
12. If I file for bankruptcy I’m a failure.
Well then so are your family, friends, co-workers and the businesses you visit. Our clients are doctors, teachers, constructions workers, retail workers, hair stylists, police officers, bankers, rich, poor, blue collar, white collar…you get the idea. Plenty of famous and successful people filed for bankruptcy. For those struggling with the idea of filing, ask yourself whether you want a society of people in indentured servitude that die poor paying their debts, or people free from debt that can be productive and active members of society? Certainly we all want to pay our debts if we can. But sometimes it’s just too overwhelming.
13. There’s a secret way to make your creditors accept a fraction of the debt.
ABSOLUTELY FALSE, and don’t let wishful thinking make you believe promises made by debt settlement companies and others feeding off your sense of fear or guilt. It is true that oftentimes credit card companies will settle on stale debts. Sometimes they don’t. The settlement amounts vary from 5% of the debt to 99% of the debt. Moreover, creditors may (and often do) sue you. Unless you have a valid defense for the lawsuit, you may lose the case (see our information about defending collection lawsuits). They can get a judgment against you and garnish your wages, take your money in your bank account or put a lien on your property.
Assuming they do settle, what the creditors and debt settlement companies don’t tell you is this: the amount forgiven will be considered income to you and you may be taxed on the amount forgiven. It’s better to owe your credit card money than the IRS because you can discharge the credit card debt in bankruptcy much more easily, and debts discharged in Bankruptcy are deemed not income for purposes of your tax return. (see 26 US Code 108(a)(1))
14. I’ve hired a debt settlement firm to help me pay off all of my debts at a deep discount in 3 years or less and now I won’t have to file for bankruptcy.
See #13. It is common for our clients to be scammed by these companies. There is some promise to settle debts for pennies on the dollar. Creditors, however, do not have to settle with you at all; there is nothing special about the relationships between debt settlement companies and credit cards/debt collectors that guarantee settlements. Most of the time, the debt settlement companies will keep most of the money for themselves, leaving little for the actual settlement. They can’t do anything for you that you can’t already do for yourself – not pay your creditors then work out a settlement.
If you do decide to hire a debt settlement company, please be sure to check with the FTC and Attorney General office of the state the company is located. There are lots of warnings issued by governmental agencies regarding the dangers of hiring a debt settlement companies. We also see the United States Trustee that oversees bankruptcy sometimes go after debt settlement companies for scamming consumers. Also, many of the debt settlement companies are scams. They take your money and give you nothing in return.
15. My friend told me as long as I am going bankrupt I might as well max out my credit cards and use up what is left.
Accumulating debt with an anticipation of filing for bankruptcy may be considered fraud. Bankruptcy is for the unfortunate but honest debtor.
16. I should “leave one card out” of the bankruptcy.
ALL debts must be listed on the bankruptcy petition. Everyone you owe money to must be listed. This includes friends and families. Intentionally leaving a creditor out is grounds to deny you a Discharge, and may be an act of Bankruptcy fraud. Please note that Bankruptcy fraud is investigated by the FBI, and carries penalties up to and including jail and big fines.
17. “But my credit score will go down!”
See #5. If you are at serious risk of needing Bankruptcy, your credit score is already depressed. If you have defaulted on credit cards, home loans, car loans or student loans, they will already be reporting negatively on your credit report. Bankruptcy draws a line in the sand, and tells everyone that those debts are in the past. The credit reporting guidelines say that accounts that are included in a Bankruptcy are not scored, but all those charge-offs and delinquencies lower your score. A single missed payment can lower your score by as much as 150 points. But a Bankruptcy draws that line in the sand, and makes it go away.
18. I’ll never get credit again, or another, I won’t be able to get credit for 7 years.
After filing for bankruptcy, your debt-to-income ratio improves. This will help your credit score. Additionally, you cannot file again for 8 years (in case of Chapter 7) so you’re actually a “safe bet” for the creditors. Most of our clients report being able to get a secured credit card immediately after bankruptcy and an unsecured credit card with a modest credit limit within several months. This fluctuates with how banks extend credit. How long you have to wait to get a credit card will depend on your individual circumstances such as your income, work history and the banks’ lending practices at the time you apply.
19. Bankruptcy does not apply to certain creditors like Bank of America.
Bankruptcy applies to Bank of America as well as all other banks. Individual banks and persons do not get special passes. Read more about Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 to learn about which debts are discharged.
20. I will be making a better financial plan to suffer through and pay it back than to file for Bankruptcy.
Ask yourself, what will it take for me to get out of debt? Use this calculator to figure it out. Most people continue to make the minimum payments not realizing the amount of money it will actually take to get out of debt. Do not make the mistake of getting trapped in the cycle of making minimum payments – never being able to live debt free.
We suggest that you do a simple bit of math. Figure out your monthly living expense without paying on your debts. Figure out how much you have in income each month. Subtract the amount you have to spend from the amount you have for income (income-expenses). Take the total amount of your debt, and divide by 24. If the income-expenses number is not higher than your debt divided by 24, then when you try to pay it off, you will be forever paying mostly interest, and you will never get out.
If you will never be debt free, how can you ever get ahead?
Special thanks to Jeena Cho, of the JC Law Group, in San Francisco.
KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.
YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.
OUR FEES: Our fees are controlled by the local rules and your situation. They may vary from “free” or probono representation to a flat fee to an hourly fee, depending on your situation.
If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.
Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.
You can call us: 804.303.0204
You can fax us: 804.303.0209
You can contact us by US MAIL:
Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.
5310 Markel Rd.
Suite 102
Richmond, VA 23230
Buying a replacement car while in Bankruptcy
Many of my Bankruptcy clients come to me and say “Ack. My car died. I need to buy a new one. What do I do?”
The first question is are you going to buy with cash or are you going to be financing this purchase.
Anything you can pay cash for, there is no paperwork. Go, walk up and pay for it. But most people don’t have that kind of cash. They need to finance the purchase, or at least a portion of it.
In general, while a person is in Bankruptcy, getting financing for your purchase (car, house, boat, etc) is very difficult to come by. You will get worse deals, and pay higher interest rates. While you are in Bankruptcy, you will have the worst credit possible, so if at all possible, wait until your Bankruptcy is over.
But it is even harder than that. You should be seeking permission to finance this debt from the Bankruptcy court. This request is called a “motion to incur debt”. It asks the Bankruptcy judge for permission to borrow money. Let’s be honest here, you have trouble paying debts, you should be having a review of your plan by someone else.
But what do you need if you want to do this?
There are 3 main documents you must show.
First and foremost, is a letter, explaining why you can afford the payments. Your Bankruptcy schedules include a budget. They describe how your income comes in, your paycheck, or wages, and what you do with your money each month, where the money goes.
So how are you going to pay for this new expense? Have you accounted for it already in your budget? For example, will you be replacing rent with mortgage payment. Will you be adding on to your expenses, by buying a car to replace the one that is already paid for? If you are adding to your expenses, how will you come up with that money? Will you shave your expenses even more, or will you get a part time job to help pay for it?
Second, is the “deal” papers from the seller. From a car dealer, this will be the “Buyers order”. The judge wants to know what you are buying, to ensure that you will not be running into excessive expenses in the future. For example, buying a 1974 Gremlin with 300,000 miles on the original motor and transmission is not a very good choice. But a late model, low mileage small car is a good choice. (Personally, I am a fan of the Honda Civic 4 cylinder). For a home, it will be the purchase contract. Either way, it will describe what you are buying, and how much it will cost.
Third will be the “financing papers”. The key document here is the “Truth in Lending Disclosure”. This document is a statement of the cost of financing. It will detail the payments and the interest that you will have to pay.
With these you can go to the judge, and get the permission.
YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.
OUR FEES: Our fees are controlled by the local rules and your situation. They may vary from “free” or probono representation to a flat fee to an hourly fee, depending on your situation. Pursuant to Federal law, we are a “debt relief agency” which means that we help people file for Bankruptcy, if that is the best choice for them.
If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.
Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.
You can call us: 804.303.0204
You can fax us: 804.303.0209
You can contact us by US MAIL:
Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.
5310 Markel Rd.
Suite 102
Richmond, VA 23230
Order of bill payment
Last time I talked about how to deal with collectors, and I mentioned an order of payment. Here is why the order is important. The order, from last time, is: 1- Food, 2- car and house payment, 3- Utilities, 4- Current bills, and 5- Luxury expenses.
The food always comes first in the order of payment. If there is no food, the reason for a house, a car, utilities, credit card payment, etc is pointless.
The house and car payments come next. It is much easier for a lawyer to fix the problem of unsecured debt (debt where there is no right to repossess a thing), than a secured debt. Your secured creditors are hard to solve, often requiring that you make deals to pay them much more than you ordinarily would. Unsecured creditors will often settle for pennies on the dollar, over long periods of time, because payments to them are so much more tenuous. You can have defenses, or file Bankruptcy, or just not pay, and there is often very little they can do.
The utilities and taxes come next. The utilities will cut you off, and the tax man will come get things, but neither of those things happens quickly.
Then comes the unsecured bills- the medical bills, the credit cards, etc. When they get paid it will be good enough.
Lastly comes the luxury expenses- vacation, jewelry, etc. If you are able to pay all of your other bills, then there may be money left in your budget for luxury goods and services. They are not things that you need, but might want. Instead of a vacation, try a stay-cation. You get the time off, but not the expense of travel. Instead of expensive jewelry, try costume jewelry. You get some of the look, but not the expense.
Consult a lawyer and maybe a financial planner. You need to know your rights, and how to get out of this mess. Above all, don’t play ostrich. Sticking your head in the sand and saying “I can’t see you” will not make the problem go away.
If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, please make an appointment to see us.
NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!
KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.
YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.
If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.
OUR LEGAL FEES:
The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.
Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.
You can call us: 804.303.0204
You can fax us: 804.303.0209
You can contact us by US MAIL:
Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.
5310 Markel Rd.
Suite 102
Richmond, VA 23230
Dealing with Debt Collectors- a HOW TO
Dealing with debt collectors
People often ask how to deal with a debt collector. Here are some simple rules that will help control the situation.
1. Pay your bills if you can. The easiest way to deal with a debt collector is to not need to- that is, pay your bills on time every month. By the way, this also means that your credit score will be as high as it can be in your situation. (there is more to a credit score than payment history, but history is the biggest part).
2. Talk to the lender before you miss payments. If you fall behind on your bills, it is often easier to deal directly with the creditor to help you fix the situation than if the account is turned over for collections, so as soon as you realize you are going to have a problem, contact the lender. Sometimes they will work with you, sometimes they will not.
3. Prioritize your debts. If you have tried dealing with the lender, the next thing to do is prioritize who gets paid first, and who gets paid last. I will talk about why this is the order next week.
a. Food comes first. If you don’t have enough money for food, then no one gets anything. Don’t be ashamed to apply for food stamps (called SNAP) and other government assistance.
b. Your car and home payments come second. This does not include second homes, second cars, etc, but does include the payment on your first and second mortgage on your home. These assets are important, because you need a roof over your head, and a way to get to work.
c. Utilities (lights, water, gas) come third. It is much easier to maintain your ability to have a roof, and a car if there is heat and air conditioning, water, etc.
d. Current bills. Medical bills, credit cards, store cards, etc.
e. Luxury expenses. Vacations, jewelry, etc. If you are paying for these things, you should be paying all of your bills. If you are not paying all of your bills, you should not spend money on luxury expenses.
4. Reduce your expenses. This is much more important for a long term problem than a short term issue. If you are out of work, but going back, conserve your cash, and keep going. If you are at a new, lower paying job, reducing your expenses is much more important. Downsize your house, downgrade the car. You need to look for a less expensive solution.
5. Communicate with the debt collectors. That first call or letter will not be the last if you don’t respond. Request verification of the debt. Start with making sure they are collecting an account that you owe. Dealing with a mistaken identity or ID theft is different from dealing with your own accounts. Verify the amounts they are requesting.
6. Consult a lawyer and maybe a financial planner. You need to know your rights, and how to get out of this mess. Above all, don’t play ostrich. Sticking your head in the sand and saying I can’t see you will not make the problem go away.
If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, please make an appointment to see us.
NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!
KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.
YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.
If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.
OUR LEGAL FEES:
The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or
party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.
Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.
You can call us: 804.303.0204
You can fax us: 804.303.0209
You can contact us by US MAIL:
Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.
5310 Markel Rd.
Suite 102
Richmond, VA 23230
How to Deal with Debt Collectors- What the Collectors Say
One of my friends is a debt collector, and I asked him what advice he would give to his mother for how to deal with a debt collector. Here is what he said. First, the best way is to never need to deal with them, by paying your bills, but if you are forced into a situation where you must, here is what you should do.
1. Talk with the collectors. Ostrich technique does not work with debt collectors, they tend to get more aggressive, and eventually sue. That first call or letter will not be the last if you don’t respond. Request verification of the debt. Start with making sure they are collecting an account that you owe. Dealing with a mistaken identity or ID theft is different from dealing with your own accounts. Verify the amounts they are requesting.
My comments: I agree, but with a variation. You should communicate in writing. It makes the record so much clearer.
2. There may be tax consequences if you settle a debt, rather than pay the full balance. Debt collectors cannot give tax advice, and if they write down the debt by more than $600, they are required to send a 1099 to the IRS, and you could pay taxes on the money.
My comments: Yes, that is true, but if you are going to compromise a debt, tax consequences should be discussed with the collector before the deal is inked. Some collectors have authority to discuss tax consequences, some do not. Be on the lookout for a 1099 for the entire balance, or the forgiven balance, as this is not correct. You should not pay taxes on the interest, only the principal. Consult a tax professional for the details on that.
3. If you have problems, complain to the Federal Trade Commission customer service hotline.
My comment: And the Attorney General of the US, the Attorney General of your state, and you should find a lawyer who deals in collection abuse, like us.
4. Request a supervisor. If you are trying to pay, but the collector on the phone cannot make the deal you can afford, request a supervisor, who may be able to make a better deal.
My comment: If you cannot make a deal pretty quickly on the phone, you should not be talking to them on the phone. It is pretty rare that a supervisor can make a deal that a line collector cannot, and they often are just another line collector on the phone anyway. Better to send them a letter that says that you request no more phone calls, and that all communications should be in writing. Better still is a letter telling them to communicate with your lawyer.
If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, please make an appointment to see us.
NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!
KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.
YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.
If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.
OUR LEGAL FEES:
The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.
Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.
You can call us: 804.303.0204
You can fax us: 804.303.0209
You can contact us by US MAIL:
Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.
5310 Markel Rd.
Suite 102
Richmond, VA 23230
HOW TO ORDER YOUR CONSUMER DISCLOSURE ALSO KNOWN AS A CREDIT REPORT
A consumer credit disclosure can be ordered from Equifax, TransUnion and Experian for free once a year, and also if you have been turned down for credit, or if certain other things happen.
There are 3 ways to order your consumer disclosure. Phone, mail and internet.
To order by phone, you can call the central source for these files, at 877-322-8228 (877-FACT-ACT). This is a phone call, and the process takes about 10 minutes. This call is to the central source for Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. You will need your name, address, prior address if you have lived there less than 2 years, and your social security number.
To order by mail, you download the form, print it and mail it. The address is Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
We recommend against ordering on the internet, because there are legal issues (which have to do with technicalities in the law) with doing so. If you wish to do so, point your browser to the Annual Credit Report Request Services, and follow the on-screen directions. You should print the file you get. There are free applications available to print your credit file to PDF, so you don’t even have to have paper. We like CutePDF.com, but there are others that work just fine.
You should NOT use FreeCreditReport.com or FreeCreditScore.com.
FreeCreditReport.com and FreeCreditScore.com are sales services for Experian’s ConsumerInfo.com, which sells credit monitoring. Credit monitoring costs $14.95 per month, or $179.40 annually.
Your score is not important to you. Your score is a reflection of your credit file. If your credit file is accurate, then your score will be correct, and anyone who tells you that they can remove accurate information is lying. (There will be another blog post about credit repair organizations). If your credit file is inaccurate, then your score is irrelevant, because it is false information that is being graded.
KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.
YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.
If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.
If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.
NO FEE IN YOUR FCRA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!
OUR LEGAL FEES:
The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.
Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.
You can call us: 804.303.0204
You can fax us: 804.303.0209
You can contact us by US MAIL:
Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.
5310 Markel Rd.
Suite 102
Richmond, VA 23230
Tax Return ID Theft
The Fair Credit Reporting Act is designed to protect consumers from inaccurate or outdated information on credit reports. But there is a more insidious problem looming.
Tax Return ID Theft is on the rise. Yahoo News has a story about how it is getting bigger.
Tax Return ID Theft is when someone else uses your social security number and other personal identifiers to work or obtain other government benefits. Usually this is done by an illegal alien, who needs your personal information to give to an employer so they can work.
To combat this growing scourge, it is important for you to safeguard your information and documents. Just as the advertisements suggest, you should destroy documents with your full social security number rather than just throw them away. You are even better protected by not disposing of them at all.
If you are the victim of tax return fraud, you should contact the IRS, and send in a Tax Form 14039, a tax ID theft Affidavit. This will help some in your efforts to control the damage.
But you should also be checking your credit file. Identity thieves rarely limit themselves to just your work records. You should be ordering your consumer disclosures from the 3 national credit reporting agencies. You can do this by mail, or phone. Download the form for requesting your credit report by mail, or call the central number for ordering by phone- 877-322-8228.
NO FEE IN YOUR FCRA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!
KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.
YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.
If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.
OUR LEGAL FEES:
The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.
Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.
You can call us: 804.303.0204
You can fax us: 804.303.0209
You can contact us by US MAIL:
Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.
5310 Markel Rd.
Suite 102
Richmond, VA 23230
Fixing Credit Report Errors
The Fair Credit Reporting Act is designed to protect consumers from inaccurate or outdated information on credit reports.
CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY REINVESTIGATIONS and The Fair Credit Reporting Act
All references to code sections are courtesy of the Legal Information Institute at Law.Cornell.edu.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires the Credit Reporting Agencies, or Consumer Reporting Agencies to conduct a reinvestigation and the procedures around that reinvestigation.
The section that discusses the requirements for reinvestigation of a disputed item is 15 U.S.C. §1681i.
As usual, we start with the statute. Please note that we will only be reviewing the section on reinvestigations, so the rest of the section will not be reprinted or discussed.
This section requires the consumer credit reporting agencies to have procedures if they are unable to verify information, or if they discover that information is inaccurate.
It requires that the information that they cannot verify be deleted or changed, and that information that is inaccurate be changed or deleted.
An example of unverifiable information is where the furnisher of the information provides information that a person has failed to make certain payments (ie: been late) on a debt, but is unable to provide the records that show that the person has not made those payments.
In this case, the consumer credit reporting agencies must remove the information that the person has failed to make those payments. They have to report that the person is current.
Another example of inaccurate information is an account created by identity theft. Clearly, it is not accurate to report that a person owes money to a certain creditor when that account was opened by someone else. In this case, they must delete the inaccuracy, and remove all reference to this account.
If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.
NO FEE IN YOUR FCRA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!
KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.
YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.
If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.
OUR LEGAL FEES:
The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.
Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail. You can call us: 804.303.0204 You can fax us: 804.303.0209 You can contact us by US MAIL: Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc. 5310 Markel Rd. Suite 102 Richmond, VA 23230
Lien Stripping in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Today the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals entered a very brief opinion that is great news for bankruptcy debtors, holding that junior liens — second mortgages, home equity loans, etc. — can be “stripped off” of a Debtor’s principal residence in a Chapter 13 case when they are wholly unsecured by any equity in the property. While most of the Courts of Appeals (all that have decided the issue) have already said that this is allowed, some lower courts have said it cannot be done, prompting Suntrust Bank to challenge a Debtor’s right to do this in a case arising in Maryland. The Bankruptcy Court allowed it, and it was affirmed by the District Court, but Suntrust appealed to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. Today’s ruling inSuntrust v. Millard, No. 09-2266, simply states:
SunTrust appeals the district court’s order affirming the bankruptcy court’s order granting the Debtors’ Motion to Avoid Lien. We have reviewed the record and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we affirm for the reasons stated by the district court. SunTrust Bank v. Millard, No. 8:08-cv-03002-MJG, 08-17964 (D. Md. Nov. 7, 2008 & Sept. 28, 2009).
This should come as a great relief to debtors in the 4th Circuit (Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and North and South Carolina) with homes with underwater mortgages. It is now clear that the ability to strip off junior mortgages in Chapter 13 is secure in cases where the value of the property is less than the amount of the first mortgage. The second mortgage is simply treated as unsecured debt in the Chapter 13 case, and upon completion of the plan it is removed from the title. In many cases, the ability to do this allows families to save their homes that would otherwise be unaffordable.
This article is a re-print of an article. Read the original, Here.
KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.
YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.
OUR FEES: Our fees are controlled by the local rules and your situation. They may vary from “free” or probono representation to a flat fee to an hourly fee, depending on your situation.
If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.
Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.
You can call us: 804.673.4358
You can fax us: 804.673.4350
You can contact us by US MAIL:
Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.
1650 Willow Lawn Drive
Suite 300
Richmond, VA 23230
The Problem of Debt Collectors Who Claim to Fix Your Credit
A friend of mine worked very hard to talk about the problem of debt collectors, credit reports and debt collectors.
If you have be the victim of a debt collector who has lied to you and told you that paying an old debt would improve your credit, or that they could remove the negative information, please contact us.
NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA OR FCRA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!
KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.
YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.
If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.
OUR LEGAL FEES:
The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.
Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.
You can call us: 804.673.4358
You can fax us: 804.673.4350
You can contact us by US MAIL:
Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.
1650 Willow Lawn Drive
Suite 300
Richmond, VA 23230