Personal Bankruptcy – If it’s Unavoidable, File NowWritten by Charles Essmeier
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that requires credit card companies to establish a payment schedule that allows consumers to repay their debts in a “reasonable” amount of time. Since beginning of this year, major credit card companies have doubled their minimum payments from 2% of balance to 4% of balance. For average household with $10,000 in credit card debt, this doubles minimum monthly payment from $200 to $400, an increase that many consumers cannot afford.
The dramatic increase in bankruptcy filings has overwhelmed bankruptcy attorneys, who will face additional burden of being liable for false information filed by their clients once new law takes effect. This additional pending liability, combined with additional workload, has prompted many attorneys to raise their fees by an average of nearly 20% over same time last year.
What does this mean for those with problem debt? The deadline for filing under existing law remains October 14, 2005. After that, bankruptcy filings will be more complicated and expensive. The courts and law offices are already becoming clogged with bankruptcy cases. Anyone who may be considering filing for bankruptcy to overcome his or her problem debt should do so now. Waiting even another day could be too late.
©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to debt consolidation and credit counseling, and HomeEquityHelp.com, a site devoted to information regarding mortgages and home equity lending .
| | Identity Theft – Monitor Your Credit ReportWritten by Charles Essmeier
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of suspicious activity, you can then call appropriate agency, be it a lender, credit bureau itself or police, if necessary. The packages vary in both prices and features, so interested consumers should shop around to find a plan that works to fit their needs.
A free alternative is to obtain a free credit report. Thanks to a law passed last year, Americans can obtain one free report from each of three credit bureaus per year through a special Website. By obtaining one report every four months, consumers can keep an eye on activity under their name for free. This is not nearly as effective as subscribing to a monitoring plan, which will notify you when activity takes place, but it is better than doing nothing at all. With recent security breaches by major credit card processors, consumers who are worried about being victims of identity theft have genuine concerns. The credit bureaus are doing what they can to help, and monitoring programs and free credit reports are a step in right direction.
©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to debt consolidation and credit counseling, and HomeEquityHelp.com, a site devoted to information regarding mortgages and home equity lending .
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