Bankruptcy filings in federal courts jumped by more than one-third this year, as businesses and individuals struggled to regain their footing in a weakened economy.

New numbers from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts show about 1.4 million bankruptcy cases were filed this fiscal year. That’s up 34.5 percent compared with the more than 1 million cases filed last fiscal year. The bankruptcy figures cover a period from Oct. 1, 2008, to Sept. 30.

Filings under Chapters 7, 11, 12 and 13 all rose — particularly filings for Chapter 11 protection, which increased 68 percent. Overall, business filings were up 52 percent, while nonbusiness filings rose by 34 percent.

How to enroll with a good Company

1.  Check out Their BBB — look for complaints, their ratings, how long they have been in business

2.  Type the companies name in Google and look for complaints

3. Check out their Company Owner filing information -  Criminal records, networth

4.  Dont believe the overhyped TASC Members– Those companies just pay some money each month to be members

5. Review the documents before signing -  look for guarantees

There are many debt settlement companies set up to just take your money and make things worse.  DO your research and contact your state Generak Attorney to make sure the companies check out. 

Debt Settlement Rankings-  Debt Settlement Charts-

A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies. There are many types of consumer reporting agencies, including credit bureaus and specialty agencies (such as agencies that sell information about check writing histories, medical records, and rental history records). Here is a summary of your major rights under the FCRA. For more information, including information about additional rights, go to www.ftc.gov/credit or write to: Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.

• You must be told if information in your file has been used against you. Anyone who uses a credit report or another type of consumer report to deny your application for credit, insurance, or employment – or to take another adverse action against you – must tell you, and must give you the name, address, and phone number of the agency that provided the information.
• You have the right to know what is in your file. You may request and obtain all the information about you in the files of a consumer reporting agency (your “file disclosure”). You will be required to provide proper identification, which may include your Social Security number. In many cases, the disclosure will be free. You are entitled to a free file disclosure if:
  • a person has taken adverse action against you because of information in your credit report;
  • you are the victim of identify theft and place a fraud alert in your file;
  • your file contains inaccurate information as a result of fraud;
  • you are on public assistance;
  • you are unemployed but expect to apply for employment within 60 days. In addition, by September 2005 all consumers will be entitled to one free disclosure every 12 months upon request from each nationwide credit bureau and from nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies. See www.ftc.gov/credit for additional information.
• You have the right to ask for a credit score. Credit scores are numerical summaries of your credit-worthiness based on information from credit bureaus. You may request a credit score from consumer reporting agencies that create scores or distribute scores used in residential real property loans, but you will have to pay for it. In some mortgage transactions, you will receive credit score information for free from the mortgage lender.
• You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. If you identify information in your file that is incomplete or inaccurate, and report it to the consumer reporting agency, the agency must investigate unless your dispute is frivolous. See www.ftc.gov/credit for an explanation of dispute procedures.
• Consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information. Inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable information must be removed or corrected, usually within 30 days. However, a consumer reporting agency may continue to report information it has verified as accurate.
• Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information. In most cases, a consumer reporting agency may not report negative information that is more than seven years old, or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old.
• Access to your file is limited. A consumer reporting agency may provide information about you only to people with a valid need — usually to consider an application with a creditor, insurer, employer, landlord, or other business. The FCRA specifies those with a valid need for access.
• You must give your consent for reports to be provided to employers. A consumer reporting agency may not give out information about you to your employer, or a potential employer, without your written consent given to the employer. Written consent generally is not required in the trucking industry. For more information, go to www.ftc.gov/credit.
• You may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report. Unsolicited “prescreened” offers for credit and insurance must include a toll-free phone number you can call if you choose to remove your name and address from the lists these offers are based on. You may opt-out with the nationwide credit bureaus at 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688) .
• You may seek damages from violators. If a consumer reporting agency, or, in some cases, a user of consumer reports or a furnisher of information to a consumer reporting agency violates the FCRA, you may be able to sue in state or federal court.
• Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have additional rights. For more information, visit www.ftc.gov/credit.

States may enforce the FCRA, and many states have their own consumer reporting laws. In some cases, you may have more rights under state law. For more information, contact your state or local consumer protection agency or your state Attorney General. Federal enforcers are:

Free E Book – Understanding Your Credit Scores  

It seems that we have all become a number, and that number usually is between 300-850.  Our credit socre determine how we live or at least what rates we can get on most loans.  The only way to improve your score is by eucating yourself on how the score is built and laws governign your credit.

Please Check out the Free Ebook posted above.  It is full of information that is viable to your credit knowledge, and it will surely help you improve your credit in the long term.

There have been many consumers hurt by companies promising to repair or erase their credit file.  Most of these companies just try to overload the Credit Bureau with frivilous Disputes, which sometimes works, but even if the file is removed it will be a short fix.

The Best way to clean your credit report is for you to go through it first and se if there are any mistakes with any of the accounts.  This could include accounts that are older than 7 years, worng acccount number, wrong balances or limits, and accounts that are no longer opened.  You do have the right to dispute any account you believe shouldnt be on there, but dont waste your time disputing accurate accounts.

1.  Never assume you cannot cooperatively work out a problem with your lender.  There are many ways a lender and borrower can restructure a loan to their mutual advantage.

2.  Make certain other assets are not exposed if you run into problems with a loan.

3.  Its usually wiser to sell the property for  a low, low price or on lenient terms rather than lose it through foreclosure.

4.  Watch out for the lender liability.  It can give you considerable leverage when negotiating with lenders.

5.  It may be wise to voluntarily surrender property to the lender rather than have it foreclosed upon and produce a large defiency.

6.  Carefully check your loan documents.  You may have ironclad defenses to a forelcosure.

7.  Bankruptcy can stop a foreclosure, but its not always best solution.

Have a good attorney review your Mortgage as a self defense against foreclosure.

1.)  Incorrect name of the borrower

2.)  Missing mortgagor signature

3.)  Incorrect property description

4.)  Incorrect filling in the public records

5.)  Lapsed security interest from not timely re-filing

6.)  Collateral incorrectly described or deleted

7.)  Incorrect debtors name

8.)  Financing statement incorrectly filed

More Lenders are offering Loan Mod’s

As the number of foreclosure skyrockets, lenders are increasingly willing to help homeowners keep their homes.

These processes, called foreclosure work outs, might include:

• Renegotiate the terms of the mortgage so that the arrearage is paid at the end of the mortgage term, either over traditional time or as a balloon payment.
• Renegotiating interest to lower the payments or keeping them fixed if rate was adjustable
• Using a deed in lieu of foreclosure, where the debtor gives back the house in return for the lender not to foreclose and not to fo after additional money the debtor owes on the mortgage

Getting Chater 7 Protection – Pass the mean test

There are 2 income test that determine whether you are eligible for a Ch. 7 Bankruptcy.

• The means test, which compares your average monthly income for the sic months before you file for bankruptcy to the media income in your state
• The “abuse under all the circumstances” test, which looks at your actual income and your actual expenses to determine wheter you have enough money coming in to repay some of the debts

If you fail the means test you will be put into an Chapter 13

Sample Letter telling Collection Agency to stop contacting you

Collection Services

Address:

Date:

Attn: Director

Re; Your name

Account #

Dear Mr. Director,

For the past three months, I have received several phone calls and letters from you concerning an overdue Rich’s Department Store Account. 

This is my formal notice to you under 15 U.S.C 1692c© to cease all further communications with me except for the reasons specifically set forth in the federal law.

This letter is not meant in any way to be an acknowledgment that I owe this money to you. 

Very Truly Yours