Category Archives: Debt Articles
- WTF! There’s a Judgment on My Credit Report
Help! I Found a Judgment on My Credit Report (via Credit.com) It’s scary enough to owe money you can’t pay back, but what may be even worse is finding out that you have already been sued for a debt, but didn’t even know it. Mark wrote on the Credit.com blog: I received a letter stating [...]
- Why Student Loans Can Keep You From Buying a Home
How Student Loans Can Keep You From Buying a Home (via Credit.com) As student loans take on an increasing presence among the 20-something generation of college graduates who have traditionally made up a high proportion of first-time homebuyers, the impact of student loan debt on a mortgage application becomes increasingly important — especially as about [...]
- Get Out of Debt Guy Support Group. It’s Free! – Info / Join
I’ve started a new free outreach through Meetup.com and have created both a local and virtual support group meeting. There is no charge to participate and no products or services are sold. This is just an opportunity for me to help people in person and online through our virtual meeting. You Are Not Alone No [...]
- Nonprofit Mpowered Appears to Mislead Consumers
A Facebook friend brought Mpowered to my attention and asked me about them. Mpowered was formerly Community Credit Counseling Services and is located in Colorado. The person wanted to know what I thought of their program. Since I have no personal knowledge about the solutions they offer I had to go to their website and [...]
- How Debt Settlement Employees Can Avoid Long Jail Time
Yesterday a U.S. Attorney announced criminal charges against debt settlement company owners and employees for fraudulently selling debt relief services to consumers in financial trouble. The Indictment laid out a pattern of activity that many inside debt settlement companies will recognize, if they swivel their chair around. Sadly, what has been assumed to be the [...]
- The Future of Credit Cards
The Future of Credit Cards (via Credit.com) At a recent conference devoted to travel and credit card rewards, executives from Chase, Barclaycard, US Bank, Capital One and American Express were on hand to share their views on the future of credit cards — and there was a broad consensus on where the industry is going [...]
- Debt Settlement Company and Employees Criminally Charged in Fraud.
Today the Manhattan U.S. Attorney filed a criminal indictment against Mission Settlement Agency, Mission Abstract, LLC, Alpha Debt Settlement, Michael Levitis, Denis Kurlyand, Boris Schulman, Manuel Cruz, and James Leon. The criminal indictment filed should be of interest to many that were or still are in the advance fee debt settlement business. The activities described [...]
- Debt Settlement Attorneys Named in CFPB Action. Some Criminally Charged.
Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Manhattan U.S. Attorney both announced legal action against a number of individuals. This action seems to cast a bright light into the dark closet of debt settlement activities that have harmed consumers for a number of years. What makes this case new and unique is the extensive [...]
- Credit Report Data Broker Leaks a Concern for FTC
The Federal Trade Commission sent letters to ten data broker companies warning that their practices could violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) after a test-shopping operation by the FTC indicated the companies were willing to sell consumer information without abiding by FCRA requirements. The test-shopping operation was part of a worldwide privacy protection effort. [...]
- How to Get Out of Debt. The Real Truth.
People ask me questions every single day about how to get out of debt. Problem debt is a chronic problem that faces many at any one time. If you are facing debt, you are not alone. Normally the worry of debt is hidden by the perception everything this is alright. If there is no stress, [...]
- New York: Great Pizza, Bagels… & Debt Collection Laws?
New York: Great Pizza, Bagels… & Debt Collection Laws? (via Credit.com) Personal financial challenges can be daunting. Struggling to pay bills is tasking enough, but when you throw in having to deal with aggressive debt collector calls, letters, even legal actions, it can become overwhelming, and often confusing. Federal and state laws regarding how debts [...]
- Dealing With Debt – It’s All Bullshit
So my friend Damon Day and I have this conversation all the time about how the entire debt world is all bullshit. It’s a very true statement, unfortunately. Until now I wasn’t sure how to broach the subject on the site. What the hell, let’s just jump in deep. The fact is people who are [...]
- Have Consumers Really Learned a Lesson About Debt?
A recent publication out from the Federal Reserve appears to indicate consumers have learned to cut back on debt, at least for now. The reduction might be to a number of events and not just the sudden realization that too much debt is problematic. For example, people may be feeling less confident about the future [...]
- How to Discharge Your Student Loans if You Are in the Military, Police, or Teacher
More and more at GetOutOfDebt.org we are getting questions about how to get your student loans eliminated, forgiven, or discharged if you are in or served in the military, police officer, teacher, librarian, or other public service employee. It is absurdly ironic that members of the military can go into harms way, fight in combat [...]
- AFCC Releases Report Praising Debt Settlement But There Are Big Holes
The American Fair credit Council (AFCC) recently released a couple of documents they hoped would persuade people about the value of debt settlement. I was asked to review the findings in the documents and offer my opinion. The first presentation is one that was supposedly given to the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection [...]