Are you wondering what you are going to do with your economic stimulus tax refund?  Debt collectors in India have the answer, and they are making tens of thousands of phone calls into the United States an hour, according to The New York Times reporter, Heather Thomas, in her article, Debt Collection Done From India [...]

The Week magazine reported that annually, 10,000 Indian farmers kill themselves because they can’t pay their debts. What kind of bankruptcy is available in India, I asked myself. Short answer, after 10 minutes of internet search, I don’t know. That suggests to me that a vigorous bankruptcy system is not part of [...]

When filing a personal chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy, most debtors are concerned about the effect the bankruptcy filing might have on their checking and savings accounts. After all, many debtors have banked at the same institution for years, and they do not want to have this banking relationship disrupted. This concern, [...]

Social Security would like your help. Predatory lenders in some places have found a way to, in effect, take control of Social Security payments and collect fees from that meager stipend essentially forever. The Social Security Administration is taking public comments until June 20, 2008 about what they should do, if anything.
Here’s where [...]

The price of a barrel of oil is now $117 per barrel. The most immediate result is that you are paying more at the pump for a gallon of gas. The average price of a gallon of gas is $3.50 today. One month ago it was $3.25 per gallon. What can you [...]

Employers may use consumer reports when they hire new employees and when they evaluate employees for promotion, reassignment, and retention provided they comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (sections 604, 606, and 615).  A consumer report is any report that contains information about a person’s personal and credit characteristics, character, general reputation, and lifestyle.  [...]

The Bankruptcy Code (11 U.S.C. Section 727(12(e)) permits an interested party to seek revocation of a debtor’s discharge if it can be shown that the debtor obtained the discharge by fraud and that fraud was not known to the requesting party until after the discharge was granted. It is not sufficient to show that [...]

Most, if not all, of my clients tell me they don’t ever want another credit card. I just laugh and tell them they will want one in a few months because that is what society has taught us. Besides you need one to rent a car, make hotel reservations, and the like. [...]

The Pennsylvania Fair Credit Extension Uniformity Act provides Pennsylvania consumers with the same protections as the FDCPA.  In addition, it prohibits abusive collection efforts by creditors.  (The FDCPA only applies to debt collectors.)  Like the FDCPA, the PA FCEUA prohibits:

Communication with third parties regarding the debt
Harassment, abusive, or oppressive conduct
False, deceptive, or misleading representations
Unfair or [...]

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was passed into law in 1977.  It was intended to curb abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices.  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is required by the FDCPA to submit a report to Congress every year summarizing the FTC’s actions taken under the FDCPA.  The following are the [...]