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One of my clients files Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The client is an accounts manager for a one doctor medical practice. The doctor gave the client signature authority on the office account at Wells Fargo Bank so the client could easily pay the office bills. The account is titled in the name of the boss’s medical corporation. All the money in the account is from the medical practice receipts; the debtor deposits none of her personal money in the account. The account is set up under the business’s tax ID number.

After the client filed personal bankruptcy Wells Fargo froze the account because the debtor had signature authority. The doctor cannot pay his business bills with his own money. My office called a manager at Wells Fargo Bank and wrote emails to Wells Fargo demanding they release the account freeze, but the bank ignored our calls and letters. Next, we wrote an email to the Chapter 7 trustee in the hope that he would contact Wells Fargo and get them to correct their error. The

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| Tags: Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Debtors
Posted January 26, 2011 by Brayden Laura under Credit Report

ATLANTA (Source: Equifax) - While Americans continue to pay off debts and reduce spending, Equifax (NYSE:  EFX), one of the leading nationwide credit reporting agencies, finds many households still carry a heavy debt burden – in some cases owing up to 17 percent of their income to credit card companies alone.No one region of the country is shouldering the credit card debt burden – Equifax found the top 50 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) hardest hit by credit card debt, as a percentage of income owed in 2010, are clustered in six states across the country: Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Washington and California.

These states also have some of the highest total credit card balances for the country:

Equifax reports that while total consumer debt (mortgage, auto, credit card, etc.) has declined 8.2 percent from its peak of $11.5 trillion in October of 2008, 54 million American households still owe more than $800 billion in debt to credit card companies alone – irrespective of other debts such as mortgages or students loans.

“The good news is we’re seeing Americans paying off their debts and becoming more fiscally fit,” says Dianne Bernez, Equifax’s senior vice president for corporate communications. “However, the

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| Tags: Credit, Credit Cards
Posted January 25, 2011 by Imogen Lay under Credit Report

The Federal Trade Commission took steps last week to halt another group carrying out a debt relief scam on unsuspecting consumers. The settlement involves a $500,000 fine and prohibition of the defendant’s future in the debt relief industry.

Here’s a look at the specifics of the case and how to avoid similar scams in the future.

Advertisements Offer “Quick” and “Easy” Debt Elimination

According to the FTC, the scam worked like this:

• Misleading advertisements: The company advertised that consumers could make “one simple call” to eliminate their debt for “far less” than they owed.
• Sale of contact information: Rather than actually following through with these lofty promises, though, the company in question (which called itself both The Hermosa Group and the Financial Future Network) simply sold consumers’ names and contact information to other debt relief service providers or other sales groups.
• False claims: Because of this deceptive advertising, the FTC alleged that the company’s ads were false and unsubstantiated. It seems that the compa

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| Tags: Debt Relief, Relief
Posted January 25, 2011 by Amelie Hampton under Bankruptcy Articles

Bed bugs are an expensive problem

You may have heard: a bed bug epidemic is sweeping the country and few places have it worse than New York City. Seemingly everyone in the Big Apple has a bed bug story and don’t kid yourself; the infestations aren’t limited to the “less desirable” parts of town. The Waldorf Astoria has had bed bugs, bed bug infestations have been reported in offices on Park Avenue.

In addition to the flat out unsavory connotations associated with bed bugs, the critters are more than just a nuisance. They’re a financial bomb shell. For those already struggling to get by, an inspection by a trained dog to confirm bed bugs followed by a professional exterminator can cost anywhere between $500-$2,500. Simply not an option for many already having a hard time in a poor economy. Additionally, truly ridding an apartment of bed bugs often requires throwing away most or all of the furniture in the infested rooms. All cloth

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| Tags: Bed Bugs, Bugs, New York City, York City
Posted January 24, 2011 by Imogen Lay under Credit Report

Over the past few years I have filed many Chapter 7 bankruptcies for real estate contractors, real estate brokers, and mortgage brokers . A common question pertains to bankruptcy’s effect upon their state – issued contrqactor’s and brokers license. These people are afraid that because they file bankruptcy the State of Florida will not renew their professional license, or that they State may refuse to issue a new license they intend to pursue after their bankruptcy.

I have not heard from any of my bankruptcy clients that they have lost or been denied a contractors or brokers license because they filed bankruptcy. There is protection in the Bankruptcy Code. The Code prohibits any governmental unit from denying or revoking a license because of a prior bankruptcy. The

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| Tags: Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Should
Posted January 21, 2011 by Brayden Laura under Credit Report

One essential part of recovering from a personal bankruptcy filing is making sure you regularly check your credit report to verify that all your finance-rebuilding efforts are being duly noted by the proper authorities and are helping to improve your profile as a potential borrower.

Luckily, the Federal Trade Commission has, since 2004, been in the process of evaluating and improving the accuracy of the information that appears in credit reports. Here’s the latest.

FTC Project Will Pair Consumers with Analysts

In the next few months, the FTC has announced, it will undertake a project to determine the accuracy of credit reports. T

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| Tags: Credit, Credit Reports
Posted January 20, 2011 by Amelie Hampton under Bankruptcy Articles

(Source: NCPW)- People with poor credit histories often are targeted by companies that promise to clean up their credit reports so they’ll be able to qualify for a car loan, a mortgage, insurance, even a job. Just as often, these “credit repair” companies say they need a fee of a few hundred – sometimes, a few thousand – dollars before they can go to work on your behalf. The truth is that no one can get accurate negative information removed from your credit report. It’s illegal.When negative information in your report is accurate, only the passage of time can assure its removal. A consumer reporting company can report most accurate negative information for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years.

Other important things to know about credit repair companies:

* By law, credit repair companies can’t require you to pay them until they’ve performed the credit repair services they promised.

* You can ask the three major national consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) to investigate any information in your credit report that you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. There is no cha

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| Tags: Credit, Credit Repair
Posted January 19, 2011 by Imogen Lay under Credit Report

There are many reasons why it considers that the monitoring of your credit profile and keep track of your financial situation. Most of people monitor their credit profile, if you are planning a robbery to borrow money, or simply because they are curious about the identity and the maximum time for review. The best thing you can do is check that your personal credit report at least once every three months. So you can become aware of your credit profile to the smallest detail. You can not justAfford to ignore the importance of constant contact, one for the report. And what’s more, these days have fairly easy Totally Free Credit Report.

A clear idea of where you stand in relation to your credit rating is more important given the fact that many people have discovered the hard way that their scores were low. Decrease in score can occur when a drop in, increase the credit limits of interest Rates or identity theft.

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| Tags: Credit, Credit Report
Posted January 18, 2011 by Imogen Lay under Credit Report

Recently I filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy for a Chinese client who speaks little English. I’ve been able to represent this client effectively since our initial consultation thanks to a former client of mine who has graciously been present at every meeting and during every telephone call in order to interpret for me and my client and therefore bridge our language barrier.

When my client and I attend the First Meeting of Creditors (341 Meeting) in a few weeks, where my client will be placed under oath and questioned by the Chapter 7 trustee, we will use a telephonic interpretation service to bridge the language barrier between my client and the trustee.

The United States Trustee Program recently began a Language Assistance Program (“LAP”), which provides telephonic interpreter services at 341 meetings (First Meeting of Creditors) for debtors with limited English proficiency. Interpreter services are available in as many as 196 languages. Debto

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| Posted January 16, 2011 by Amelie Hampton under Bankruptcy Articles