Your Legal Rights re:Unsecured Debt

Stating first that I am not an attorney. There are plenty of attorneys to work with in our business.

You have a right, in the U.S.A., to arbitrate/negotiate your unsecured debts (i.e. credit cards, signature loans, medical bills) or have it done for you. That is in the fine print on every credit card or unsecured debt agreement you have signed. In the fine print, because they really hope you miss reading it.

Life can change in seconds and significantly affect you. Think of Hurricane Katrina and others. Other things such as automobile accidents, major health changes, loss of your job, divorce, and things like this affecting your children or other loved ones who you need to help. I always think of one of my clients whose daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer, needed chemo and they had to help her, going through $40,000 in savings and mounting up over $100,000 in credit card debt.

You also have protection from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, monitered through the Federal Trade Commission and other agencies and companies. If you owe someone money, they cannot abuse you or they face a fine of $1,000 per telephone call.

Everyone has legal protection, and if your life has significantly changed on you or your family, stand up for yourself and your loved ones.

Need credit counseling? Don't make hasty choice by "The Motley Fool"

This is the text of an article from "The Motley Fool":

Question: Should I use consumer credit counseling organizations (CCC) to help me get out of debt? Do they have any drawbacks?

Answer: Be careful with such outfits. Using them can do serious harm to your credit rating. If your credit report reflects that you've sought professional help, it can decrease your credit score significantly--sometimes as much as a bankruptcy can. Worse, while you proceed to dig your way out of debt (and sometimes for years afterward), many mortgage lenders won't consider you for a loan.

Roger's comments: CCC companies were started and supported by the credit card companies. They will show on your credit report as "third party payers." You will be paying interest. Most times, you cannot buy a car either.

The program we recommend is debt negotiation. You have the federal right to arbitrate your debts, which our law firm exercises for you. It does not show as a third-party payer, because you are actually paying from your own escrow account. You will pay no interest.

Facts from "In Debt We Trust"

"In Debt We Trust" is another interesting movie on the debt crisis by Director Danny Schecter. Visit the website at http://www.indebtwetrust.com Total number of Americans: 300,000,000. Total consumer debt in America: $3,000,000,000,000 (3 trillion). Average debt per U.S. Household: $30,000. Number of households not paying off their credit card balances each month: 6 in 10.

Consumer bankruptcies in 1980: 287,463. Consumer bankruptcies in 2004: 1,500,000, a 422% increase. Net profit percentage annually by the major credit card companies: 54%

The average college student graduates with $30,000 in student loan debt and another $20,000 in additional consumer debt.

My Average Debt Negotiation Client: How do you compare?

My average client who has entered the debt negotiation program 2007 year to date has an income of $47,600, credit card/unsecured debt of $29,839 for a unsecured debt to income ratio (excluding mortgage and vehicles) of 62.7%.

If they continued to just make minimum payments on this unsecured debt, this average individual would pay roughly $89,500 to the credit card companies and banks, roughly 3 times their current balances by the time their loans were paid off.

We project we will negotiate this average debtor to roughly $19,395 with no interest and each individual has the choice of a 18 to 36 month payoff to become debt free. This would be a monthly payment of $540 for 36 months ranging to $1,080 for 18 months. This would save this average client roughly $70,100 versus continuing to pay minimum payments each month for the next 17-18 years to get out of debt, IF they never charged another penny to their cards.

Call Roger Foulks, M.B.A., Senior Debt Consultant at 941-320-0818 for more information and a consultation about this lawyer-led program and your personal situation.