Friday, February 15, 2008

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.

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Natural Phone Cautions

We do much of our debt consultation business over the phone lines nationwide. We understand everyone's natural cautions to scams and fraud. We DO NOT ask for account numbers or SS numbers over the phone. These are only supplied in legal paperwork to the arbitration firm doing your work. Remember, legally anyone has to tell you if you are being recorded. The ONLY thing we ever record is any payment agreement, and this is done for your protection and the firm's protection, it is announced, and it is completed by a Quality Assurance Representative.

You can search me by name "Roger Foulks" on all the search engines and you will see that I am not hiding, and can be found! We post on many networks trying to find people who need help and every posting we do shows up in the search engines, so feel free to search away.

Roger Foulks, M.B.A.,Anna Maria, Florida,941-320-0818

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ALWAYS check the Better Business Bureau File

Before you do business with any Debt Arbitration firm, you should always ask for and check their BBB file. We ALWAYS provide this to our clients, because our recommendation ALWAYS has a great BBB file. A great BBB file is one where only a small handful of complaints have been filed, and they are always show successful resolution. When a company serves 1000s of clients and has this kind of BBB file, you can be confident.

I have checked the BBB file on some companies mentioned by my potential clients and found hundreds of complaints. Don't know about you, but I would NEVER chance doing business with a company with that kind of BBB file.

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"Universal Default Clause"

The new law allows ALL creditors to raise your credit card interest rates up to that companies maximum interest rate even if you are late on your water bill! Customers can potentially trigger universal default pricing by a credit card issuer by the following behaviors:

1. Being late (even once) on a credit card, mortgage, utility or car payment.
2. Going over the credit limit, on ANY credit card.
3. Carrying too much debt overall.
4. Using over 50% of the credit line for an individual credit card.
5. Having too much available credit and open trade lines.
6. Making too many credit inquiries.
6. Getting a new mortgage or car loan.

Your interest rates can skyrocket to 30 percent or more if you make late payments, or even make 3 minimum payments in a row!

"How can this be legal?" you may ask. The answer is found in the fine print of your credit card agreement, and it is called a "universal default clause." According to the Institute of Consumer Financial Education, currently almost 40 percent of credit card issuers apply this policy to their customers.

Your creditors also have the right to routinely monitor your credit file. So a creditor with a "universal default clause" will be watching -- and waiting for you to make a small mistake! Check all your credit cards for this clause in the fine print!

They are losing too much money on bad mortgages made, and they will be after your money.

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Sunday, October 28, 2007

Refinancing Your Mortgage is NOT debt elimination

What do I hear a lot? I'm going to refinance my mortgage and pay off my credit card debt, which will lower my payments. (Listening to a mortgage broker who is going to make a huge commission when you do this is dangerous!)



What you are really doing: Moving unsecured debt to secured debt-against your most important asset-your house. Now, if you can't make a payment, they can foreclose on the roof over your head.



You did NOT eliminate any debt, you have just restructured it and if you restructed it into a new 30-year mortgage, you will be paying off that same debt over the next 30 years. It might be at a lower interest rate, but you need to study your loan ammortization schedule and see what this new 30-year plan costs you. That mortgage broker may not be your friend - remember, his/her first interest is padding his/her pocket.



Your least cost option? Submit the debt to arbitration, eliminate it with no interest cost over the next 18-39 months.



Also, talk to us about how you can use a MMA to eliminate your mortgage in half the normal time.

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Monday, September 03, 2007

55 New Clients Save $3.3 Million

55 of my new clients served in 2007 collectively are saving over $3.3 million by being a part of the Shepley Law program. This savings comes from breaking the habit of paying off their credit card and other secured debt with minimum monthly payments which can take 15 to 25 years depending on interest rates.

With Shepley Law arbitrating the client's debt, and the arbitrated amount being paid off with no interest or penalties added, my average client will save over $60,000 each, reduce their debt to income ratio substantially, and significantly improve their credit score in 18 to 39 months.

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Thursday, June 14, 2007

Reduce Your Debt to Income Ratio to Improve Your Credit Score

Your Debt to Income Ratio is your total debt divided by your income. If your total debt is $40,000 and your income is $40,000, your debt to income ratio is 100%, meaning it takes a full year's worth of income to pay off your debt.

If you have a mortgage of $120,000, you have added 3 more years of income or 300% to the ratio.

Most people do not realize that your debt to income ratio has a heavy effect on your credit score, even more than on-time payments. Paying off debts has a very positive effect on your credit score.

Clients in our program are getting completely out of their unsecured debt load in 18-39 months and seeing much higher credit scores as a result. Get on our MMA Mortgage Reduction program as well, and see your score go much higher in just a few years. The mortgage reduction program can been seen at: http://www.u1stfinancial.net/achieveunlimited

Why is this the case? Logically, if someone has debt which will take years to repay, they are at much higher risk of a negative life event: loss of job, disability, etc., and a higher credit risk.

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