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Getting a Credit Counseling Service – 5 Most Important Questions to Ask

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 23:49:35 +0000

Credit counseling agencies are non-profits organizations that help heavy debtors to work their way out of debt. There are too many credit-counseling agencies in the market, while many are legitimate organizations that really want to help the debtors to solve their debt issue, there are scammers around who also call themselves credit counseling agencies, try to cheat your money and worsen your debt condition. If you are overwhelming with debt and looking for credit counseling service, then it is important for you to choose a legitimate credit counseling service. Here are 5 important questions to ask when you approach a credit counseling agency:

1. What services do you offer?

Most credit counseling agencies include services such as budget counseling, savings and debt management training. Try to look for an organization that offers a range of services so that you can get the counseling in all areas of personal finance that are necessary to help you effectively manage your money and resolve your debt issue. The counselor should first understand your entire financial situation before he/she propose a personalized plan to solve your money problems. Avoid organizations that keep selling their debt management plan as your only option before getting to understand in detail about your debt problem.

2. Are you licensed to offer your services in my state?

Most states required credit counseling agencies and the counselors to obtain license before they can offer their services in the states. Before you approach credit counseling agency, do some homework to understand the licensing requirements of a credit counseling services for your state. Do not accept credit counseling services that do not fulfill the requirements for your state.

3. Do you offer free counseling services?

If you can get it free, don’t pay for it. Most credit counseling agencies provide free counseling services to their clients, you just need to pay a reasonable fee if you agree to enroll into their proposed debt solutions such as debt management plan. Avoid getting services from credit counseling agencies that charge for “free” services.

4. Will I have a formal written agreement or contract with you?

Don’t enroll into a debt management plan (DMP) that does not have any written contract or agreement. Even there is an agreement for the proposed DMP, you must not sign the agreement in hurry, read all documents carefully to ensure all the terms and promises by the credit counselor are written correctly in the documents. If you are urged to act immediately, consider finding another credit counseling agency.

5. What are your fees? What are these fees for?

Get a detail price quote in writing on all fees involved and specifically ask whether the fees quoted cover all the necessary fees, this is to avoid any potential hidden cost charge by the agency after you have signup with their plan. If your current financial capability is not able to support the fees, try to negotiate with the agency to waive or reduce the fees. If the agency won’t help you to resolve the fees problem, look elsewhere for help.

Summary

You want to get a credit counseling service that can help to solve you in your debt problem. Hence, it is important you ask the right questions that can help you to identify the legitimate and responsiveness of a credit counseling service.

3 Important Facts About Credit Counseling & Debt management

admin — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 23:44:30 +0000

Debt management and credit counseling are very popular in the States today. With the credit card crisis on the rise, the credit counseling services are becoming indispensable. Goingt o a Credit counseling service is a good choice for managing personal and commercial debts properly. With the increased demand for credit counseling, many debt management firms have popped up through the recent years. You can find a debt management firm easily.

However, when it comes to finding the best, there are several factors that have to be considered. You will be well aware of the fact that all the credit counseling programs function based on the basic principle of help the borrowers to settle their debts with smaller monthly payments. However, today with huge competition out there, the debt management firms are offering various advanced services. It is very much necessary to know the facts about the modern credit counseling services. In this article we have presented the 3 must know facts about modern credit counseling and debt management programs.

1. The Many Services Offered by the Debt Management Firms

As already said, huge competition in debt management sector has forced firms to provide unique credit counseling services. Today, services ranging from small budget counseling to debt management training for corporate companies are available with debt management firms. Hence it is always good to look for an organization that provides the ranges of credit counseling services that best fit your needs.

2. Checkout the credit counseling laws in your State

The huge demand for the credit counseling services created a sudden outbreak of a large number of scammy debt management firms. These fraudsters used to charge huge fees from the clients by offering false promises. To prevent these fraudulent companies from swindling the people money, the Government has made it mandatory to get the licensing for providing credit counseling in the States.

Separate licenses have to be obtained for different credit Counseling services. For example, if a firm provides credit counseling and Pre Filing Bankruptcy Counseling, they should have the license for both the services. Advantageccs is a debt management firm which holds the license to provide Pre Filing Bankruptcy Counseling in Alaska Arkansas, California Florida, Hawaii Indiana, Kentucky Louisiana, Nevada New Mexico, New York Ohio, Pennsylvania South Dakota, Tennessee Texas, Utah Washington and West Virginia Wyoming.

3. There are many free counseling service providers too

Most of the debt management firms offer free counseling services today. These firms offer free counseling once you join some of their debt management plans. The fac that the counseling is free doesn’t mean that it is useless. Due to the tough competition in the field, the debt management firms are providing the very best free counseling to the clients.

Debt management has seen lots of changes through the recent years. Keeping a track of the changes will help you to find the best debt management program.

The Personal Finance Calculator : How to Calculate the Most Important Financial Decisions in Your Life

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:51:16 +0000

Product Description
Today’s most clear-cut guide for understanding and making everyday financial decisions Is it better to buy or lease a car? How does one calculate an investment return? For that matter, what exactly is an investment return? The Personal Finance Calculator provides noncomplex tools and calculations for assessing current personal wealth, determining how much debt is too much debt, understanding credit card interest rates, and more. Written by Esme Faerber,… More >>

The Personal Finance Calculator : How to Calculate the Most Important Financial Decisions in Your Life

Bankruptcy Law & Attorneys – Important Facts To Consider

admin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:10:17 +0000

Bankruptcy law is a federal statutory law contained in title 11 of the United States codes. Congress passed the Bankruptcy Code under its Constitutional grant of the authority to establish a uniform law on the subject of bankruptcy throughout United States. States may not regulate bankruptcy though they may pass the laws that govern other aspects of the debtor-creditor relationship.

Bankruptcy allows a debtor, who is unable to pay his creditors to resolve his debts through the division of his assets among his creditors. Certain bankruptcy proceedings allow a debtor to stay in business and use the revenue generated to resolve his or her debts. A United States Bankruptcy court supervises bankruptcy proceedings and is where bankruptcy is litigated. Proceedings in bankruptcy courts are governed by the Bankruptcy Rules which were promulgated by the Supreme Court under the authority of Congress.

How Do Bankruptcy Proceedings Work?

Informally called “straight bankruptcy,” The most common type of bankruptcy proceedings liquidation involves the appointment of a trustee who collects the non-exempts property of the debtor, sells it and distributes the proceeds to the creditors.

Chapter 11 is reorganization. In this chapter the debtors are allowed to continue its operations while paying their debts. The debtor can either enter the bankruptcy proceedings or it can be initiated by the creditors. The creditors may not seek to collect their debts outside the proceedings at the most part, after the bankruptcy proceedings is filed. The latest revisions of the bankruptcy law are now in effect. Before the debtor can file a bankruptcy case, they should undergo credit counseling, budgeting and debt managements before the debt is wiped out.

Bankruptcy Attorney – Choosing the Right One

Bankruptcy attorneys explain the applications of bankruptcy laws and its applications. If the debtors or their lawyers set off the bankruptcy it is called a voluntary bankruptcy. If the courts initiate the bankruptcy it is called an involuntary bankruptcy. A good bankruptcy attorney will take all the problems away from the bankrupt person or company and deal with every aspect of the bankruptcy.

6 Helpful Tips and Considerations For Finding the Best Bankruptcy Attorney

1. Find a bankruptcy lawyer at the circle of your acquaintances. Keep in mind that bankruptcy law is a specialty, so if your lawyer offers to handle the case as part of your usual retainer, make sure he knows his way around a bankruptcy court.

2. Attorneys must be certified by the American Bankruptcy Institute.

3. Spend a day at a bankruptcy court.

4. What time frame do you have for this bankruptcy?

5. How much access will I have to an attorney during my bankruptcy filing?

6. Because bankruptcy law is a volume business, the time you’ll actually be working with a specific attorney may be small. Don’t hire the cheapest lawyer.

Dean Shainin offers valuable online debt solutions, news, tools and resources on bankruptcy and debt relief at his Bankruptcy site.