I am getting a threatening letter taking me to court!

If you receive a letter saying that if you do not pay within a certain period of time then your account will be submitted to court for a judgement. This means that the collection agency is flexing its muscles and saying, its just about had enough of the outstanding debt. The fact is that it will take several weeks or several months to obtain a judgement but that is the way they are going. The company has every right to obtain a judgement to collect however, its really just a piece of paper signed by a judge that says you have to pay. We know that with out the action right?

Your best bet is to complile all of your debts and finances and sit down with a Credit or Financial Health counsellor and have a full assessment done.

My parents got a call from a nasty collection agency looking for me? Can they call them?

Under certain conditions they have the right to do so. One condition would be if they (parents) have co-signed any loan arrangement that you have entered into.. Ie You need help to get a car loan and they sign with you to guarrantee it.

If your parents or parent are co-applicants or co-account holders of a credit card, but not an authorized user.

Your name is the same as your fathers..

Remember these guys are paid by the collection.. If they can rattle or disturb anyone close to you and lay an emotional trip on them to influence you to pay your bill or make an inappropriate decision THEY WILL>

Have a look into a Debt Management / Credit counselling specialist to help out. We can assist further at Bankruptcy-America.com

My creditors call and harass me... What can I do?

Tough spot to be in but there are a couple of options... One Call them back and deal with them and their issues with your account... Takes a fair bit of courage but nonetheless that will have them go away at least temporarilly.

Two. If you do not wish to contact them then look at developing a Debt Management Plan with a recognized Debt Management service and let them deal with the creditors on your behalf.

Three. They have every right to call under certain rules and procedures as subscribed by the US DOJ United States Department of Justice. If you get a call at work they must have had permission from someone in your household that gave them your number at work... There are many, many rules of the road concerning creditor contact with you.. Consult a certified Councellor for more information

Does Credit Counselling cost me money?

Some charitable organizations do counselling free of charge... A donation is usually appreciated. In most cases however you get what you pay for. It is not uncustomary to have to pay a professional for professional services. I myself do charge fees for services but I provide fair and equitable returns for my services. Do lots of research and do it before despairation kicks in. Bankruptcy attorneys in America will do much of the counselling under the Dept Of Justice directive.

What do I look for in a Credit Counselor?

This is a very wide and ranging question. Lets hit a few points. 1. Look for someone you can speak to freely and easily. I myself did go bankrupt so have some "real" insight on the subject. 2. Look for credentials. 3. Look for them to offer you a wide range of alternatives AFTER.. a complete assessment of your finances. 4. LISTEN to what is said.. Ask questions. If these questions can not be answered or answers can not be found in a short period of time move on.

I got a letter saying I am pre approved for Credit Cards? What does this mean?

Well, most cases this means that you have been randomly selected via mailing list and just sent one on the hopes that you will apply and get hooked. This is just like saying "All credit applications accepted" (the car guys do this) Well of course all accepted. Not all approved... Tear it up. DR

Whats this thing called a fico score?

FICO stands for Fair Isaac company. It is a company that looks at your credit rating (bureau) reports and feeds all the information into a computer and from 100 or so different bits of information.. Spits out a number which is a score between 300 and 850. Higher the score, better chance to get that fishin boat. Lower score, better look for cover...

Most Mortgage lenders will give you one for a score of 500 or better... Higher interest but doable. Score of 750, best rates in the country.

More information is available through True Credit or another credit reporting agency.