What is one of the most important monthly expenses or services you use? Electricity, Natural Gas or Propane, Water,?

Answer. All of them together. Pretty much a tough go of it if you loose your electricity in winter because of lack of payment. Heat likely the same. Well there are laws in many states stipulating that the basic utility services can not be terminated or “turned off’ during the winter months. (November to March) in most states.

No way do I suggest you play the system because you will ultimately still be responsible for the bill, but if threats come from the collection agencies be sure to talk to a credit counsellor and have them research the applicable act.

You will often see Credit Cards entice you to sign up to accumulate points for Automobiles, Travel or what ever. In the event that you have to do a chapter 7 or 13 you stand the very real chance of loosing all of those points and benefits.

Wage Garnashees are nasty things. They are court ordered and are designed to force you to repay a debt to a debtor. If you say owe money to a Credit Card company. You have neglected to repay even your minumum payment, refused to answer their calls, decided to have the phone disconnected maybe…. They will leave me alone now?

Nope. A Garnashee order is issued and you will appear in Court. Without a suitable reason for your conduct a judge may issue an order to Garnashee your wages and there is not too much you can do except beg for forgiveness. Not too likely it will work. In other countries such as Canada Garnashees can be ordered with out you even knowing until you notice a difference in your net pay and payroll is not to blame.

Best practice. Call a creditor, keep the lines of communication open and do your best to make payment.

That baffled me for a while till I found out about factoring and the sale of receivables. Companies that provide you the big screen tv actually sell the account that you formed and the agreements that support that account to a finance company. That finance company essentially lays in wait for you to come to the end of your “no payment holiday” and then hopes you will not be able to pay out on time. They then start the interest and principle calculations from the day of purchase and you pay it all right then and there. If you cannot you start paying the debt off over a period of time at a substancial interest rate.

The company that sold you the item gets paid within days of selling you the goods.

Couple of days ago I werecked my car. I\’m still paying on owing 7300 I didn\’t have insurance on it. I haven\’t heard from the other insurance company from the car that i hit. I was just getting things under control now i feel as if i can no longer handle it is bankruptcy a consideration

Bankruptcy is always a consideration however, it may be that you have bigger issues to deal with before hand. In many states it is a manditory lending requirement for insurance coverage on a chattel (Your financed car). In some other states it it no fault. Not knowing where you are from does not allow me to answer completely. I would likely seek out a litigation attorney or legal aid.

Question? I have heard of this and I think I am being discriminated against when I apply for a loan.

According to the U.S. consumer protection act- Equal opportunity lending is based on the same priciple as Equal opportunity employement. Simply lenders are not allowed to discriminate against or prejudice an individual regardless of race, creed and religious convicitons. Everyone can apply and should be given the same considerations in reviewing credit and loan worthiness. If you suspect a discrimination issue at your lender then ask them for a copy of their consumer lending guidelines.

As of October 2005 a manditory credit counseling directive was issued by the US Dept of Justice basically stating that prior to filing a Chapter 7 or 13 personal bankruptcy the individual must be counselled by a certified counsellor. This initiative is a good thing because it will guide and direct and individual to better understand the process and allow a Means Assessment to see all of the individuals options in being able to fullfill the terms of the particular bankruptcy. For more information brouse our Bankruptcy America.com FAQ page.

Question: My husband and I are in an extreme amount of debt that has built up over a number of years. Periods of unemployment have not helped. We both have very low paying jobs. (one is min. wage,and neither one of us work 40 hrs.) But our credit card debt is around $28,000. We do however, own our home, debt free. Is there help for us since we own our home? Is it possible for us to go bankrupt while owning a home?

Answer: Thank you for your question.. It is possible to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy and keep your home.. It does however depend on your state you live in and decide to file in. There is such a thing as an homestead exemption that caps the value of your assets in real estate. You will have to proceed with a Means Test which will determine your situation on a daily basis. It may well be that with the debt load you carry you may just want to do a Home Equity loan and pay out your debt that way. We suggest you use our free bankruptcy evaluation; a bankruptcy attorney will contact you, from your state, to help you decide whether or not bankruptcy is the correct option for you.

A default interest rate is the rate charged when you fail to pay according to the agreement you signed when obtaining your credit. For instance.

If you fail to pay the minimum balance on your credit card this month. You may have paid some sort of interest penality in the past on maintaining your balance, but if you do not pay anything then the card company issues a Default Interest rate to the maximum published as a big penalty. They will usually access this larger rate for a period of 3 months after you bring your account into “Good Standing”

Credit cards can be tricky things, especially when you inadvertently miss a payment. The interest is charged from the begining of the period you borrowed the credit, not from the point from which you defaulted… Costing Americans millions of dollars per month in excess charges. Big business, Big money… Read and UNDERSTAND the whole card holder agreement. Contact us at Bankruptcy-America.com for more indepth information.