because I thought the credit card company may not accept the offer of 40% or 50% of the debt.. and sue in court and win a garnishment.
The debt settlement gentleman on the phone said "don’t worry, less than 1% of people who sign up with us get sued", therefore I feel everyone can rack up huge credit card debt and sign up for it to only owe half or less.
America wasn’t like this 40 years ago! Go to YouTube and look up some old "Soul Train" videos… everyone is slim! That’s how they could dance!
What on earth have they done to us? What have they done to our food?
And why is it impossible to lose body fat (and keep it off) once you’ve gained it?
I know you can lose a little, but it’s a constant struggle, and it doesn’t seem possible to really lose it – i.e., get down to "washboard abs" and single-digit body fat percentage…. is it?
THIS is why America is going bankrupt. Everyone is fat and sick, so naturally our health care costs are exploding, and people can’t be as productive as they were back when they were healthy (like in the 1970s…)
its from a credit card debt, which was turned over to Arrow Financial Services (a debt collector), they in turn had Mann Bracken LLP (a national collection attorney network firm) contact me to settle the debt. I made arrangements to pay the debt, and was making monthly payments, directly taken from my checking account. After paying 00.00 over several months time, I received an "Agreed Judgment" from Mann Bracken in which Arrow Financial Services is the plaintiff and is seeking a judgment against me. I was in communication with Mann Bracken and was told to sign the Agreed Judgment and they would agree to not execute, abstract, or otherwise seek to enforce the agreed judgment during the term of our temporary agreement, as long as I (the defendant) complies with the payment terms. I agreed to pay 0.00 monthly directly from my checking account for 9 months, then the parties agree to review the matter again and attempt to negotiate a final settlement agreement.
This was in Sept of ‘09, in which I was dealing with my daughter and my grandson who were in crisis and our family was occupied with their issues, so I had every intention of signing the agreed judgment, but I got distracted and didn’t sign it, so at the end of Oct ‘09, a "Final Default Judgment" was issued against me. I of course called Mann Bracken and was told that after our agreed 9 month period of consistent monthly payments, they would have the judgment taken care of.
So I made my monthly payments every month, but in Dec ‘09 the money was never taken out of my account, so I called Mann Bracken, but the phone # was no longer in service. I tried several different #’s and all were disconnected, then I read on line that Mann Bracken had been investigated/sued and went into bankruptcy! So I then contacted Arrow Financial Services, spoke to a representative, explained the situation, and was told that a new debt collector attorney will be contacting me, but that has been 6 months now, and no one has contacted me.
What do I do? How do I settle the debt, I am more than willilng to settle, and what do I do about the Final Judgment? I’ve pulled my credit report from all 3 credit bureau agencies, and there is no judgment listed. I contested the debt with Arrow Financial, but after the investigation, the debt still stands in effect on all 3 credit bureaus.
Do I need to hire a lawyer?
I work in a profession that is greatly taken advantage of by illegals. I fear the fact that they may eventually cause my employer to go bankrupt. I personally see and experience the sense of entitlement that these people feel. Most are not appreciative…in fact they can be quite demanding and often become disrespectful when they’re told that you do not speak they’re native language.
I don’t agree because a child is born in the US, they are automatically given citizenship and rights to
benefits that others have worked hard to pay in to. I don’t believe that these Federal/ State funded programs were designed to support this. Two illegals don’t = one legal…just like two wrongs don’t
make a right.
I also fear for my children. Diseases that have previously been eradicated are resurfacing and our
children are being exposed to them. Our schools are eliminating programs such as PE, Art and Music due to lack of funds, however, there seems to be plenty of programs and funding available for
ESL texts and instruction. It feels as if the focus has gone from the children who deserve a proper education, to concentrating on making sure the Hispanic population is being brought up to speed and receiving the best education. It seems as if everything is geared towards the Hispanic population now. What about the rest of us and our children?
What is wrong with making someone verify that they are a legal resident prior to enrolling in a public
school which uses taxpayer funds? How can we honestly teach our children that to lie, cheat and
steal is wrong when our own government is supporting, and even encouraging, millions of people to
do just that?
A key argument regarding birthright citizenship and children who were brought here at a very young
age illegally is that "it’s not fair" to them to face the consequences of their parents mistakes; well it’s
not fair that my children and I have to pay the consequences instead. Besides, I was always told as
a child that sometimes life just isn’t fair.
Taxes will only accomplish so much. Tax the rich 100%, and I guarantee the politicians will just fritter it away on cowboy poetry, bombing the third world, or some such nonsense. The money that GM allegedly paid back, did it go into the debt, or the pork barrel?
It seems quite elementary to me, cut spending. Between Bush and Obama the federal government has expanded geometrically. I would post a link, but then the question will never enter the queue.
Maybe it is time we ended some pointless overseas incursions. We are not there to win anyway.
And maybe Grandma can move into the spare bedroom. Because Social Security is bankrupt.
And how about we quit electing politicians by the amount of pork barrel spending they bring home?
Don’t give me that "Bush did it" hogwash.His first day in the Oval Orifice, the nation was already trillion in debt. That 6 billion budget "surplus" was an illusion.
I’m looking for the most reputable top knotch debt management company to go with to settle some debts from my younger years..I’ve heard stories though of people getting ripped off and scammed by these "so called companies" So can I ask out there anyone know a good company to go with?
Will my recent bankruptcy come between potential job/new career path?
I dont want to get into "why" I filed bankruptcy. I will say, I had no alternative.
Currently, I am in my 2nd year in college and I want to obtain employment while I am in school so that I dont have to take any more loans. I have put in a couple applications and have had one interview. Will the employer know when he interviews me that I have a bankruptcy? I have been told know days the employers dont even call ex employers because the only questions that can be ask are if the employee is rehirable? Is this true? I am concerned because if a new employer see’s that I have filed bankruptcy, and can’t get any good solid feedback from ex-employers then how will he/she know that I am a good prospect for the job?
Thanks
I am getting married in 2 weeks – October 6, and so far things have been pretty calm, with the exception of the florist going bankrupt, until tonight. Sweetie is working so about 9 is I headed to walmart for grocery shopping, wrapping paper for attendant gifts, and other little details. So, I am buying milk and I always look for the bottle that has the longest expiration date (duh) so I find one that expires October 11, and all of a sudden I realized that my "singlehood" will expire before the milk does! Completly happy, and excited, but a little freaked. I guess the question is, has anyone else had a "OMG" moment like that? How do you keep from getting freaked out? Everyone keeps commenting how calm I seem, and I want to continue that. Thanks!
I recently received a letter from a debt collection agency for a 15 year old debt of almost 00.00. The origional debt was around 0 but after all this time and with all the late fees it is now pushing 3 grand. The letter states that this collection agency "Will accept .00. Once paid, our records will reflect the status of your account with Afni, Inc (the collection agency) as settled in full." Is this a legit offer or is this just a way to get me to admit to and start taking care of this debt?
I have a relative ("Lou") who is in debt. Lou is in his early 30’s. The debt is more than K. Lou seems depressed, and I believe spends (restaurants, clothes, etc) as an escape from real life. In the past, the family has repaid Lou’s debt without conditions, but every time more debt appears later. This time, the family offered to refinance the debt only if Lou hews to a budget. Lou is resisting the budget since it imposes controls that any adult might resist. Plus, Lou is worried about his life being in too much flux and not being able to guarantee he can live within the budget. The only alternative is for Lou to default on his debt. We don’t really want that because of the long-term implications of bankruptcy. We also worry about pushing Lou "over the edge". There is no drinking or drug problem. There may be a gambling problem. What do we do? Lou refuses to go to counseling.
Man, conservatives sure do want everyone to buy into the notion that the only answer to Medicare is to not have it. They go on and on about how Medicare is going to go bankrupt. But what is never mentioned is the actual end of that sentence "…under current spending levels."
Let’s remember that there are two sides to that coin. One way to deal with rising costs is to drastically cut benefits. But that doesn’t reduce the existence of the need for those benefits, it simply transfers the costs to the individual, who is on Medicare because they cannot afford private insurance. As in our current system with those who are uninsured, if those individuals can’t pay those costs, they get passed on to everyone else in the form of increased premiums and bloated medical charges (nothing like paying for a box of tissue during a hospital stay).
But the other way to deal with it– which is apparently unthinkable to Republicans–is to increase spending, in the form of tax increases. Yes, I said the dreaded phrase: tax increases. At the time that Medicare was enacted in 1965, the top marginal tax rate was 70%. Now it’s less than 40%. Of course there’s no money…we’re too busy allowing the uber-wealthy and corporations to skate on their share of the social fabric to create huge population-sized holes in the safety net.
Why don’t Republicans want to do the sensible thing and return tax rates to where they were when Medicare was enacted?
I know i can settle but should I settle if it is going to hurt my credit score has much as never paying?
Also, if I am negotiating with a bank can I ask them to settle and take them to take it off my credit record?
If so, how do i make sure they will?
Also does it matter to my credit score if I have one "never paid" accounts or ten???? Meaning if I settle with 9 but not with 1 – will my credit score be just as bad then if I didnt settle with all.
stay home with your child the first 2 – 3 years of their life?
This is what I want to do, I especially don’t want them going to a daycare/babysitters until they can talk and tell me about their day!
Yes, I know that with another income that life would be much more comfortable, but what is important to me is being there to see those first cute things they do and say. Do you guys believe that it’s true that the first few years of a kids life and how they are raised during that time make them who they are going to be when they grow up for the most part?
I’m not saying that I’ll continue to stay home even if we are about to go bankrupt, but just that I would sacrifice that extra income to spend those first years with my baby.
Does anyone else feel this way?
It seems that lots of ppl think I’m crazy for not wanting to go back to work a few months after the baby is born bc of the second income. It’s just hard for me to agree with them, I guess.
Sorry forgot to mention that my fiance and I are getting married this Summer, we don’t have kids yet, but he has a steady full time job that pays pretty good!
My fiance says that it’s "unfair" that he has to bring in all the income so that I can stay home all day with the kids. But you know, I’m not going to be staying at home to be lazy, I want to raise my child. He says "there are grandparents and daycare." I don’t want that though. I also said, well what if you are making enough but he is convinced that he won’t be making enough for us to live comfortably without me working. Any ideas how I should approach this subject again? It’s really bugging me. He says I’m being selfish, but I’m just trying to be a good parent bc look at how messed up this world is these days. My mom never worked, my dad always did, and I cherish that so much, having a full time "mom." AH, I dont know!
We are looking to purchase our first home in the Denver area in about a year. We both have bad/old credit(both of our credit scores are below 600) Our income will be around 75k(I am finshing up nursing shool)
We are trying to see if this is even possible or if we should just be content renting for several more years.
We are expecting a higher interset rate. I have heard of "B loans" & "sub prime lenders" and have been trying to look into them.
We are trying to decide if we should just file bankruptcy now and see if our credit gets better or if it is possible to get a loan?
Will we need 20% down with this bad of credit, or can filing bankruptcy help that?
I’ve been checking out different alternives on how to reduce my credit card debt. This company saids" with my ,000 accured that they could make a settlement with each creditor and reduce the total amount by 40%". Their fee is 15% of what the settlement is; totalling around ,000. I will have a reduced payment of around 0 a month which I put in a savings account. Of course they will start taking out their fees at some point. This company is affiliated with Belvedere mortgage. If they can settle with creditors; why can’t I.
When Ronald Reagan shuffled the nation by encouraging us to embrace FreeEnterprise we all "felt good" and it worked. But it grew into a corporate capitalism since then, so hated by Karl Marx and now look what it has become: BigBanks need a bailout.They get it at a low %, while our credit card interest rates remain high. Is that how capitalism is supposed to work?
The Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research calculated that the below-market rates offered by the Federal Reserve to JPMorgan Chase — and 17 other large banks — accounted for 41 percent of the profits at Dimon’s banks.
They accounted for 47 percent of the profit at Bank of America, the group said.
A report by the CEPR compared the rates the Fed charged large banks to the rates it charged smaller banks.
The difference amounted to 0 for each of the 120 million families in the country — or roughly billion.
"Most people, if you asked them what do you want to do with 0, I doubt the answer would be, ‘Why don’t we subsidize the large banks?’" said Dean Baker, the group’s co-director. "A lot of things we think are important cost much less — billion annually would go a long way to subsidizing health care [costs for American families]."
Financial experts blasted the subsidy as corporate welfare.
"It rewards their irresponsible behavior in the past and encourages them to do the same thing again in the future," said Simon Johnson, a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
If a company fails it goes bankrupt. But if a corporation fails it gets a bailout. What are the benefits to taxpayers if any?
When corporations form by buying up large amounts of small companies they should be made clear that if ever in the future they fail, they ought to sell off the smaller entities before begging for bailouts. And guess what, this is EXACTLY what happening now (in Europe) after the public’s outrage.
After all, President Clinton was born into poverty into a broken home and, by his own hand, fought his way to the top through hard work and talent.
On the other end of the spectrum, bush was born into a pampered life, and given his lack of skills and poor work ethic, he had to ride on his father’s coattails everywhere he went. How else was he going to gain admittance to Yale and Harvard with his dismal academic record? How else was he going to dodge the Vietnam War without his dad pulling strings to get him into the Texas Air National Guard? Who was going to fund all of his businesses and then bail him out when they all went bankrupt? So great were his father’s coattails that in 2000, before anyone had even SEEN a photograph of Bush Jr, Republicans had already ushered him in as their presidential candidate after only hearing he was his father’s son.
If Clinton represents the Democratic meritocracy, then Bush represents the Republican "inheritocracy". That’s fair, isn’t it?
I was sued for a margin debt and then i accepted an offer of settlement by the plaintiff. i told the plaintiff in the answer that i accept the settlement by paying monthly. Now they want me to sign a stipulated judgement saying that I will pay interest on the debt until its paid. the plaintiff’s attorney said to me in an email "As you know, you accepted our settlement offer of ,000. If you had paid that sum in one lump payment upon that acceptance, there would have been no interest. However, since you are making payments, interest accrues under Washington law at the rate of 12% per annum." is this true? do i have to pay interest by law because i’m paying monthly?
may be facing the situation of going thru personal bankruptcy. i am married and both myself and spouse work and file jointly on taxes. everything that has to do w/ the bankruptcy is in my name alone; spouse is not listed on anything. my question is this; since i alone will be filing bankruptcy do i have to include my spouses income on the paperwork? if so, i may not qualify for the chapter 7 and would have to go thru the "means test" to see if i qualify and our combined income may be to high. state we live is GA. any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thx
may be facing the situation of going thru personal bankruptcy. i am married and both myself and spouse work and file jointly on taxes. everything that has to do w/ the bankruptcy is in my name alone; spouse is not listed on anything. my question is this; since i alone will be filing bankruptcy do i have to include my spouses income on the paperwork? if so, i may not qualify for the chapter 7 and would have to go thru the "means test" to see if i qualify and our combined income may be to high. state we live is GA. any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thx
I received a court summons a couple days ago for a 5 year old 00 debt that’s been sent to a debt collection agency. So far I’ve talked to the rep 4 times and I’ve offered to settle it in one lump sum of 0. He said he would call me back the same day and did not…so I called him today and he said that he hasn’t herd from "them" regarding my offer and will let me know as it takes a "few days". I feel as if he’s trying to kill some time as my court date is May 10th and feels the pressure will force me to offer more?
What do I need to know regarding this as I’m completely clueless on the process and the length it takes to settle and what happens if an amount is agreed upon.
What do I need to do to put his behind me and settle this for the least amount of money possible? I’m a college student and obviously broke.
Is the process typically back forth phone tag and how long does it take to settle?
I’m in college and totally broke….if I threatened bankruptcy would this help?
I just told my friends a couple of days ago a scary story. We were at an over-night fieldtrip in the woods in a cabin. It was extremely dark after 6PM, and in the corner of a room it say’s "Yoli was here 1900" scratched onto the wall. The wind from outside also make a creepy eerie feeling. Here’s the story. (Note: None of this is true and I’m just trying to connect the ‘Yoli was here’ thing to my story)
Far back during the years of slavery, there was this woman named Alice. She was a rich slave owner who owned many slaves. One day, one slave caught the small pox, and the infection spread across all other slaves. Alice never bothered to care for the health of the slaves, and she didn’t want her children to get sick. So then Alice ordered all the slaves to move into a cabin. (The one we were sleeping in) During a long time, the slaves slowly died of the small pox. One day one of Alice’s children, Yoli, sneaked out to see this cabin. She noticed bugs were crawling everywhere over the rotting corpses of the slaves. As she stuck her head into the cabin, something grabbed her and pulled her in, and the door was locked shut. The slave owner later went looking for Yoli in the woods and never found her. Years later this place was abandonned, Alice went bankrupt and died of stress.
This cabin was found again and re-used for community purposes. (They didn’t find the bodies) One day, another group of school kids were on a field trip to this cabin. They saw the "Yoli was here" scratch. And a boy named Tom made fun of the name Yoli and said it was retarded. Later that day, the kids went to sleep. In the morning, Tom wasn’t in his bed, a search party went looking for him and he was never found. Now, if you say Yoli’s name three times or make fun of the name, she will come screaming into the room and get you. Her eye sockets are empty, and her mouth is just a giant black hole.
How scary is this story? (It is told in the night, with the wind blowing agaisnt the windows and curtains, and there is creeking noises almost everywhere each 30 seconds)
My husband and I disagree over whether or not to hire a lawyer to help us negotiate the steps of filing for bankruptcy. What are the pros and cons of hiring a lawyer and what are the pros and cons of a "do it yourself" filing?
"Jeff", 21, is a full time college student and can no longer work because he doesn’t have the time. His dad lost his car for driving without any credentials, so Jeff now drives him to and from his low paying, thoughtless job every day. He drives him anywhere he needs to go – bank, store, church. It’s been going on several weeks, and the father has said nothing about getting a new car since he can’t afford the 00 ticket. The father spends most of his time partaking in church and football watching on tv. He has no aspiration to get a second job, because as long as he has his routine church, football, and weekly steak, he is happy. Honestly, he isn’t very bright, for he can’t even understand basic things that Jeff or I talk about – he isn’t bright at all. It seems hopeless.
The father has lied to the mother, who cares but is going bankrupt anyway, so it’s not like she can financially cover her son, Jeff. The father even lies that he is paying Jeff’s car insurance, when really he isn’t paying for his or his son’s.
The father does give weekly twenties to Jeff for gas, in addition to cash for any of his car repairs. It’s not enough though, so I give money to Jeff as well. Ever since the father’s dilemma occurred, Jeff has been far more anxious and tired than normal. He is so busy, he has little time to consider a plan. He also doesn’t have much time to complete the startup process of his online business. He is driving illegally (no insurance), so this must be corrected. What can he do, and does it benefit that I inform the mother of the truth?
When a negative item in your credit report is settled because you paid it off, how greatly does your credit increase as compared to if if still not settle and in collection? Can the "account settled" be completely removed from the report?
Is it better to pay off the debt in full or settle for less? How significant is this to determine the FICO score (settle in full or settle for less?) Please help, thank you.
in short , i have been divorced for a year , my credit is OBLITERATED to ashes , I am up to my hairline in debt , including child support , which i have not been able to pay because of unemployment – I am considering Debt settlement or bankruptcy , which would be better? If any answers please word it in "for dummies" terms – banker jargon confuses me:-P
I am almost exactly 0,000.00 dollars in debt and I am single with one income and earn around ,200.00 per month.
The highest paying job I had after 5 years on college has been at .00 an hour where I worked for two years before getting laid off. Ever since, I have not been able to get a really good paying job with my degree.
Here are my debts:
,000.000 (and rising) to the IRS. After I bought my home, the IRS stopped working with me and everything became all threats with them answering every question with "I see you have a home, we don’t have to work with you-we can simply put the tax lien against your home) which they did.
I’m desperate to get from under this debt and I have heard stories about people making ridiculous settlement offers to the IRS and paying pennies on the dollar but the only settlement they will offer me is around ,900.00 (a 0 dollar reduction) IF I pay right away.
And this amount is originally ,000.00 with the rest being penalties and fees.
I owe ,000.00 on my home
I owe ,000.00 in medical bills
I owe ,000.00 in credit card bills
i owe ,000.00 in miscellaneous bills
I owe the utility company ,500.00
I owe Sallie mae (I had my student loans consolidated) ,000.00.
I can’t pay on any of them right now besides my home and my payment on that is 2.00 per month. I also live away from my home out of state and I pay 0.00 dollars for an efficiency.
Should I file bankruptcy? Which chapter should I file and how do you think it will help me?
PS-
I forgot to mention I just had a judgement filed against me by the lawyers for my HOA for 1,700.00 dollars and NOooooooooo I DO NOT want to sell my home. It will be lightyears before I’m able to buy another one.
The first answer given is why I want only "knowlegeable" folks to answer because they take the home if you file Ch. 7 NOT Ch. 13.
I asked this question in current events, but that seemed like the wrong place for it so instead I am putting it here in politics.
Okay I just want to know why people oppose the war in Afghanistan and/or Iraq.
First off, let me say what I believe the war to be. Do I believe there was WMD… no. Do I believe Bush lied about the WMD’s… well kinda yeah. But do I still support the war, yes I do.
That is because you liberals are right, the main priority of this war is about oil. Do you not realize how much of our oil comes from the middle east, and do you not realize how unstable the middle east is? If we were to ever lose that oil from the middle east, this country would go bankrupt in a heartbeat and we would be a third world country. So please forgive me when I don’t care that the war is about oil.
But that is not to say that we also don’t have a noble cause. Yes we are securing our oil source, but at the same time we are freeing those people from taliban rule and Saddam. We are bringing freedom to people who never even heard of the term. Now before you go into "well they like living like that, and who are we to bring our American idea of freedom to other cultures." I agree with you, if people choose to live like that then they should be able to do so. But what about the people who don’t want to live like that? What about the women who don’t want to be force to marry someone they don’t want to? What about the women who want to show off their face without the fear being stoned to death?
In the end, the people are forced to live like that. Yes some may like it, but most don’t. And the ones who don’t can’t leave. For helping these people alone should be enough of a reason to support the war. We can also help bring these third world countries into the modern age, and may even gain an allies or two along the way.
So yes of course America got involved with the middle east to secure our oil interests, but that is not to say that we aren’t helping anyone. If we were to pull out completely then those people who want freedom will lose any chance at it, and we as a country will rely on completely unstable countries to supply most of our oil. I just wish Bush would of just came out and said that, instead of this BS about WMD’s.
Oh and just so you don’t think I am sitting on my high horse talking about the war like this, I have friends and family in the military and I am joining the army hopefully by the end of summer if not sooner.
To Dobby:
The people who volunteer for the military are generally fine with what they are fighting for and know the risk involve with it. Why else would they volunteer?
To chin:
Trade doesn’t work if the other country ends of hating you and breaking any trade deals. And only about 1/4 or our oil comes from Canada and Mexico. While about 2/4 come from middle eastern countries. Other words, about half of our oil comes from the middle east.
I meant the end of next summer… my bad.
I recently declared Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. I re-affirmed my Auto Lease. Will this help to re-build my credit score? I’ve heard the "get a credit card and use some and pay-off or keep 10%" idea. But can the lease have the same effect without having to open another credit card agian? I am looking for the easiest way to build credit without a credit card. But if i have to, i guess i will.
1: in order to get to "utopia" we will need thousands of more entitlement programs,handouts,etc.
2: We’re bankrupt already – and can not afford the current entitlement programs
3: Our debt is already at unprecedented levels.
So, how are we going to pay for current entitlement programs, future entitlement programs, and Trillions of dollars of debt all the while jobs continue to disappear overseas?
Obama can’t keep spending his way to wealth forever – eventually we will have to "Pay the Piper".