Debt

'Yeah, we broke the rules,' debt collectors admit

Martha C. White Jul 16th 2010 @ 5:30PM EST Filed Under: Debt

Collecting on America's unpaid debts is big business. In the past, we here at WalletPop have contacted some of the people who earn a living as debt collectors and gotten them to spill their secrets. Now, CNN/Money is hopping on the bandwagon with this profile of 10 former debt collectors.

Many of them 'fess up to either seeing or engaging in behavior that's unprofessional at best, illegal at worst. One says she heard a co-worker threaten to beat up a debtor with a tire iron, while another said the technically-illegal practice of contacting friends and family about a debt was a good tactic for getting people to pay up. Several admit to raising their voices or deliberately making the people on the other end of the line feel bad, but many said plenty of debtors yelled and cursed right back at them, too.

Continue reading 'Yeah, we broke the rules,' debt collectors admit

America's new debtor prison: Jail time being given to those who owe

Martha C. White Jul 15th 2010 @ 8:00AM EST Filed Under: Borrowing, Credit, Debt, Bankruptcy, 101 credit&debt, In the News

Debtors prisons were federally abolished in the United States in the 1800's, yet in certain states, they seem to be making a comeback. Out of Minnesota come disturbing reports of Americans being thrown in jail due to outstanding bills -- sometimes for as little as $85. The Star-Tribune of Minneapolis profiles a number of people who say their debts got them jailed, including Joy Uhlmeyer a 57-year-old patient care advocate who was pulled over on her way home from visiting her elderly mother and put in jail for a night for missing a court hearing about unpaid debt.

The Star-Tribune reviewed the state's court documents and found that arrests like Uhlmeyer's are up 60% in Minnesota over the past four years. And Minnesota isn't the only state where this is happening. It's a turn of events Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director at advocacy group U.S. Public Interest Research Groups (or PIRG), calls a "very bad situation for consumers." Mierzwinski attributes the practice to "bottom-feeder debt collectors [who] are very aggressive."

Continue reading America's new debtor prison: Jail time being given to those who owe

Credit card delinquency improves

Martha C. White Jul 12th 2010 @ 2:00PM EST Filed Under: Debt, Credit Cards, Personal Loans

America, give yourself a pat on the back. According to new data from the American Bankers Association, more of us are paying our credit cards and home equity loans on time -- which is good news in a still shaky economy. Bank card delinquencies dropped from 4.39% in the last quarter of 2009 to 3.88% in the first quarter of this year. This rate is actually below the 15-year average for bank-card delinquencies, and is the lowest rate since 2002. (The ABA regards a delinquency as a payment more than 30 days overdue.)

In related good news, we're also becoming more prompt about paying our home equity loans on time. The delinquency rate slipped down a tick this quarter (to 4.12% from 4.32%), the first decline in two years, according to the ABA.

Also on the mend are on-time payments on home equity lines of credit, property improvement loans, auto loans and personal loans. Unfortunately, delinquencies in some loan categories are still on the rise. Americans are blowing off their payments on boats, RVs and mobile homes to an increasing degree, the ABA's research showed.

Continue reading Credit card delinquency improves

Real Talk Network's debt-relief seminars duped consumers, Colo. AG says

Alysse Dalessandro Jul 12th 2010 @ 9:30AM EST Filed Under: Debt, Consumer Ally

The Colorado attorney general has sued Real Talk Network, a producer of infomercials on radio stations in that state and California, alleging the contents of their shows misled consumers and their seminars broke consumer credit laws.

The company's two corporate officers, Dave Burke and Erik Sale, are named in the lawsuit. Burke was the company's president, while Sale directed the majority of the company's sales.

According to the complaint, the infomercials advertise a 100% success rate in getting consumers out of debt, paying off mortgages in ten years and "exploding" their credit score -- all achieved by attending a free three-hour seminar.

Continue reading Real Talk Network's debt-relief seminars duped consumers, Colo. AG says

Could 'liar loans' help bring back the housing market?

Ann Brenoff Jul 8th 2010 @ 5:30PM EST Filed Under: Credit, Debt, Real Estate, Mortgages

Liar loans: Where are they when we need them?

There is one surefire way to reinvigorate the housing industry and it's such a simple solution that regulators should be embarrassed they have to be reading about it here: Re-institute the liar loan.

In polite circles, these loans were called stated income loans or "no doc" -- short for "no documentation" loans. They allowed borrowers to say that their income was whatever the bank wanted to hear it was and then, with a wink and a nod, get their money to buy a house. Everybody was happy and no, this alone did not lead to the housing collapse -- although it may lead to its recovery.

First, in their defense: It was those adjustable rate loans with crazy low initial interest rates that jumped into the stratosphere at about the time you lost your job that led to the housing collapse. It was also the fact that some homeowners kept borrowing against the paper equity in their homes under the false assumption that the home's value would continue to appreciate. It didn't.

But liar loans? Puh-lease. They may have hurt those who lied to the extent that their noses grew, but that wasn't most people. Most people inflated their income 15% to 19%, says the research. And that was basically the populace disagreeing with the government about how much of our earnings we should spend on our housing. The regulators thought 25% was enough. I, for one, didn't.

Continue reading Could 'liar loans' help bring back the housing market?

Relief from predatory debt settlement companies could be coming

Martha C. White Jul 3rd 2010 @ 10:00AM EST Filed Under: Debt

We here at Walletpop have warned you before about the practices used by debt settlement companies and how to avoid being taken in by pie-in-the-sky promises of magically-erased debt. Now, finally, the law might be catching up. According to the Center for Responsible Lending, the FTC -- after a lengthy public comment period -- is considering implementing rules that would prohibit these operations from pocketing consumers' money without actually helping them get out of debt.

The FTC would technically invoke an already-on-the-books telemarketing law, which would apply to debt settlement companies due to the fact that phone contact generally takes place between the two parties, and the Center says it expects a final decision by the agency to come next month.

Continue reading Relief from predatory debt settlement companies could be coming

Top-ranked female financial adviser offers advice to WalletPop readers

Vera Gibbons Jul 2nd 2010 @ 4:00PM EST Filed Under: Credit, Debt, Family Money, Career, Recession, Retirement Advice

With concerns rising that the economic recovery is stalling, and that we're at risk of slipping into a "double dip" recession -- when the economy shrinks, grows, and then goes back into reverse -- it's no surprise that one of three Americans are losing sleep. But did you know what we're spending 3.5 hours a day worrying about our financial troubles?

One of Barron's top-ranked "Women Financial Advisors," Ameriprise Financial's Geri Eisenman Pell, CFP, MBA, provides some insight -- and advice -- as it relates to the key financial issues that are robbing Americans of their all-important zzzzz's.

Continue reading Top-ranked female financial adviser offers advice to WalletPop readers

Lower your credit card bill fast with these tips

Martha C. White Jun 30th 2010 @ 10:00AM EST Filed Under: Debt, Economizer, Credit Cards

We here at WalletPop have spent plenty of time telling you about the big changes you can make to pare down your credit card debt and live a more financially stable life. While that's still a good goal, maybe a major lifestyle change isn't in the cards for you right now. Or maybe you're already well on your way out of the red (if so, good for you!) .

In either case, there are a handful of things you can still do -- right now, with the income and expenses you already have -- to shave some weight off that bill when it arrives at the end of the month. None of these are big changes -- we're not advising you to move to a cheaper town, drive an old car or deep-six your cell phone. These are all simple, manageable tactics that will help you shave a few of your hard-earned dollars off your next credit card statement -- and give you more control over your money.

Continue reading Lower your credit card bill fast with these tips

Don't let debt swamp your retirement

Jennie L. Phipps Jun 29th 2010 @ 12:00PM EST Filed Under: Borrowing, Credit, Debt, Real Estate, Retire, Saving Money, Refinancing

A friend of mine nearing retirement is looking longingly at a new Harley, but getting financing is going to be a challenge. He's contemplating refinancing his house and using some of the equity to buy the bike.

When he told me that, I didn't say anything, but I guess I didn't have to. My face must have done the talking. My friend is within 10 years of retirement. Unless he hit the lottery recently, he doesn't have a huge amount of savings and his job has been off and on the last year or two while the economy has been so lousy.

Continue reading Don't let debt swamp your retirement

Skip nav