Question: What should I do about a debt that has crossed the Statute of Limitations period?

The number of bankruptcy filings in on rise since the American economy was hit by recession in 2007. It is reported that the officials at U.S court received around 1,596,355 bankruptcy petitions in the fiscal year 2010. The total number of bankruptcy petitions in the year 2009 was 1,402,816. Financial experts are expecting that nearly 1.5 million consumers will file bankruptcy in the year 2011.

If you are one of those who are thinking to file bankruptcy in 2011, then you should start planning for the life after bankruptcy. The reason is, bankruptcy hurts your credit big time. Apart from that, lenders and the employers look down upon the consumers who have filed bankruptcy. So, it is important to think about the ways to repair your credit prior to filing bankruptcy. Read along to know about the things to know when you’re planning to file bankruptcy.

Things to know while filing bankruptcy in 2011

Here are the 4 things you should be aware of when you are planning to file bankruptcy in 2011:

1. Think about a suitable explanation: Most consumers file bankruptcy due to 4 main reasons – job loss, marital separation, sickness, and unmanageable debts. When you’ll apply for a job or a loan, your future lenders and employer will ask you why you had to opt for bankruptcy. You have to justify your action that time. Explain to them that you had to go for bankruptcy due to financial hardship. However, you are taking steps to manage your finances effectively.

2. Go through your credit report: Check your credit report and try to remove the negative items appearing on it. Of course, you can clean up your credit report of only those items that can be legally deleted. This will convince your future lenders and employers that you are taking steps to manage your finances effectively. Don’t forget to check whether or not your contact details are correct on your credit report.

3. Know when negative items can be removed: You should know that the negative items don’t remain on your credit report throughout your life. They can be deleted from your credit report after a certain period of time. For instance, late payments stay on your credit report for 7 years. So, you should get to know about the date on which the negative item is ready to be eliminated from your credit report.

4. Take advantage of secured credit card: You can take advantage of secured credit card to re-establish credit line. You can get a secured card from a credit union. You just need to give $500 to the credit union for obtaining a card. Once you get the card, report it to the 3 credit bureaus – Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.

Finally, bankruptcy lowers your credit score by around 200 points. However, with time, patience and smart financial planning, your score will improve. If you had a good credit score few years back, then make it a goal to achieve it again. Check your current credit score and take steps to achieve your goal.

Question: If my parents pass away with credit card debt, what can I do about it? – By Emily

Question: How should I deal with the collection agency when they try to collect a bill I’ve already paid? – By Sandra

Our Community assists people to solve their debt problems and lead a stress-free life. So far, the Community has helped more than 230,000 members to manage their debt and finances efficiently. In addition, the Community also helps consumers to find out the debt relief companies/firms in their cities. The Community has come up with the list of debt relief firms in various cities for the benefit of both the consumers and the companies. Read on to know more about it.

DebtCC helps you explore the debt relief companies in your city

Apart from helping consumers in getting out of debt problems and dealing with their creditors/collection agencies, the Community also assists them to know about the debt relief companies operating in their cities. The community has introduced a list of verified debt relief companies in numerous cities. This will help the consumers to get all the relevant information about the listed companies. They can get the name, address, phone numbers and fax numbers of the debt relief companies in their cities by browsing through the list.

For instance, if you want to find out the list of debt relief companies in Los Angeles, then you can visit our California page. You can get the enlisted debt relief companies in the various cities of California. The same procedure can be applied to the other states and their respective cities.

Click on “Los Angeles” and navigate the enlisted companies in the city. You will get name and contact details of the enlisted companies from here. If any one wants to enlist his company in the list, then he can do so by submitting the registration form.

Apart from the key information, the consumers can also get other details on a particular company such as its accreditation, license, work area, etc. They can also ask questions, report a problem about a particular debt relief company in the Community. The enlisted company’s representative will try his best to solve the consumer’s problems. Therefore, if you are one of those who are frantically searching for the debt relief companies in your city, then your problem is solved. You can easily find out the companies which can provide you with quality service and help you walk away debt free.

As far as the debt relief companies are concerned, they can also benefit from the entire thing. The company owners can enlist their firms in the list and reach to millions of customers. All they need to do is register their companies in the Community.

After successful registration, the debt relief companies will be ranked Gold, Silver, Bronze, etc depending on their quality of services and accreditations. They can view their ranks from the DebtCC Ranking Chart section. Till now, around 81 companies have registered in the Community and got listed on the Ranking Chart.

Finally, it is a unique opportunity for the companies and the consumers to reach each other. The companies can reach to more consumers after enlisting their firms in the list. Its a great way to promote their companies. On the contrary, the consumers can browse through the DebtCC verified companies and choose the right debt relief firm.