DC agencies and the FDCPA

Wow i think that is an awesome idea! I knew nothing of "my" rights when i found this site!
Should be known to all who sign a contract for a loan, credit card or pdl.
Ang

I think people need to be educated on the fdcpa but I think even more people need to be educated on the proper use of credit and what can happen when you default.

I agree that people need to be made aware of their rights! Sure, there are some out there that abuse credit, but for every one person that abuses credit, there are many who have simply fallen into some hard times. Illness, loss of a job, divorce, etc....these things happen in life. When a woman signed that credit app with her husband, did she foresee that she would later be a single parent of two kids just barely scraping by, and her ex-spouse refusing to pay on the debt as court ordered, but now the collectors are coming after her, because her name is also on the debt? Did thousands in the field of technology foresee the huge downturn that would cost them their jobs, and prevent them from finding a job that would even come close to the same pay for years afterward?

Sure, we should plan for the worst, but that isn't always easy. Then you fall on hard times, and you have these collectors thinking it is okay to cross the line for a buck!! It took me some time to get my life back together after my divorce, after years of abuse. This was a very emotional time for me and my children! I was having to deal with not only rebuilding my life financially, but emotionally as well! When you just spent the last years of your life being told you were a worthless waste of time by someone you thought loved you, the last thing you need is some collector thinking it is okay to call you names because of some debt that, compared to the other problems in your life, really is insignificant!

I understand that when a debt is owed, it is owed. However, laws are in place to help make sure everyone is treated fairly and with respect. Now, I also understand that there are bad debtors that make collector's lives miserable, but that does not give the collectors the right to make the lives of others miserable, as well. I will never forget the collector who told me I should have CPS called on me for being a bad mother because I did not pay my credit cards!!! When did not paying a credit card become a case for child neglect? What would it be if I opted to pay that debt to save my own butt in lieu of feeding my kids?

In a day an age where debt collectors consider fines and settlements for violating the fair debt collection laws just "cost of business", we need to step up and let them know that the laws are there for a reason, and unfair practices will not be tolerated! If I had known back then what I know now, the debt in question would no longer even be an issue in my life! I would have sued, and turned right around and used the money to pay off the debt...and probably would have had some left over! If more people knew their rights and did something about it, violations of the fair debt collection practices would no longer be a simple cost of doing business, but an end to companies which operate in this manner!

In my opinion (and I think I've voiced this before) the fdcpa is out-dated. True change would happen if there is as $10,000 fine per violation or more.

FYI is quite correct, but I also feel things such as that predatory lending should be addressed. The meltdown in the real estate industry is a prime example of this. This could be a slump of the whole economy for the sake of greed.

I also agree with FYI about being educated in the credit industry. I think lots of people get caught in the trap cuz of the lenders also... seems the more the owe the more they're willing to give u. Now, secondly, i have 2 daugthers in college with part time jobs and if ud see the amount of credit card apps, pre-approved supposedly, they get per week is ridiculous! NO kid that age needs that much credit with a part time job!
SO it falls back on the lender the way i see it.
Ang

Amen to that, Ang!

Every day, I have no less than 2 credit card solicitations in the mail...usually one for me, and one for my husband. Often times, they are identical offers...sent out the same day by the same company. The only reason I even give them any consideration, is to see if I may be able to get a better deal to help me pay things off faster. I got one deal yesterday which I am considering looking into...same card company, but the new card they are offering me is half the interest rate of my current card. I'm thinking about applying, switching the balance, and then closing the higher interest rate account. I can only benefit from a move like that!

As long as u get rid of ur other card and NEVER EVER be late! That's what they're hoping for to raise ur interest rates and add fees.. it's a never ending cycle! If i NEVER have another credit card again it will be too soon! I have a small one now that i only use if i can pay off at the end of the month!
Also, saw on tv this morning looks like they will be lowering interest rates for first tiem in 4 years. Cud be benefical all the way around, from mortages to credit cards, car loans etc....
:D
Ang

The problem is the US is a consumer based society driven by commercia-lism and creditors placate to that. I saw a commercial play on TV the other day while my little girl was watching cartoons and the toy was something like "Barbie Charge It." The premise of the toy was to pretend like everything you wanted for your stupid Barbie you should charge it. I do not watch much TV but everytime I do I see at least 1 credit card commercial.


Then we have our freaking president in bed with MBNA, CitiBank and a couple other major financial institutions screwing with the bankruptcy laws. On top of that he backs the "No Child Left Behind Act" which is a BS educational act when instead he should be backing something like this that is more worthwhile.

I think we need to hold creditors responsible for who the loan money too. The best way to do this is to cap the max interest rate any creditor can charge to a reasonable rate like prime plus 3%. This means no matter what you are borrowing money for the max rate you could be charge right now would be 9% roughly. This should include PDLs and credit cards. I guarantee that creditors would examine who they give money to more carefully if this was done. The drawback to doing something like this is it would have a negative affect on our economy but this could be manipulated by changing the amount you add to prime slowly.

Oh, yes, we definitely need to do something about the interest rates! How is it that when I borrow money it is at 7% or more (I have one card that is 20%), but when I put my money in savings I only accrue maybe 2%? The banks get to make money all day off of us, but we can't make squat on our investments? What about all of that money that the government is borrowing from us? What do you think they are doing with our social security, which I am believing more and more every day that I will never see a dime of? I fear for my generation and generations to come, because we are going to basically have to work until we die just to survive!! Incomes are not keeping up with inflation, so more and more are turning to credit. That makes it more difficult to put any saving aside, and the savings you do put aside...well let's just say in most cases a year's work of interest on your savings account is eaten up by just one month's worth of interest on a credit card!

That is why my husband and I are working to become debt free! If that means switching debts to 0% accounts, and if not paid off, find another 0% account to dump it into, etc....we will do what we have to to try to keep the lenders from making too much more money off of us! May mean alot of work on our part. But think about it...a current card with payments around $80/month, with at least half of that going to interest. Since I already have that payment in my budget, how much faster can I get rid of the debt if I covert that to a 0% card with the whole $80 going toward my principle? As pointed out, you then have to get rid of the other account, which is what we do when we get opportunities like this. Many lenders are crazy enough to offer that 0% for a full year now! I can do a lot of damage to a debt in a year, if I'm paying no interest!!!

Right Sub but what the credit cards are banking on is that u are late ONE time, then BOOM! They jack up ur interest rates and add on fees and screw up ur credit then they OWN u! So be careful, very careful. We never know what tomorrow brings as far as health and medical can eat ur lunch as it has mine!!
Ang

That is why we actually have a plan for getting out of debt, and we do not include our pay raises in that plan. We know the raises are going to happen (and have always been around 5%, because both my husband and I believe in doing our jobs with excellence), but all raises will be allocated to debts or savings. We have a home we are happy with, and plan on staying here until all the children graduate high school (which will be another 10 years). At that time, we will sell to move into a smaller home...no need for a 4 bedroom when the children are all out of the house...could get away with a 2 bedroom. During our last car purchase, we bought cars we really wanted, and knew had a good 10+ year record. We knew the payments were going to be higher, but in 5 years, there is less of a chance of us wanting/needing to get something else because we settled for something that was not as reliable or not what we really wanted. Come to find out, my car is actually slated to be a collector, as there were only 3000 made that year (it's introductory year), and there were design changes the following model year. I actually bought my car used, but with really low miles...I wanted this car when it came out, but couldn't afford the payments at that time. It was actually better I waited, as I would have put a lot more miles on it had I bought it new, and it would be worth less today. Also, all of the furniture in our home is paid for, and is easily maintained.

So, now we are at a place where things are super stable! Now is the time to start eating away at the debt, and make it gone! According to my numbers, as long as nothing pops up (like the loss of a job), the only debt we should have in 4 years is our home! Even with that, with all of the other debts out of the way (like our cars), we can take some serious blows at that, as well. The idea is to have enough money left when we sell this place in 10 years to pay for no less than half of our next home with the money we walk away with.

Now, sure, things come up. The car will break down, the stove stops working, etc. That is where our savings we are starting comes in. We want to make sure we have enough in there to cover at least one of our salaries for 6 months. That is the goal!

That is an awesome goal! Keep chipping away at it and one day it will be reality! What kills us is medical bills. We've been able to pay off all of our outstanding credit cards and closed them, only keeping 2 small ones open and ONLY use them when we can pay it off at the end of the month. In 4 years our home will be paid for and all of our cars are paid for. I will never again buy a car with a note attached to it! If i can't afford to pay cash for it then i won't get it!
Now if i can pay off this judgement i'm FREE!
Can't wait for that day. And i've come to the conclusion that medical will be with us for the rest of our lives so they get what i can send per month!
:D
Ang

Medical is tough! I am thankful that we have pretty good medical and dental coverage, and that everyone is healthy! I know that will not always be the case...the health part, that is. I know there are steps we can take now in our youth that will help with the issue later in life, such as building up a retirement plan that includes the ability to pay for private insurance, rather than having to depend on medicare and such.

Congrats on being so close to to being out from under a huge part of your debt!

Well sometimes all the planning in the world doesn't mean much... i'm not trying to discourage u at all, i think u have an awesoem plan. Just in our case, hubby being diagnosed with CHF, daughter with cancer at 17 and son with a heart defect at age 12. That's what got us and kept us there for a while. THis whole judgment is becuase of these illnesses and like i told the CA, our health comes first! I HAVE to pay the pedicatric cadrio and the oncologist FIRST! What's left over after that they get....
Sometimes life throws us curve balls
Ang