ComputerHunter.org |
|
|
|||
|
 |
First Major Regulatory and Legislative Victory of 2005 for Creditors and Consumers
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, collectors are not allowed to disclose a consumers past due debt to anyone other than the debtor and in some cases a spouse. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act would have required collectors to identify the registered name of their business in any pre-recorded messages to consumers or debtors. Since the name of many collection agencies indicates that they are a debt collection agency or that they are calling for the purpose of collecting a debt, this would have caused them to violate the FDCPA. The TCPA creates unworkable contradictions with collectors and creditors who are following the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 was created in response to consumer concerns about the growing number of unsolicited telemarketing calls to their homes and the increasing use of automated and prerecorded messages. The FCC has rules to aid consumers who wish to limit these uninvited calls. On June 26, 2003, the FCC revised its rules implementing the TCPA and established, in coordination with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a national do-not-call registry. The term "telephone solicitation" does not include calls or messages placed with the receiver's prior expressed permission, by or on behalf of a tax-exempt non-profit organization, or from a person or organization with which the receiver has an established business relationship, such as a creditor or a collection agency. An established business relationship exists if you have made an inquiry, application, purchase, or transaction regarding products or services offered by the person or entity involved. Consumers, who add their number to the Do Not Call list, will not stop collection calls. This will only stop unsolicited telemarketing calls. Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be reducing the abuse of the legal system through frivolous lawsuits. Also, the U.S. Senate approved a bill to reform class litigation. ACA International has been instrumental in getting these changes made. ACA International has used its over 5,300 members to help build support for this bill in order to reduce the number of frivolous lawsuits filed against companies and collection agencies including ACA members. Michelle Dunn is the Author of the FREE e-book How to Help You Get Paid, Credit & Collection Forms and Letters. She has also written and published How to Make Money Collecting Money, Starting a Collection Agency that is available from http://www.michelledunn.com and all major bookstores. For more information on Starting a Collection Agency, order her book for immediate delivery or sign up for her consulting services to start your own agency. Michelle opened and ran her own very successful collection agency for 8 years. She has over 17 years experience in debt collection. To sign up for Michelle's FREE online networking group visit http://www.credit-and-collections.com. Get FREE forms and tips for starting your own agency. Please visit http://www.michelledunn.com for information on her consulting packages for Starting a Collection Agency or Starting a Home Based Business.
Google News - Top Stories
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Consolidating Credit Cards Credit card consolidation is a popular solution for those with significant credit card debt, usually distributed on three or four different cards. Basically, this means putting all your debts together on a single card, like transferring it all to one loan. Of course, the goal is to pick a card that offers better conditions than what you already have, in order not only to simplify, but also to reduce your payments. 10 Simple Steps to Manage Your Credit By far the greatest invention the banks have ever come up with came out in the 20th century. Also the new field of Credit Management was born with the invention of the credit card. It is the most available out of any financial product out there. In fact more than 80% of the U.S. households have at least one credit card. If you want to consider yourself as the "Average" American then you have about 8 credit cards burning a hole in your wallet right now. To make sure that you don't get yourself in any trouble (again) try and follow these 10 Simple Steps for Credit Management. Credit Cards - Why Prepay? With prepaid credit cards, you get the practicality of plastic while choosing exactly how much debt to charge. By taking charge of your personal financing, you determine your own limits, to the penny, and change them any time you need to. How to Repair a Bad Credit Rating If you have a bad credit rating, then you might find that your ability to get financing, loans, and even some jobs is greatly diminished. Five Debt Negotiation Facts These five debt negotiation facts along with a few debt reduction planning tools gives you the ability to control your own debt. For many people today credit card debt is a mounting problem and very few know how to successfully negotiate debt settlements. Understanding Your Rights Under The Equal Credit Opportunity Act It wasn't all that long ago that lenders blatantly discriminated when it came to approving credit for women and minority groups. Women were actually asked personal and demeaning questions like, how many children do you plan to have in the future or are you on birth control? How To Read Your Credit Report The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, signed into law on Dec. 4, 2003, gives every American the right to a free credit report every year from each of the three major credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. How to Save Money on Your Credit Cards Credit card companies make their money on the 85% of us who fail to pay the outstanding balance each month. Even if you are not in a position to pay the balance each month you can still save some money if use your card wisely. 7 Surefire Ways To Repair Bad Credit Do you have a poor credit rating? If so, you are one of tens of thousands of Americans with the same problem. In fact, it seems that this has become a national 'disease.' And just what do people need that have a disease? They need a cure. Borrowing on a Credit Card One of the easiest ways to borrow money of a financial institute is to use a Credit Card, available from all banks, building societies, and other financial organisations. The choices available are enormous, with a wide variety of interest charges, annual charges, loyalty schemes, and bonus points available. However there are two broad areas that you should look at: Will Inquiries Lower Your Credit Score? What are inquiries? Identity Theft ? Guard Your Childrens Social Security Numbers Identity theft is a growing concern among Americans, and rates among the top five complaints received by states' Attorney General's offices. A stolen identity can lead to tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt in the victim's name and it can take years to completely undo the damage done to the victim's credit report. Identity thieves can successfully commit crime with as little as a driver's license number or credit card number, but the ideal target of such criminals is the Social Security number. With that number in hand, the identity thief can pass themselves off as the victim and open credit card accounts, bank accounts, and even obtain home equity loans. As more Americans become aware of the problems posed by identity theft, consumers are doing more to protect themselves. This has inspired thieves to look to a new source of identities to steal, and they have found one. They are now stealing the identities of children. New Credit Advice: Dont Pay off Those Credit Cards! Credit needed for real estate mortgage financing differs from credit needed for consumer loans. If you need help getting a home mortgage, these credit tips will help you. 10 Signs You May Need Credit Counseling Debt management programs can be of real help for people that discover they cannot face their debts. At first, they will attempt to solve the situation all by themselves by cutting down on spending and keeping a close eye on accounts. If this doesn't work then it is time to ask for help from a financial expert. The sooner you admit you need help from an expert, the better will be for your future. The best time to seek the advice of an expert is before the appearance of most of the important 10 signs you may need credit counseling. You should already be worried when one or two signs appear. Of course that there are not only 10 signs you may need credit counseling but, these 10, are the most important. When you see more than a few of 10 signs at the same time, know that the situation is bad and getting into a debt management program could be the right solution for you. Cash Advance ? How Does It Work? If you want a cash advance or a payday/paycheck loan, you usually get a personal check. Some companies use your bank account or credit card in addition to or instead of a check. This means that you have to write a check that is to be cashed or you have to agree to have an amount withdrawn from your bank account at a certain date in future (usually 14 days). After filling-in the agreement or contract you get a sum of money that is less than what you have agreed to pay. The sum is smaller because the difference is the "fee" for the loan service. Why would the company loan you money like this? Because loaning out money in this way and getting these "fees" really brings them a huge profit at your expense. Establishing Credit ? What You Need To Know Part 2 In my previous article "Establishing Credit ? What You Need To Know Part 1" I discussed the need for a good credit history and what lenders were looking for prior to loaning an individual money or additional funds based on their credit history. This article will go into the necessary steps someone needs to take in order to initially establish their credit history. Keep Your Credit History Clean - Remove A Negative Credit Record From Credit Report The three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and Trans Union are similar and feature a "Credit Score", which is created from credit report data submitted to them about you. What is Credit Counselling? Ever wondered what is Credit Counselling? There are occasions when you might encounter a financial situation that is beyond your scope which is when a session with a credit counsellor could be beneficial. Learn How to Improve Your Credit Score Having a damaging credit record can hurt you in many ways. It may prohibit you from making an important purchase such as a home, car, computer or vacation. Without a healthy credit report you are severely limiting yourself from possible lenders. If you do find a lender you will undoubtedly be charge exorbitant interest rates far exceeding what recipients would receive if their credit history is in good standing. So how can you fix your credit score if you've been less than diligent with repayments to creditors? Well contrary to what many advertising scams will tell you, you can't fix your credit overnight. In most instances it takes 7 years for a payment infraction to be deleted from your credit report. If you were to file bankruptcy it would take 10 years. Obviously fixing the problem before taking such drastic measures is desired. Bankruptcy must be used only as a last case scenario and the implications must be fully understood before proceeding with such severe measure. Besides bankruptcy staying on your credit history for 10 years and posing large problems if you decide to seek out a financial lender, it can also impact other areas of your life. For instance you may be rejected from certain jobs, prohibited from taking on certain responsibilities and positions within your own company if you are a business owner and you will still be in the bad books of the people who you may require to lend you money. Do You Want to Get a New Credit Card at a Great Rate? 1) Do your homework. Applying for and getting approved for a credit card is nothing more than legwork. Credit card contracts can sometimes contain onerous terms that might make you sorry that you signed up for the new card that you did. Read the fine print carefully. If a deal looks to good to be true, it just might be. Credit cards can be a great way to finance your purchases, but make sure it's not at such an expense that you end up paying for a long time afterward.
|
|
|
|
|
