Posts tagged ‘Medical Bills’

What Is The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

By Admin, 23 December, 2010, No Comment

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, also known as the FDCPA, is a law, which was passed by Congress that regulates the methods collection agencies, can use to collect money from debtors who are behind on their payments. In the past many collection agencies would use unethical methods to extract payments from people, and this law was created to regulate them while protecting the debtor.

There are certain guidelines that collection agencies must follow when attempting to get payments. The FDCPA applies to a wide variety of debts, including medical bills, car loans, and credit cards. Many states have additional laws that serve to protect consumers, and their laws may cover debts that aren’t covered by the FDCPA. It is important to have a basic understanding of this law. It will keep you from being the victim of collection agencies that use illegal methods of extracting payment from you.

Under this law, collection agencies are not allowed to contact the relatives or employers of a debtor. The only person who may be contacted other than yourself is someone who has co-signed the loan with you. They are also not allowed to threaten to ruin your credit or report you to an attorney in order to intimidate you into making payments. They may only warn of you these actions when they are in the process of getting ready to do it. Making false warnings to scare you into making payments is not allowed.

Collection agencies are not allowed to make phone calls at times that are deemed unreasonable. Any phone calls made before 8 AM or after 9 PM are not allowed. You must approve any calls that are made outside this time span first. Debt collectors are also not allowed to call you while you’re at your place of employment. The use of profanity or racist terms is also not allowed. Letters cannot be sent to you that resemble those sent by courts, and if they decide to sue you they are not allowed to take you to a court that is far from your home.

It is important to understand this law if you find yourself in a situation where you have a large amount of debt and are having trouble making payments. While you should always try to repay back what you owe, collection agencies are limited in how they are able to contact you about those payments. Many agencies may violate this law, and if you are not familiar with it you will not be able to take any actions to defend yourself. If a collection agency violates the FDCPA, it may be possible for you to take them to court. If it is found that they have made numerous violations against debtors, a class action lawsuit may be filed.

If a collection agency violates this law when contacting you, you can report the incident to the state Attorney General’s office. If the agency is in a different state, you can contact the Federal Trade Commission for assistance. You can also dispute the debt you owe by sending a letter to the agency within 30 days of the first notice informing them that you do not owe them anything. The agency will be forced to stop contacting you, but may decide to take further action that may require you to go to court.

The FDCPA is an important law that can protect in the event you are being contacted by collection agencies. While it is important for you to pay off any debts you have, agencies should not use unethical methods for getting you to make payments. This is a violation of the FDCPA, and they could be held liable.

Eliminate Debts Cheaply Through Secured Debt Consolidation Loans

By Admin, 26 August, 2010, No Comment

If you think it is high time that you pay off all those debts, otherwise you may be inviting all sorts of troubles; secured debt consolidation loans can do the rescue job for you. Through availing secured debt consolidation loans you get rid of debt burden instantly as this new loan provides the finance at least equal to previous debts.

On taking secured debt consolidation loans, borrower gets rid of various monthly payments that he or she was making to different lenders. Previous debts are generally of higher interest rates and surge the burden of debt. Secured debt consolidation loan is taken at lower interest rate and therefore save money.

Secured debt consolidation loans are utilized also in clearing credit card bills, medical bills or other pending payments. One can use the amount also for home improvements, wedding or any expenses.

Borrowers are required to place collateral with the lenders in order to get secured debt consolidation loans. The collateral may consist of any property of the borrower such as home, car, and valuable papers. Main aim behind collateral is to provide a sense of security to the lender regarding the loan

Collateral can be an effective instrument in getting the required loan deal. It is the equity in the collateral that matters the most to lenders while deciding on loan amount and interest rate. Equity is value of the property minus the borrowings of the loan seeker. So, in case greater amount of secured debt consolidation loan is required, the lender will evaluate the equity. Higher equity makes it easier for the borrower to get a loan deal of higher amount at lower interest rate.

Lenders normally provide an amount anywhere in the range of 5000 to 75000 under secured debt consolidation loans. For availing higher amount of loan, financial standing and credit history of the borrower also becomes important.

Secured debt consolidation loans are availed at lower interest rate. The borrowers can get a loan deal at cheaper interest rate if they search for the lenders online. Numerous lenders have showcased their secured debt consolidation loans products. Choose the loan package that best suits your budget.

Borrowers who are going through a bad phase can also avail secured debt consolidation loan. The loan enables the borrower to improve credit history when they pay off debts. Such borrowers should first pay off easy debt and get this development included in their credit report. To judge the risk involved in offering loan, the lenders give credit score to the borrowers. A credit score of 620 and above is viewed as safe while lower score makes lenders hesitant in deciding loan terms largely in favor of the borrower.

To gain maximum benefits from secured debt consolidation loans, borrowers must give special attention to the interest rate and loan amount and keep both of them lower.

Debt Elimination For A Better Financial Tomorrow

By Admin, 10 June, 2010, No Comment

Debt elimination is an important step for securing a better financial tomorrow. Its important for securing your financial future – if there is no debt elimination, then there is no capital to build upon. With debts mounting, one can’t save or invest for the future. Therefore when you really require money for the future, there is none for you. Money depreciates in value as inflation continues to rise. Therefore the same amount of money will not buy the same amount of goods and services in the future.

Securing the future of the children – if you have family obligations, whether they are children or your parents, you would want to give them a secure future. This means paying for your children’s education, medical bills etc. In these situations, you would want fastest progress. After there is elimination of debt you can secure a future for your loved ones. Having a good credit rating – if there is no debt elimination, then you will have an adverse credit rating. This means that it will become difficult for you to apply for more loans and debts.

Banks and other lenders will be wary of lending to you. Even if the lenders give you loans, there will be a high collateral value or high interest rates. Thus you will be stuck in a debt trap. Where you will be borrowing just to repay the old debt. This is known as a debt trap, therefore its very essential that debt is eliminated, thus debt elimination gives you leeway to plan for your future. Debt elimination should be done continuously and with a conscious effort. Therefore don’t take small debts as they add up to big debts. Try to make expenditures out of the available cash in hand, this means that you are not living on credit. Thus one should strive for debt elimination at the earliest.

Debt Collection And The Law Know Your Rights

By Admin, 27 May, 2010, No Comment

If you owe money to a debt collection agency or debt collector, you need to know what they can and cannot do in order to collect monies owed to them. You have an obligation to pay what you owe, and the debt collectors have an obligation to follow the law and not harass you at home or at work.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act applies to those who collect debts owed to creditors for personal, family and household debts. These include car loans, mortgages, charge accounts and money owed for medical bills. A debt collector is someone hired to collect money you owe.

Within five days after a debt collector first contacts you, the collector must send you a notice that tells you the name of the creditor, how much you owe, and what action to take if you believe you don’t owe the money.

If you owe the money or part of it, contact the creditor to arrange for payment.

If you believe you don’t owe the money, contact the creditor in writing and send a copy to the collection agency with a letter telling them not to contact you. A debt collector may not:

Contact you at unreasonable times, for example, before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., unless you agree;

Contact you at work if you tell the debt collector your employer disapproves;

Contact you after you write a letter telling them to stopexcept to notify you if the collector or creditor plans to take a specific action;

Contact your friends, relatives, employer or othersexcept to find out where you live and work;

Harass you through threats to harm you, profane language or repeated telephone calls;

Make any false statement, or claim that you will be arrested; or

Threaten to have money deducted from your paycheck or to sue youunless the collection agency or creditor intends to do so and it is legal.

You have a responsibility to pay off any debt that you owe. Debt collection agencies also have a responsibility to treat their customers with respect and follow the law.

If you are being harassed by a debt collection agency, contact the authorities and report them.