Monthly Archives: May 2006

Consumer Debt Up 13% from 2004 Levels

May 24, 2006 – 1:32 pm

A new report released by Experian shows that consumer debt levels have increased over the past two years. Based on an analysis of millions of consumer credit files, the average revolving and installment debt has increased from $10,371 in 2005 to $11,669 in 2006. This represents an increase of nearly 13% over the past two [...]

By Charles | Posted in Debt & Credit | Comments (0)

Debt Purchasing Firm Sued by Illinois AG for Bogus Collection Tactics on Time-Barred Debts

May 19, 2006 – 9:48 am

A debt purchasing company has been sued by Illinois’ Attorney General — Lisa Madigan. The suit alleges use of illegal collection tactics by the firm. A detailed press release on this latest enforcement action against the collection industry is available here.

By Charles | Posted in Debt & Credit | Comments (0)

Credit Counseling Industry Attacked by IRS: When Did “Profit” Become a Dirty Word?

May 16, 2006 – 2:28 pm

The latest big news in the world of debt and credit is the IRS’ attack on the credit counseling industry. The IRS has canceled the tax-exempt (non-profit) status of some of the largest counseling agencies in the industry. A total of 41 organizations have had their non-profit status revoked, and this represents about 40% of [...]

By Charles | Posted in Debt & Credit | Comments (0)

Why You Shouldn’t Delete Old Accounts from Your Credit Report

May 12, 2006 – 2:42 pm

With all the news these days about identity theft, it’s important to examine your credit report for errors at least once or twice per year. If you’ve been using credit for, say, 10 years or more, the odds are high that you’ll see older accounts still listed on your reports, even though you haven’t used [...]

By Charles | Posted in Debt & Credit | Comments (7)

Why I Recommend Against Sending Cease Communication Letters to Creditors

May 8, 2006 – 6:20 pm

Imagine that you loan someone $10,000 with the understanding that they will pay you back on a monthly basis with interest. After a while, they fall behind on their payments, so you call them to discuss their financial status and encourage them to make a payment. But they dodge all phone contact and you’re not [...]

By Charles | Posted in Debt & Credit | Comments (65)

Check Diversion Programs to be Made Exempt from Debt Collection Laws

May 4, 2006 – 12:19 pm

If you’re in a type of business that’s subject to government regulation (designed to protect consumers from some of the more abusive practices of your business model), and you don’t like one or two of the laws, just spend a bunch of money lobbying Congress and presto — no more pesky consumer protection laws to [...]

By Charles | Posted in Debt & Credit | Comments (2)

Who Supports the New Bankruptcy Law? — Just Follow the Money

May 1, 2006 – 10:29 am

An interesting article appeared last week under the title, “Bankruptcy Law Does Have Supporters.” Well, no kidding. Of course the new law has supporters. How else would it have passed Congress? I’m sure most of the executives in the credit card industry think it’s a pretty good bill. They should know. Collectively, they spent millions [...]

By Charles | Posted in Debt & Credit | Comments (0)