Bankruptcy And Debts

But Sallie Mae never told anyone. It came to light in the Autumn of 2003 when Chris Neuswanger, a Colorado mortgage broker, noticed that a young home-buying client had been pushed into a high-rate loan solely because two of his three credit bureau reports omitted his large, on-time student loan payments with Sallie Mae, depressing his credit score by 40 points. Eric Borgeson, a 31-year old architect, said Sallie Mae s less-than-full reporting practice cost him $200 a month more than it should have, plus higher closing costs and a $5, 000 prepayment penalty. I got shafted by Sallie Mae, said Borgeson, who reportedly was considering legal action. Kenneth Harney of the Washington Post broke the story.²⁹³ consolidation debt mortgage

Caroline Wright, a 34-year-old student from Virginia, told the Post s Michelle Singletary that a mortgage broker told Wright she would have trouble getting a good interest rate on a home loan if her on-time payments to Sallie Mae were missing from her Experian and Trans Union reports files. consolidation debt help

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www.salliemae.com ²⁹³ Harney, Kenneth, Sallie Mae s History Lesson, Washington Post, November 15, 2003, pg. F1 They weren t protecting me, Wright said. They were doing exactly the opposite. ²⁹⁴ The controversy came in the latter stages of Congress s consideration of amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Once the story broke, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) prepared legislation to require Sallie Mae to resume reporting to all three credit bureaus. Soon thereafter, Sallie Mae sent a letter, promising to continue reporting to Experian and Trans Union. Undeterred, Durbin said he would offer his amendment as part of the Higher Education Act, instead of the FCRA. consolidation credit debt

Students Credit Cards

Another challenge facing graduates is a high level of credit card debt, often at high interest rates. Prof. Robert Manning of Rochester Institute of Technology, and author of Credit Card Nation, ²⁹⁵ told Congress, What is striking in the acknowledgement of the credit card industry is that college students are a desirable market because of their ignorance of personal finance and their lack of consumer debt. ²⁹⁶ bill consolidation debt

The marketing of credit cards has shifted rapidly over the last five years from college upperclassmen to college freshmen and high school seniors. More significantly is the recognition that student consumption has a large debt component that is increasingly financed by family loans, federally subsidized student loans, summer earnings, and part-time employment during the academic year, and even with other credit cards. consolidation debt quote

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Singletary, Michelle, Giving Students Due Credit for History, Washington Post, Nov. 6, 2003, pg. E3 ²⁹⁵ Credit Card Nation: America s Dangerous Addiction to Consumer Credit (Basic Books, 2001). ²⁹⁶ Statement of Prof. Robert Manning before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Consumer Credit, June 12, 2003. http://financialservices.house.gov/media/pdf/061203rm.pdf consolidation debt lead

Three out of five students with credit cards in our survey had already maxed them out during their freshmen year and, three out of five freshmen with multiple credit cards were already using bank cards to pay for other revolving credit accounts. Furthermore, this survey reveals that nearly three-fourths of students use their student loans to pay for their credit cards. Not incidentally, recent studies indicate that this indiscriminate marketing to college students has led to high incidences of fraud and identity theft among this young adult population, Manning testified.²⁹⁷ consolidation debt non profit

Not surprisingly, Manning recommends that students check their credit reports. Clearly, today s graduates face greater challenges in managing their finances so as not to jeopardize their finances. The National Consumers League has a page on its Web site dedicated to student debt issues.²⁹⁸ Divorce Divorce can have a dramatic impact on the divorcee s credit score and credit report. A major problem is that divorcees often don t realize the extent to which their credit relationships can continue to entangle each other s lives well after divorce. Or, they are so overwhelmed with the emotional and logistical difficulties of separation that there is little time left for separating and straightening out credit relationships. But that is precisely what you need to do: ensure that your name is no longer on accounts for which you are not responsible for paying. During the divorce, the husband and wife usually work out a division of debts that receives final approval from the judge. Divorcees often think that any debt assigned to their ex-spouse by the court frees them from that debt for ever after. consolidation debt loan online

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. ²⁹⁸ www.nclnet.org/moneyandcredit/index.htm The problem is that your creditors usually don t know about your divorce. In terms of the credit report, problems arise when the ex-spouse who is responsible for paying an account, fails to, and the other spouse, according to the creditor s records, is still a co-signer or joint user or otherwise associated with the account. The failure to pay goes on the credit report of the innocent spouse, creating a fresh derogatory that slams that spouse s credit score. consolidation debt home loan

Thus, it is vital that divorcees identify all of their accounts and separate them completely. This includes mortgages, credit cards, bank loans, debit cards, store charge cards, lines of credit, and overdraft checking. Some authors suggest that spouses begin separating accounts as soon as they consider separating.²⁹⁹ christian consolidation debt

Of course, it s also crucial that divorcees obtain their credit reports to check the accuracy of information. Bankruptcy Bankruptcy is the most derogatory item that can appear on your credit report. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a bankruptcy can stay on your report for 10 years. But that does not mean you can no longer get credit. As Gerri Detweiler, a renowned expert on credit explains in her 1997 book, The Ultimate Credit Handbook, (Plume) people can rebuild their credit after bankruptcy or other traumas. It requires patience and a plan. It starts with checking the credit report to see where you stand. If you still have open accounts, try to negotiate with creditors to improve the way they report on you to the credit bureaus, Detweiler advises. Try to catch up on any accounts for which there might be late payments. consolidation debt information

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Ventura, John The Credit Repair Kit (Dearborn 1998 3rd Edition); or see Sember, Brette McWhorter, Repair Your Own Credit and Deal With Debt (Sphinx 2003 2nd Edition) Next, try to re-establish positive lines of credit. A bank card, paid on time over time, is one of the stronger credit references you can add. In the beginning, she says, you might need to get a secured credit card, which requires you to deposit money so use of the card is secured against those deposits.³⁰⁰ But be careful: both Detweiler and the FTC warn there are a lot of scam artists offering secured credit cards. The BankCard Holders of America (BHA) provides a list of institutions offering secured cards.³⁰¹ agency consolidation debt

Perhaps the best scholarship on bankruptcy is found in the books of Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren.³⁰² Warren has pointed out that of the 1.66 million bankruptcies filed in fiscal year 2003, nearly 40% were by husband-wife couples, meaning that the number of people who actually filed for bankruptcy in that year was 2.14 million.³⁰³ consolidation debt solution

Warren said that women were both the fastest growing and largest demographic group in bankruptcy. There were 1, 661, 996 bankruptcies filed in fiscal year 2003, up 7.4% from the 1, 547, 669 filings in fiscal year 2002. Since 1994, when filings totaled 837, 797, bankruptcies in federal courts have increased 98%. From 1991-95, annual bankruptcy filings hovered around 870, 000. The biggest noticeable jump occurred in 1995-1996, when they went from 874, 642 to 1, 125, 006.³⁰⁴ Interestingly, that is when credit card companies sharply escalated their use of direct marketing solicitations offering pre-approved credit card offers. It is estimated that the industry now sends out five billion unsolicited credit card applications annually. california consolidation debt

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Detweiler continues to advise consumers and publish, see www.ultimatecredit.com, and www.DebtConsolidationRX.com, or for her new E-Book, www. .com ³⁰¹ Send a check or money order for $4.00 to: Secured Credit Card List BHA Customer Service, 524 Branch Drive Salem, VA 24153. Also see http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/secured.htm ³⁰² Warren, Elizabeth, Bankruptcy (West 2002), and, Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi, The Two-Income Trap, (Basic Books 2003) consolidation debt loan uk

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http://www.bankruptcyaction.com/USbankstats.htm ³⁰⁴ http://www.abiworld.org/stats/1980annual.html Many consumers who complete a bankruptcy find that bad debts that were supposed to be discharged as part of the bankruptcy are later erroneously included on credit reports. Robert Weed, an Alexandria, Virginia attorney, said he regularly must file motions in federal bankruptcy court in order to get creditors to stop reporting discharged debts and to get the credit reporting agencies to remove them. consolidation debt equity home

Included In Bankruptcy

A special problem arises for individuals who are co-signers, or are otherwise legally obligated for credit cards or loans, when the other co-signer files for bankruptcy. For many years, the CRAs would report such accounts as Included In Bankruptcy even if the non-bankrupt co-signer met his or her obligation and paid the bill on time. This had an adverse impact on the creditworthiness of non-bankrupt consumers. Not only did it seem to have a negative impact on their credit scores, but also major institutions like Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and insurance companies do an automated scan of credit reports for serious derogatory items like bankruptcy, foreclosure, or judgment. This meant that a co-signer could be denied credit for an account that he or she in fact paid responsibly. consolidation debt government

A class action lawsuit was filed over the issue in federal court in South Carolina. U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie had given preliminary approval to a settlement with all three CRAs that if adopted, would stop them from reporting the term bankruptcy to the credit reports of consumers who have not filed for bankruptcy.³⁰⁵ consolidation debt firm

³⁰⁵ Franklin E. Clark, et al. v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc.

: C/A No. 8:00-1217-22; www.fcraclassaction.com; Equifax had proposed allowing it to continue reporting included in the bankruptcy of another, but the proposal was abandoned after additional attorneys entered the case to object. The objectors were led by Michael Caddell, of Caddell and Chapman, Houston Texas. consolidation debt financing

Seniors

Because it recognized years ago that a host of credit reporting issues affected its members, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has closely followed the FCRA and produced research and surveys on various aspects of it, and on identity theft. In his June 2003 testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Michael W. Naylor, AARP s Director of Advocacy said, Our research does indicate a greater vulnerability of older Americans, based on the higher proportion of those age 50 years and older who report being victimized by identity theft, compared to the proportion of all age groups making such reports. ³⁰⁶ consolidation consumer credit

Among the myriad of problems identified by Naylor was inaccuracy caused by debt collectors. Inaccuracies can also occur when a creditor sells a delinquent account to a debt collector. Once the original creditor sells the account to a debt collector, the debt collector becomes the furnisher of information on this account to the CRAs. The main source of inaccuracy in this case results from incorrect reporting of the date of initial delinquency on the account. ³⁰⁷ consolidation debt free quote

In a footnote to his prepared statement, Naylor added, One concern is that debt collectors may report the date they purchased or received the account as the date of initial delinquency, even though the actual date of initial delinquency was likely much earlier. Because the FCRA stipulates that most negative information remains on a consumer credit report for seven years from the date of initial delinquency, establishing this date is important to consumers attempting to restore their credit. card consolidation counseling

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Statement of Michael Naylor, The Growing Problem of Identity Theft and Its Relationship to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Senate Banking Committee, June 19, 2003 ³⁰⁷ Id. Continue to Next Chapter 2005 Evan Hendricks and Privacy Times, Inc. All rights reserved. Enroll in Credit Repair About Veracity Credit Consultants Contact Veracity Full Refund Policy Veracity Site Map Privacy Statement Terms of Use consolidation debt lender

Unless Congress renews important Fair Credit Reporting Act provisions, the national credit system would be replaced by dozens of inconsistent state and local laws complicating the credit process for consumers and businesses, while hindering important identity theft and fraud protections, the group said on its Web site.³⁶² calculator consolidation debt

Between the associations and all the banks, credit bureaus, insurers, and retailers, dozens upon dozens of well-heeled lobbyists were dispatched to Capitol Hill. Before the hearings had even started, many Members of Congress had heard first-hand that the entire financial services industry wanted prompt re-authorization of the FCRA s preemption of state law. best consolidation debt loan

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www. .com ³⁶² Id. The Consumer-Privacy Side On the other side, those favoring stronger consumer protection and expansion of the state role included the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, ³⁶³ the Consumer Federation of America, ³⁶⁴ and Consumers Union, ³⁶⁵ which is publisher of the popular magazine Consumer Reports, the National Consumer Law Center;³⁶⁶ and the National Association of Consumer Advocates.³⁶⁷ consolidation counseling

Aligned with these groups was the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), ³⁶⁸ representing state Attorneys General. Supporting roles were played by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a well-respected organization based in Washington, D.C., ³⁶⁹ the Identity Theft Resource Center, the American Association for Retired People (AARP), and a handful of other groups and individuals with expertise in privacy, credit reporting, and/or identity theft.³⁷⁰ best consolidation debt

The House Goes First

It is customary for Congressional committees to hold public hearings before voting on legislation. Sometimes the committee members already know how they will vote and the hearings are just a formality. But sometimes the testimony can actually have an impact. ³⁶³ Led by Consumer Programs Director Ed Mierzwinski ³⁶⁴ Exec. Director Stephen Brobeck, Legislative Affairs Dir. Travis Plunkett, and Housing Director Brad Scriber best company consolidation

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Janell Mayo Duncan, Consumers Union legislative counsel; Shelley Curran, Policy Analyst, CU West Coast Regional Office; Gail Hillebrand, Senior Attorney, CU West Coast Regional Office; Ami Ghadia, Esther Peterson Fellow, CU Washington Office. consolidation debt lending

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Margot Saunders and Anthony Rodriguez ³⁶⁷ Exec. Director Ira Rheingold and Newport News, Virg. attorney Leonard Bennett ³⁶⁸ Led by Julie Brill, an Assistant AG of Vermont, and Susan Henrichsen, Asst. AG of California ³⁶⁹ www.epic.org/privacy/fcra ³⁷⁰ Prof. Joel Reidenberg, of Fordham Law School, Prof. Peter Swire, Ohio State Univ. Law School and former senior privacy counselor of the Clinton Administration, and this author. business consolidation debt

A subcommittee³⁷¹ of the House Financial Services Committee opened hearings on May 8, 2003. The title of the hearing, The Importance of the National Credit Reporting System to Consumers and the U.S. Economy, reflected the committee s pro-industry stance. The opening statement of Subcommittee Chairman Spencer Bachus reflected the pro-industry conclusions of the AEI-Brookings report: advice consolidation debt

We will hear in detail today how our uniform credit system under the FCRA benefits consumers and the economy as a whole. Among the consumer benefits afforded by our national credit system are efficient and convenient access to credit and insurance, strong competition in the financial services marketplace, and lower costs of credit. ³⁷² consolidation debt interest

The Republicans had the votes in the committee. The financial industry lobbyists had blanketed the Hill. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Rep. Patrick Tiberi (R-OH) had both introduced bills that would make preemption permanent and which were silent on consumer protection.³⁷³ Everything seemed set for smooth sailing. Even Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan heartily endorsed keeping pre-emption of state law.³⁷⁴ consolidation debt refinance

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Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit ³⁷² Opening Statement of Chairman Spencer Bachus, The Importance of the National Credit Reporting System to Consumers and the U.S. Economy, May 8, 2003. ³⁷³ No senator agreed to co-sponsor Johnson s bill. In praising the credit card industry at a June hearing, Tiberi said his father was an immigrant who used his credit card to buy everything and received cash back at the end of the year. consolidation debt finance

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Blackwell, Rob; Greenspan Is 1st Regulator To Endorse FCRA Extension, The American Banker; February 13, 2003. Actually, Greenspan was quite vague, stating, The system cannot function without ... the credit histories of individual borrowers, he said. I should certainly hope that it is maintained. He did not address accuracy and reliability problems, even though his own researchers had found such problems. (See Footnote 27, Chapter 10 on history) consolidation debt plan

There was one problem. At the opening hearing, Assistant Treasury Secretary Wayne Abernathy stunned many Republicans when he testified that the Bush Administration had not yet finalized its position on the FCRA. Therefore, he said, he could not even say whether the Administration supported extension of the law s preemption provision, or whether new safeguards were needed to help consumers fight against identity theft.³⁷⁵ consolidation debt personal

What happened According to sources, political higher ups in the White House discovered through their polling data that the vast majority of Americans cared strongly about such issues as financial privacy, credit report accuracy, and identity theft. The polling data indicated it actually could be risky to endorse industry s wish for preemption without due consideration for consumers interest. In other words, the Bush Administration was still at the drawing board. It was clearly a setback for the industry s fast-track timetable. consolidation debt management

Despite the Administration s reticence, Committee Chairman Michael Oxley (R-OH) left no doubt that the committee s priority was reauthorizing preemption. While acknowledging that the committee had many issues to explore, he declared: At the end of the day, this committee will act and will pass legislation reauthorizing the FCRA. That is job No. 1. consolidation debt secured

But Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the Ranking Independent on the subcommittee, said that extensive inaccuracy in credit reports, coupled with growing identity theft, underscored the urgent need for stronger consumer protections. Sanders repeatedly said the place to start was one free credit report per year. Vermont was one of the first states to have a law requiring one free credit report per year. Throughout the House s spring and summer hearings, Sanders continued to harangue committee members about the need for a federal right to a free credit report. consolidation debt florida

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Bush Admin. Still Formulating Position; Oxley Vows Action, Privacy Times, Vol. 23 No. 10, May 13, 2003 Challenging Dogma At the early hearings, pro-consumer witnesses quickly challenged industry claims that state laws were bad for commerce, or even that there were uniform national standards. Fordham Law Professor Joel Reidenberg, an author and expert on privacy law, testified that three states with the strongest credit-reporting laws Vermont, Massachusetts, and California ranked 50th, 49th, and 27th in bankruptcies. Moreover, those three States offered the lowest interest rates.³⁷⁶ canada consolidation debt loan

Vermont Asst. Attorney General Julie Brill displayed three common ads from Vermont newspapers showing that zero percent financing and instant credit for mortgages, car loans, and personal loans were widely available in the state. ³⁷⁷ consolidation debt nonprofit

As every pro-consumer witness pointed out, it had been the states, and not Congress, that had enacted the best financial privacy, credit reporting, and identity theft protection laws. Preemption would shut off the key source of pro-consumer solutions to real and ever-changing problems, they argued. consolidation debt reduction

None of this testimony deterred industry witnesses and some House Republicans from droning on about the uniform national standards and the miracle of instant credit made possible by the federal FCRA. By early June, the Bush Administration still had not announced its position. calculator card consolidation

On June 11, Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-OR), long-time sponsor of identity theft legislation, upped the ante. Hooley, along with 11 other so-called New Democrats, came out in support of reauthorizing preemption, provided four major conditions were met. In a letter to Committee Chairman Michael Oxley (R-OH), and ranking member Barney Frank (D-MA) Hooley and the New Dems said it was imperative that the legislation address problems that had arisen since the 1996 Amendments: (1) Identity theft and mitigation; (2) expeditious handling of consumer complaints and disputes; (3) greater accuracy in credit reports; and (4) consumers access to their credit data. consolidation debt unsecured

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Statement of Prof. Reidenberg, House hearing, May 8, 2003, op cit. ³⁷⁷ Statement of Julie Brill, Fair Credit Reporting Act: How it Functions for Consumers and the Economy, Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, June 4, 2003 The Hooley letter was significant because it signaled to Oxley that it was possible to reauthorize preemption with a bipartisan bill, but only if badly needed consumer protections were part of the package. consolidation debt free loan

Crippling Effects

It was also a great prelude to the House subcommittee s June 24 hearing on identity theft, when the panel finally heard two victims describe the emotional distress and frustration they experienced spending hour upon hour trying to repair their reputations and clean up their credit reports. It seems rather incomprehensible that our previously impeccable credit reports, which clearly showed wise and careful use of credit along with a stable twenty year residence history, now showed over twenty five unauthorized credit inquiries and six out-of-state address changes, all of which had been entered on our credit reports between September and November of 1999, testified Maureen V. Mitchell, of Madison, Ohio.³⁷⁸ consolidation debt high loan

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Statement of Maureen V. Mitchell, Fighting Identity Theft The Role of the FCRA, Subcom. On Fin. Inst., June 24, 2003 Furthermore, I am concerned because I can see how it could be nearly impossible to fight these problems from overseas. ³⁷⁹ The First Bill At the end of June, Hooley and the New Dems joined forces with Oxley, Bachus, and other Republicans, in sponsoring a bill (HR 2622) to make permanent the FCRA s preemption of state law, to provide consumers with one free credit report, to require fraud alerts, and to add other provisions to protect against identity theft and improve credit report accuracy. Senator Shelby called the bill a good start. But consumer privacy groups said it fell short on several fronts, especially by not placing stronger duties on creditors, who are often culprits in causing inaccuracies. consolidation debt free help

Muris Calls For More

At a packed July 9 hearing on HR 2622, FTC Chairman Timothy Muris and Treasury Secretary John Snow said the Bush Administration and the FTC agreed that preemption should be reauthorized, and that new consumer protections were necessary. The pair endorsed the call for one free credit report per year. Muris went further. He said that the reinvestigation standards that applied to CRAs should be extended to creditors. The change was significant because generally, disputing errors directly with creditors did not trigger liability. Although many may not have realized it, the current law required consumers to route all disputes through credit bureaus before they could enforce their rights. consolidation debt ohio

Moreover, Muris said a new risk-based pricing notice was needed so consumers would know when their credit reports caused them to lose out on favorable interest rates or insurance premiums. Under current law, adverse action notices were only required when a consumer was denied credit and did not accept any counter-offers. This counter-offer loophole allowed creditors to avoid giving adverse actions. In such cases, consumers were not told their credit reports were causing them to lose out. advice consolidation debt free

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Statement of Franklin D. Mellott, June 24, 2003. Mellott is the Military Victim Assistance Coordinator for the ID Theft Resource Center Enter Barney Frank Until 2003, Rep. John LaFalce, from upstate New York, had been the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee. LaFalce was seen as a strong privacy advocate, having sponsored legislation to strengthen financial privacy after Gramm-Leach-Bliley. In fact, LaFalce s involvement in privacy went way back to 1978, when he played a role in the enactment of the Right to Financial Privacy Act, which regulated law enforcement agents access to bank records. consolidation debt free online

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