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Don t make these seven mistakes when dealing with debt collectors.
The number of complaints about debt collectors is on the rise. From 13,950 reported to the Federal Trade Commission in 2000, the number has ballooned to over 66,000 in 2005. And these are just the ones reported–the greater number of complaints go unreported. But this isn t the worst; a significant number of complaints are coming from consumers who do not even owe the debt. So what s going on here? It is apparent that debt collection agencies are becoming increasingly competitive and that they are getting more aggressive in an effort to improve their bottom line. And to do this, they have to put more pressure on the one who owes the debt “the consumer, you. What can you do if you are caught in the crosshairs of a debt collector? Enforce your rights. As a consumer, you have rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA.) These rights mean that you cannot be lied to, abused, or harassed when a debt collector is trying to collect from you. And these rights have teeth. When a debt collector violates the provisions of the FDCPA. when he or she violates the rights you have under the FDCPA, you can sue for damages and for attorney s fees. But when dealing with debt collectors under the FDCPA, don t make the following four mistakes: 1. Not knowing your rights. You need to remember that you have rights even when you haven t paid what you owe for whatever reason. We don t have debtor s prisons anymore and debt collectors can t buy a license anywhere to have any kind of open season on anyone who is delinquent in paying debts. This is true because of those rights. So make sure you understand just what those rights are. You can t claim them if you don t know them. 2. Not keeping records. To be able to enforce your rights, you ll need to keep some records. This will mean a phone log (the number of calls and when can both be violations of the FDCPA); notes from the calls (what they say to you may not be abusive, harassing or a misrepresentation); and all the letters they send to you (they must have the proper notices and may not confuse you about what you need to do) as well as the letters you send to them. All of these must be kept for you to better make your case. 3. Not responding on time. You have certain rights that must be exercised within a certain period of time or they are lost. (The right to verification information is one.) So be vigilant about any time limits. Respond when you need to and file suit on time–if it comes to that. 4. Avoiding the calls. Don t avoid the phone calls either. It is only by dealing with the debt collector that any of your rights under the law may be exercised. And exercising those rights–for example, the all-important right of verification–might just make the problem go away. (If the collector cannot verify the debt, he or she cannot continue to collect it.) So it is better to take the call and talk. In dealing with debt collectors, it also pays to be smart. So, for example, don t also make the following three mistakes: 5. Not negotiating. Debt collection agencies most often buy the debt. And they buy it for less than you owe on it. Their profitability comes from getting you to pay more– and possibly a lot more– than they paid for it. So make sure you try to negotiate a lower figure. They just might accept it. 6. Ignoring the debt. Ignoring the debt is only going to cause more problems. If the debt collector understands that his or her efforts are not going to get you to pay, that may start the clock on any lawsuit they can bring on the debt. And that only gives the debt collector the advantage. Keep the advantage with you. 7. Paying by personal check. Paying by personal check gives the debt collector your account number and the name of your bank. That can create some problems with unscrupulous debt collectors who might be tempted to do something shady like setting up an electronic payment. (It s been done.) And that isn t good. But it also gives them information they can use if they want to enforce the debt through legal means. Why make it any easier? If you are faced with any attempt to collect a debt, make sure you get all the information you can. If you do, you ll be more able to enforce your rights–and they will be less able to intimidate you. Both of these come out on your side of the ledger sheet.

Scott W. Clark is an attorney author who has written the e-book <a href="http://www.martinclarkpublishing.com/KYR–Collections.html">Know Your Rights: When the Debt Collector Calls</a> as well as the e-book <a href="http://www.martinclarkpublishing.com/KP–DebtCollectionRights.html">A Debt Collection Primer</a>. Both are available from <a href="http://www.martinclarkpublishing.com">Martin Clark Publishing</a>. This article is for information purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.

Debt Consolidation with Home Equity Loan Give You the Most Flexibility

Have you ever wondered how can you consolidation your debts and help you to save money which is used to pay for those high interest rate debts? You can reduce your interest rate charges by using your home equity loan to consolidate all of your outstanding debts. Your home equity loan can be used to consolidate debt and pay off the following accounts:

• Credit card balances
• Gas card balances
• Department store balances
• Installment loans
• Auto loans
• Any account balance that is outstanding.

Home equity loans allow a homeowner to borrow money by pledging the house as collateral. Normally this loan is easier to be approved by the lender even if you have bad credit because the lender view home equity loan as relatively safe. And you can borrow a relatively large amount of money to pay off all or most of your other high interest rate debts.

Home equity loans generally have a much lower interest rate than most credit cards and other unsecured loans. You can also set the repayment terms at a fixed rate so that you can plan exactly how much to budget each month. Also save time and hassle by writing just one monthly check.

Most home equity loans have the following repayment terms:

• up to 5 years
• up to 10 years
• up to 15 years
• up to 20 years

Thus, you have the flexibility of tailor a debt consolidation plan that fit your budget. If your debt consolidation balance is high, you may go plan with a long repayment period. With the longer repayment period, you will pay lower monthly repayment and budget for other living expenses needs.

What are the things save in debt consolidation?

By consolidation your debt with a home equity loan let you have the flexibility to plan ahead for your other living expenses needs. Home equity loan carries a much lower interest rate than most credit cards and other loans. And any interest you pay may be tax deductible. Hence, using home equity loan to write off your high interest rate debts such as credit card (more than 12% of interest rate) will leave you a high income balance (after deduce the month repayment for home equity loan) to budget for other needs such as send your kids to college, finance a new car & etc.

How much can you save?

That depends on your income bracket and annual percentage rate. But after deducting all the qualifying interest payments from your taxes, your effective APR will be significantly lowered. By comparing this lower interest rate to your car loan, credit cards and other installment loan’s interest rates which do not qualify for tax deductible, you can see why is a smart way of doing debt consolidation with a home equity loan.

Summary

Home equity loan is the best method to consolidate your high interest debts; it carries low interest rate, tax deductible and love by the lenders as the secured loan to their borrowers. Debt consolidation with home equity loan gives you the maximum flexibility to plan ahead.

Cornie Herring is the Author from &quot;StudyKiosk-Credit Basics&quot;- <a href="http://www.studykiosk.com/CreditBasics/DebtConsolidation/Bankruptcy_Debt_Relief_Attorney.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.studykiosk.com/creditbasics</a>. &quot;StudyKiosk-Credit Basics&quot; is an informational website on credit basics, <a href="http://www.studykiosk.com/CreditBasics" target="_blank">debt consolidation</a> and <a href="http://www.studykiosk.com/CreditBasics/DebtConsolidation/Filing-Bankruptcy-Process.aspx" target="_blank">bankruptcy</a>.

Bad Credit Charge Card
Bad credit charge card will be the resort of most bad credit people, which help them to continue their lifestyle habits, irrespective of the blemishes in the credit history. Charge cards are more or less similar to your credit cards but you have to payoff the debts in the same month itself. Charge card offer most of the advantages of credit card except revolving credit and balance carry over. The charge card is well appreciated as it can help you to follow the easiness of the plastic money, in which you can shop without money in your pocket and just swipe the card in the retailer counter. Also, you can avail financial advances using charge cards. Charge cards can thus be the trusted companion for a person as the financial emergencies are most unexpected.

Bad credit charge card will be an impeccable offer to repair your credit blemishes. As your credit accounts are not available because of the repayment defaults, you are in need of a credit account to prove your improvement in the financial behavior. A good track record in bad credit charge card will definitely help you to improve your credit score to a better one. Charge card also helps you to retain the habit of taking plastic card, while shopping and avoid the public notice, as a bad credit one.

Acquiring a bad credit charge card was not easy in the past few years. But nowadays there are several avenues which offer charge cards for people with bad credit. Charge cards from retailer chains will be enough, if you use charge cards only for purchase from such shops. These days certain banks also provide charge cards, if you have an account over there. It will be little difficult to get one in bad credit, but if you succeed to have one; it will be the ideal deal. Anyhow, local banks are much lenient to provide you one, if you can gain their confidence about your credibility. Also, you can avail a charge card jointly with a relative, who is having good credit history. It may seem that you are depending on the counterpart, but if you can manage the credit card wisely, it will not be a problem. Approval rates of are also higher for such bad credit charge cards.

Several charge card companies also offer bad credit charge cards. One can also apply for bad credit charge cards online. Applying online is quite easy and most of the companies offering charge cards online do not require a credit check. However, reviewing the terms in the application is essential before submitting, as many of them include unfavorable conditions. Obviously, the rates associated with bad credit charge cards will be slightly higher than usual charge cards. But, be wise to compare the rates quoted in many offers, to find the best one. Another type of charge card requires security deposit, from the bad credit people, to have the charge card.

By comparing the different offers, you can reach a comparably competent charge card offer and enroll in it. Make sure that the interest rates are within your control range and must use the charge card carefully since you have to pay off the debt in the same month itself.

Hence, bad credit charge will be advantageous; however, the use of charge card must be limited, as any default will lead you to an unrecoverable fate.

Visit Bad Credit Help for more resources and help with your bad credit.

Visit <a href="http://www.badcrediting.com">Bad Credit</a> Help for more resources and help with your bad credit.

Save money ” trade used books online
With the increased cost of printing and publishing, buying new books is becoming a very costly affair. However, students and researchers need not worry as they can always buy used books from any local bookstore or even online. Books used by students, scholars or professors do not always end up at the state library and instead end up at the local and online resellers. These stores work as a bridge between those who want to dispose off their old books and those who are looking to buy. Books often tend to be out of publication or are very difficult to buy owing to their scarcity. The best solution to the situation is to buy used books. It is surprising to see the used books collection that many of these resellers have. From used text books to old magazines and journals, you are sure to get almost anything that you have been searching for. Used college books are one of the most common items that people look for. From astronomy to animal husbandry, history of Everest climbs to that of the ocean s deepest trenches ” a huge collection of used books are available at http://www.caretotrade.com ” an online trading website which started as a blog for books trading. It is highly unlikely that you will be able to get the desired college book at the first instance itself. To buy that coveted book you may have to visit a few resellers and rummage through the used books stock before you are finally able to find it. The biggest advantage of used books is their low prices. But when you buy used books the condition of the book is the foremost thing to consider. It is advisable to check the books, especially to see that the books contain all the pages including the index. Often resellers tend to put an attractive cover to hide the book s damages. You should also be aware of the prevalent market price of the book to ensure that the reseller is not making considerable profits by charging higher than the normal. The advantage of using a website like http://www.caretotrade.com is that buyers and sellers can contact each other directly enabling the buyer to find out every little detail about the book. Listing on the website is completely free of charge. Not only can you buy used books but you will also be able to sell used books or exchange used books at Care-to-Trade. Barter of used books is a good idea, as you can always pick up something useful in exchange of books not needed anymore. So the next time you want to add a missing edition to your National Geographic collection or buy a part of the Britannica Encyclopedia series, you know where to look. Article Resources (About the Author): Dawson is a guest writer and key contributor of articles to many local magazines and newspapers in the south London region. He is a restaurants fan, who also actively writes about pretty much everything else in classifieds magazines.

Dawson is a guest writer and key contributor of articles to many local magazines and newspapers in the south London region. He is a <a href=http://www.lacartes.com>restaurants</a> fan, who also actively writes about pretty much everything else in <a href=http://www.caretotrade.com>classifieds</a> magazines.