It’s bad enough getting into apayday loan in the first place. But even more fun is involved if you are unable to pay back your payday loan. Most companies keep piling up interest and late fees, making it tough to repay the loan. A reader recently wrote of her experience paying back […]

Popularity: 17% [?]

[Read more →]

Just received this question from a reader:
Q. I had a collection that originated in 2004 in Maryland. The statute of limitations (SOL) was 3 years; 2007 came and went with no suit from the collection agency.
Now I live in a state where the SOL on a written contract is 6 years. If they can […]

Popularity: 18% [?]

[Read more →]

Back in August, we posted a blog that focused on the top ten homebuyer turnoffs. Number one was, not surprisingly, bad smells in the home.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what kind of smells will kill a deal; ok, if you insist, they might include the smell of animals (cats particularly), […]

Popularity: 15% [?]

[Read more →]

In Honor of Halloween, we are publishing this post.

El Cobrador del Frac — “The Debt Collector in Top Hat and Tails” — has had to hire 150 new collectors in the past 6 months just to keep up with demand. The company’s secret: Use costumes and attention to embarrass companies and individuals […]

Popularity: 15% [?]

[Read more →]

I get this question all the time, “How do I make my student loans affordable? I can’t make the payment.” Some people are under the impression that you can file bankruptcy to get out of student loans, or bargain with a collection agency once the account goes into collections. Wrong. There […]

Popularity: 16% [?]

[Read more →]

In general I’d say that the latter may ultimately be the better investment, but I’ll leave my personal demons out of this one.
With the housing market in such turmoil and homeowners facing situations such as a job relocation and a house that won’t sell, many owners decide renting their house is the only option […]

Popularity: 15% [?]

[Read more →]

Q. A Collection Agency who is contacting me about a debt is telling me they were assigned to collect it and did not purchase it, not sold. Is there a difference between being assigned or sold? Should I care?
A. This question generally is asked because a consumer is unsure how to respond to […]

Popularity: 19% [?]

[Read more →]

Mirrors on the ceiling…. pink champagne on ice. We are all just prisoners here, of our own device….
Pardon me, just a quick digression to some of the lyrics from one of my favorite Eagle’s songs, “Hotel California“.  The song always conjures up somewhat eerie images in my mind, and it is what I thought of […]

Popularity: 16% [?]

[Read more →]

For those of us who have been through a marriage, those word of promise recited with starry eyes in front of our family and friends are SO familiar.  But most people who enter this sacred union amid dreams of happily ever after are really not concerned (initially) about the dreaded “D” word severing their union;  […]

Popularity: 14% [?]

[Read more →]

Collection agencies are starting to pull all sorts of tricks out of their little black bags. A reader recently wrote about the unbelievable situation where NCO, a large collection agency, sent a soldier’s Commanding Officer a “letter of debt” informing the CO of the soldier’s collection account. It’s true that the military […]

Popularity: 17% [?]

[Read more →]