Collections Law/Business CC

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Expert: Creditwrench - 8/21/2009


Question
WE own a small business.  We are struggling with this economic time. One of our business CC raised our interest to 35%. I have refused to pay it unless they reduce it to a reasonable interest rate and remove all the interest and fees they have placed on it.  It's 60 days past.  The bank is Advanta and they have many complaints against them and a couple of class action suits.  What should I do.  I want to try and wait and get them to settle for a lower amount.  The original balance was 25,000 and now it's up to 30,000.

Answer

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Refusing to pay because you don't like the way you are being treated is a road to disaster unless you are willing to take it all the way to the wailing wall. And what do I mean by that? First they keep on adding more and more interest as you have already seen. Then at about 150 days after your last payment they charge it off and immediately sell it to a debt collector who adds more interest and fees and tries to hound you into paying. If the debt collector can't get any money out of you they either sell it to another debt collector who adds more interest and fees and the hounding starts all over again. Next one of them will turn it over to a lawyer who will sue you and probably get a judgment then go for garnishment of assets. They can freeze your bank account and grab their money that way. They don't just freeze the amount of money you owe them, they freeze all your funds until the bank pays out the money you owe. The bank will add a big fee for processing the freeze. Your checks will bounce and that will add even more money out of your account. Might even lead to criminal charges in some states or counties. If they can't get their money that way they can put a sheriff in your business to grab all the money as it comes in until they get enough money to pay the debt you owe. They can seize anything they can find to sell from your business and even from your home to pay what you owe. They can seize vehicles that are free and clear to sell them. It can get very nasty unless you are well prepared to do battle with them to enforce your standpoint but if the card was a card issued to a business then there are not all that many ways to fight back. Your legal resources are much more limited. Consumer debt is much easier to defend your position. So if your debt is for a consumer card and not for a business related card there is a lot you can do to make them go away and leave you alone. But if you plan on dumping your credit cards or other consumer related debt then you need to start learning how to do it and get away with it now. Once you are in default and the credit card company starts calling you about all you can do is ignore their calls. Original creditors are exempt from any liability under FDCPA but all debt collectors are liable. Therefore it is the debt collectors who have to become your target. They will call you and send you letters demanding payment. Those phone calls and demand letters must meet certain standards which you will learn by study of the law. You should start that study now before the debt collectors start calling you. You need to learn how to control those phone conversations and not let them bully you. You will need to learn all about what they can and cannot legally do and get yourself prepared to take them to federal court and make them pay you for their violations. You can actually make them forget about ever collecting any money from you and make them pay you on top of that. In that process you can make them take it off your credit reports too. So why not start learning right now by going to my links page at http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AXMijLsjZEu-ZGZibmJtdl80NWdwcTlia2Rm&hl=en where you will find lots and lots of free information to get you started.
You can also get in on my free conference call which are held every Friday night starting at 7;00 P.M. Central time. The call in number is 712 432 1601 and the pin number is 508548# You will also want to become a student so you get in on lots more information and help that you will need to beat them.  

Creditwrench

Expertise

Debt Collections law, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), federal law, how to properly answer court summons for collection cases, how to prepare federal cases against debt collectors, how to deal with debt collection phone calls.

Experience

I've been an active consumer advocate for more than 40 years and have helped hundreds of people win cases against debt collectors as well as helping them defeat demands for summary judgment lodged against them by banks, debt collectors and defeat mortgage foreclosures and keep their homes.

Education/Credentials
Paralegal courses for the most part.
I have been teaching people how to deal with judgments, mortgage foreclosures and other such problems both on and off the internet for many, many years. I am a Richard Cornforth information provider ever since 2000 and worked with many other organizations and causes since 1980. I was Oklahoma State Chairman for the nationwide drive to defeat the Constitutional Convention which was proposed by various factions within our federal government such as the Council of State Governments and the National Organization of State Governors who were working hard to organize a Constitutional Convention to be held in 1995 for the purpose of rewriting our American Constitution to be more acceptable to the United Nations. I worked with Senator Charles Duke of Colorado and Senator Don Rogers of California and many others across the nation to keep them from getting the number of delegate states required to lawfully hold a Con-Con and we were successful. I have worked with many other legislative issues in Oklahoma and have always been very successful.

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