get out of debt It Takes Credit To Build Credit Using a credit card wisely is an important step in building a good credit rating. If you're trying to re-build your credit or if you're young and just starting out, pay close attention the next time you receive a new card offer in the mail. When you're trying to build a positive credit history for yourself, using the right credit card makes sense. Making small purchases and then making your payments on time each month is a simple, reliable way to build an outstanding credit report. What to Look For On a Credit Card Application If you receive a credit card application that appears to offer a low monthly interest rate, don't make a decision until you turn it over and closely examine the Disclosure Box. In it you'll find a more important measure of credit terms - the Annual Percentage Rate, or APR. By federal law, the Disclosure Box will also tell you whether or not the card has what is called a grace period - a number of days, usually 25, until your purchase starts to accrue finance charges. If a card has a reasonable grace period and you pay off your balance at the end of each billing cycle, you won't have to pay finance charges. It isn't difficult to find credit cards that offer these grace periods, so if the Disclosure Box doesn't declare one then throw the application in the trash and look for a better offer. If you don't have any credit history at all, a credit card company won't want to give you a very high credit limit, but that's probably best when you're just starting out. You don't want to be tempted to go into serious debt with your very first credit card. Calculate Your Monthly Finance Charges Ideally you want to pay off your balance each month to avoid paying any finance charges, but when that isn't possible it's important to know the actual cost of the items you purchase. The annual percentage rate, divided by 12 months, gives you the periodic rate that will be applied to your outstanding balance each month. You can estimate what your monthly finance charge will be by multiplying the periodic rate times the outstanding balance. It may sound complicated at first, but taking the time to learn this simple equation can make a big difference in how you use your credit card. When you're able to see how much you actually spend on an item that you don't pay off at the end of the month, it might help you to resist the temptation to over-use your card. An item that you want to buy might be on sale at the time you purchase it, but if you don't pay off your balance at the end of the month then those finance charges can dramatically increase the actual amount you'll end up paying. Use Your Credit Card as a Tool Credit cards are only one of the tools available to help you build a positive credit history. Making on-time payments for other forms of credit, such as rent and utilities, are also important. Depending on your situation, within 1-2 years your credit rating will be improved enough that you no longer need to use your card for new purchases to maintain your good credit. Use these tools wisely, and they'll help build your financial future! Federal Debt Consolidation Loans For Students Student Loan Consolidation For American college students, the U.S. Government came up with a plan that can help a student manage their student loan debt. The plan they came up with is called a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan. It does not matter if you are a recent graduate student, well into your career already, still at school, or in your grace period for repayment of a student loan. For any of those student categories, a Federal debt consolidation loan may be applied for. Students successful in their application for a federal debt consolidation loan may reduce the amount they need to repay each month, or increase the time that they have to pay off their current debt. How Does a Federal Debt Consolidation Loan Help a Student Pay Off Their Debt? For a student who has student loans under several different programs, bringing them all together under one direct Federal Debt Consolidation Loan can make your debts easier to manage. By combining all of your loans into one, you're only responsible for making one payment to one lender - the U.S. Government. To help make the option of debt consolidation more attractive, there are four flexible payment plans available, including two that which take income and/or income expectations into account. The Federal Debt Consolidation Loan is Available to Help you Manage your Student Debt. Student loan debt is not something that you want dragging at your feet like a ball and chain. It provides a good opportunity for students to learn to manage their finances. Even if you are still at school, it is a good time to learn to manage your debt. That will hold you in good stead as a consumer long into the future. For example, if you choose to consolidate all your student debts into one before you leave school, you can lock in an interest rate that as much as .6% lower than if you attempt to refinance later, after you have left and are no longer a student. For more how a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan can help lower your repayments, and manage your student debt, you can visit the Department of Education's web site. Once there, you can make use of their online debt calculator at https://loanconsolidation.ed.gov to estimate your projected monthly payment under the various plans. Can a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan help you manage your debt? There could be reasons why debt consolidation is not the best solution for any particular student. If a student is close to the end of their repayment term, for example, it may not be worth the work to consolidate. Prolonging the life of your loan is likely to increase the amount you pay overall. If you can afford the higher monthly payments to pay off the debt sooner, you can ultimately save money by doing so. If, however, you are sure that a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan will be to your benefit, you still need to be eligible for the program. The eligibility guidelines can be found at loanconsolidation.ed.gove/borrower/beligible.html In addition, the list of loans that are eligible for consolidation can be viewed at: loanconsolidation.ed.gov.borrower/bloans.html Which Federal Student Loan Consolidation Plan is the most suitable for you? Here are the 4 debt consolidation loan consolidation plans that are available to choose from: Standard: The standard repayment plan is fixed-rate, and runs for a maximum of 10 years. The minimum monthly payment is $50. Extended Repayment Plan: this is a fixed rate plan, with payments extending over the course of 12-30 years. Payments are a minimum of $50, and the life of the loan is dependent on the total amount of the debt. Graduated Repayment Plan: Under the graduated plan, payments start low and increase, generally every two years. The length of the repayment period can vary from 12 right up to 30 years. Income Contingent Repayment Plan: The monthly payment is based on a borrower's annual adjusted gross income, family size and the total amount of direct loans. If your student loan debt is out of control, or could be better managed, it is worth paying a visit to: https://loanconsolidation.ed.gov to see how the federal government can help you with your student debt consolidation loan for students. Eliminate Debt Legally, Lawfully and Ethically You are trying hard to eliminate your loans but keep falling back on your old ways. This constantly leads you back to square one situation and debts seem like they are ever increasing. This is the time to go for debt elimination. The good news is that you are not alone, if you are thinking about debt elimination. The bad news is you still haven’t really started this journey. That means you are still in debt. It is always difficult to know which way to start from. Average household debt in UK is £44857 including mortgage and £7,694 excluding mortgage.UK has seen a rapid increase in household debts which means that more than half of the people have trouble meeting their monthly payments, and being driven further and further into debt. With an average family having 14 credit cards, and various other debts – debt elimination seems only logical. However, debt elimination doesn’t always seem easy. Before going for Debt elimination, you have to understand your debt situation. Understanding debt elimination is equally necessary. Then only you would be able to decide which one would eliminate both the creditors and debts from your life. You have an interesting compilation to choose from. Debt elimination includes – debt consolidation loans, debt management, debt consolidation, debt negotiation, debt settlement, debt counselling etc. Debt consolidation loans are a very popular way to debt elimination. Overdue bills payment, each month, is devastating for financial freedom. Debt consolidation loans can certainly reduce your monthly payments and your interest rates. Debt elimination with debt consolidation reduces your debt by consolidating all your credit card debts, auto loans, education loans, unsecured loans into a single loan. You can save a lot while moving towards debt elimination. A very important process in debt elimination is debt management. Debt management looks for a financial plan that suits your financial circumstance. A debt elimination plan would consolidate all your unsecured debts into single, affordable monthly payment. This payment is carefully calculated by a trained debt consultant, who with the debtor’s assistance reviews their financial position and quote a payment which ensures financial control. This amount is calculated keeping in mind the monthly expenses of the debtor. This debt elimination sees to it that the debtor doesn’t miss any of his commitment like mortgage, rent, car finance, utility bills etc. Debt elimination with debt counselling can provide you with debt advice for financial planning. This sort of debt elimination would prevent you from getting into future debt. Debt counselling services can talk to your creditors about reducing interest rate, eliminating late fees and extending loan term. For debt elimination, search a debt counselling agency that is the member of National Foundation for Credit Counselling (NFCC) or the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA). Debt elimination through debt negotiation is one of the fastest ways to remove credit card debts and personal loans while avoiding bankruptcy. By negotiating debt, debt can be reduced by 40%-60%. Debt elimination via negotiation is like the last resort. The lender has little enthusiasm to work out reconciliation for a payless on the full amount. Hence, debt negotiation is a tricky situation and should be handled by a reliable debt negotiator. Yet, at times debt elimination through negotiation is the only logical solution. Under normal circumstances debt counselling should be the first step. Debts are not meant to be a permanent affair. It is one affair you will regret unquestionably. Debt elimination is the beginning of the road called debt free. You cannot separate one from the other. They are related and go hand in hand with each other. If you have struggled a good deal with loans and that too with unsuccessful results then debt elimination is meant for you. The destination called debt free begins with debt elimination. After having herself gone through the ordeal of loan borrowing, Natasha Anderson understands the need for good quality loan advice. Her articles endeavor to provide you the wise counsel in the most elementary way for the benefit of the readers. She hopes that this will help them to locate the loan that beseems their expectations. She works for the UK debt consolidation web site uk debt consolidations. Get Debt Collectors Out of your Life By Kenneth DeLashmutt This will be a pretty long lesson and will cover an integral part of validation which is the receipt of the initial or first contact with the debtor by a collector which usually gets thrown in the trash can if the debtor has not the funds to pay. That is a very serious mistake. One should never throw those collection letters away. They may very well be a vital part of your defensive strategy later down the road. This lesson is taken from a part of an FTC opinion letter on validation and tells us what that first letter must contain at the very least, and what it must do and must not do so this is an important lesson indeed. This course was originally designed for attorneys and was designed to teach them avoidance of problems. Naturally, we use their lessons against them and do all we can to get them to screw up so they can be sued. You will find a lot of ingenious tricks and traps can be devised to make them goof it up and lose their collection efforts and their cases against you. SECOND ISSUE: Where an attorney debt collector institutes legal proceedings against a debtor but has no prior communications with the debtor, are the requirements for the validation of debts set forth in Section 809 of the FDCPA supreme to state law or state court rules that otherwise prohibit the inclusion of the validation notice on court documents? In responding to this issue, the Commission notes first that Section 809(a) of the FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a), provides: (a) Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing – (1) the amount of the debt; (2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed; (3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector; (4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector; and (5) a statement that, upon the consumer's written request within the thirty-day period, the debt collector will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor. Section 803 (2) of the FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(2), defines the term "communication" as "the conveying of information regarding a debt directly or indirectly to any person through any medium." In its Staff Commentary, Commission staff stated that the term "communication" "does not include formal legal action (e.g., filing of a lawsuit or other petition/pleadings with a court; service of a complaint or other legal papers in connection with a lawsuit, or activities directly related to such service) " 53 Fed. Reg. at 50101, comment 803 (2)-2. Similarly, in the introductory portion of the Staff Commentary, Commission staff opined that "Attorneys or law firms that engage in traditional debt collection activities (sending dunning letters, making collection calls to consumers) are covered by the FDCPA, but those whose practice is limited to legal activities are not covered." (3) Id. at 50,100. Seven years after the Staff Commentary was issued, the United States Supreme Court held that the FDCPA's definition of "debt collector," Section 803(6), 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6), "applies to attorneys who 'regularly' engage in consumer-debt-collection activity, even when that activity consists of litigation." Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291, 299 (1995). In arriving at this conclusion, the Court explicitly considered and rejected Commission staff's introductory remark regarding the coverage of litigation attorneys. Id. at 298. In light of Heintz, the Commission concludes that, if an attorney debt collector serves on a consumer a court document "conveying information regarding a debt," that court document is a "communication" for purposes of the FDCPA. (4) If an attorney debt collector has had no prior communications with a consumer before serving a summons or other court document on the consumer, that document would constitute the "initial communication" with the consumer if it conveys information regarding a debt. The attorney would therefore have to include the written notice mandated by Section 809(a) (often referred to as the "validation notice") in the court document itself or send it to the consumer "within five days after the initial communication." According to the ACA's Request, some "state laws or state court rules prohibit the inclusion of additional language such as the validation notice on documents filed with courts." The association asks whether the requirements of Section 809(a) are "supreme to," and thus preempt, these state laws or state court rules. Id. Preemption cases generally proceed from "the starting presumption that Congress does not intend to supplant state laws." New York State Conference of Blue Cross & Blue Shield Plans v. Travelers Ins. Co., 514 U.S. 645, 654 (1995). (5) According to the Court in English v. General Electric Co., 496 U.S. 72 (1990): State law is pre-empted under the Supremacy Clause, U.S. Constitution Article VI, cl. 2, in three circumstances. First, Congress can define explicitly the extent to which its enactments pre-empt state law. Pre-emption fundamentally is a question of congressional intent, and when Congress has made its intent known through explicit statutory language, the courts' task is an easy one. Second, in the absence of explicit statutory language, state law is pre-empted where it regulates conduct in a field that Congress intended the Federal Government to occupy exclusively. Such an intent may be inferred from a "scheme of federal regulation . . . so pervasive as to make reasonable the inference that Congress left no room for the States to supplement it," or where an Act of Congress "touches a field in which the federal interest is so dominant that the federal system will be assumed to preclude enforcement of state laws on the same subject." . . . . Finally, state law is pre-empted to the extent that it actually conflicts with federal law. Thus, the Court has found pre-emption where it is impossible for a private party to comply with both state and federal requirements, or where state law "stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress." Id. at 78-79 (omission in internal quotation in original) (citations omitted). The preemption provision of the FDCPA, Section 816, 15 U.S.C. § 1692n, provides: This title does not annul, alter, or affect, or exempt any person subject to the provisions of this title from complying with the laws of any State with respect to debt collection practices, except to the extent that those laws are inconsistent with any provision of this title, and then only to the extent of the inconsistency. For purposes of this section, a State law is not inconsistent with this title if the protection such law affords any consumer is greater than the protection provided by this title. The Commission does not believe that this section expressly preempts state laws and court rules that prohibit attorney debt collectors from including validation notices in court documents. The quoted provision makes express that Congress did not intend to preempt the field, but allowed only for conflict preemption. However, there is no conflict preemption here. First, there is no conflict preemption based on impossibility of compliance because it is possible for attorney debt collectors to comply with both the federal provision and the state provisions. (6) Instead of including such notices in court documents, attorney debt collectors in jurisdictions that prohibit validation notices in court documents may deliver the notices to consumers via some other medium -- either before serving the court document on the consumer or, if the court document is truly the first communication with the consumer, within five days of serving the court document. (7) Second, there is no conflict preemption based on state law standing as an obstacle to the full accomplishment and execution of Congressional purposes and objectives. As Congress declared in Section 802(e) of the FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. § 1692(e), the purpose of the panoply of protections under the federal debt collection statute is: to eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors, to insure that those debt collectors who refrain from using abusive debt collection practices are not competitively disadvantaged, and to promote consistent State action to protect consumers against debt collection abuses. The state provisions about which you inquire do not prevent consumers from receiving the full panoply of protections from abusive debt collection practices afforded by the FDCPA. The only FDCPA provision that could be affected by these state laws and court rules is Section 809(a). As noted above, an attorney debt collector who is prohibited from including the validation notice in court documents may deliver the notice to consumers before serving the consumer with the court document or, if the court document is the first communication with the consumer, within five days after serving the court document. Thus, even in a jurisdiction that prohibits validation notices in court documents, a consumer will receive the validation notice and learn, for example, that the debt collector must provide the consumer with written verification of the debt if the consumer disputes the debt within thirty days. State legislation that prohibits validation notices in court documents also does not stand as an obstacle to the promotion of "consistent State action to protect consumers against debt collection abuses." Consumers will receive their validation notices in jurisdictions that prohibit validation notices in court documents as well as in jurisdictions that permit the practice. After reviewing state laws and court rules that prohibit validation notices in court documents under a preemption analysis, the Commission concludes that such state legislation is not preempted by the FDCPA. By direction of the Commission. Donald S. Clark Secretary Endnotes 1. Section 809(b), 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b), provides: If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector. 2. In the Staff Commentary on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 53 Fed. Reg. 50097 (1988) ("Staff Commentary"), and staff opinion letters, Commission staff have consistently read Section 809(b) to permit a debt collector to continue to make demands for payment or take legal action within the thirty-day period. See 53 Fed. Reg. at 50,109, comment 809(b)-1 ("A debt collector need not cease normal collection activities within the consumer's 30-day period to give notice of a dispute until he receives a notice from the consumer."); letter from John F. LeFevre, FDCPA Program Advisor, to S. Joshua Berger (May 29, 1997): We interpret the "thirty-day period" as a period within which consumers must dispute their debts in writing in order to avail themselves of their Section 809(b) rights, but not as a "grace" period. Thus, we believe that there is nothing in the Act that prevents you from filing suit during this period, so long as you do not make any representations that contradict Section 809(b). Kenneth M. DeLashmutt "Predatory Lending Defense Specialist" email: educationcenter2000@cox.net website: http://www.educationcenter2000.com Mr. Kenneth M. DeLashmutt is a recognized Predatory Lending Defense Specialist and an authority on the subject of predatory lending practices, foreclosure defense, consumer protection and debtor’s rights. He has more than 10 years experience in the area of consumer protection related to predatory mortgage lending practices and debt resolution. He has provided regulatory consulting services nationwide to financial institutions, consumers and regulatory agencies as well as real-estate and financial services organizations. Areas of Expertise include: Banking Operations and Administration; Lending Policies and Laws to Protect Consumers, Mortgage Brokers and Mortgage Lender Predatory Lending Custom & Practice; Credit Administration; Bankruptcy and Foreclosures; Trust & Fiduciary Issues / Operations; Real Estate Transactions; Consumer Protection Litigation and Foreclosure Defense. email: educationcenter2000@cox.net website: http://www.educationcenter2000.com Stop Debt Collectors By Omar M. Omar Can you stop debt collectors ? . . .You better know you can You can stop debt collectors under the law provided by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. If you use credit cards, owe money on a personal loan, or are paying on a home mortgage, you are a "debtor." If you fall behind in repaying your creditors, or an error is made on your accounts, you may be contacted by a "debt collector." You should know that in either situation, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires that debt collectors treat you fairly and prohibits certain methods of debt collection. Of course, the law does not erase any legitimate debt you owe. What debts are covered? Personal, family, and household debts are covered under the Act. This includes money owed for the purchase of an automobile, for medical care, or for charge accounts. Who is a debt collector? A debt collector is any person who regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes attorneys who collect debts on a regular basis. How may a debt collector contact you? A collector may contact you in person, by mail, telephone, telegram, or fax. However, a debt collector may not contact you at inconvenient times or places, such as before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., unless you agree. A debt collector also may not contact you at work if the collector knows that your employer disapproves of such contacts. Can you stop a debt collector from contacting you? You can stop a debt collector from contacting you by writing a letter to the collector telling them to stop. Once the collector receives your letter, they may not contact you again except to say there will be no further contact or to notify you that the debt collector or the creditor intends to take some specific action. Please note, however, that sending such a letter to a collector does not make the debt go away if you actually owe it. You could still be sued by the debt collector or your original creditor. May a debt collector contact anyone else about your debt? If you have an attorney, the debt collector must contact the attorney, rather than you. If you do not have an attorney, a collector may contact other people, but only to find out where you live, what your phone number is, and where you work. Collectors usually are prohibited from contacting such third parties more than once. In most cases, the collector may not tell anyone other than you and your attorney that you owe money. What must the debt collector tell you about the debt? Within five days after you are first contacted, the collector must send you a written notice telling you the amount of money you owe; the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money; and what action to take if you believe you do not owe the money. May a debt collector continue to contact you if you believe you do not owe money? A collector may not contact you if, within 30 days after you receive the written notice, you send the collection agency a letter stating you do not owe money. However, a collector can renew collection activities if you are sent proof of the debt, such as a copy of a bill for the amount owed. What types of debt collection practices are prohibited? Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact. For example, debt collectors may not, use threats of violence or harm, publish a list of consumers who refuse to pay their debts (except to a credit bureau), use obscene or profane language or repeatedly use the telephone to annoy someone. False statements. Debt collectors may not use any false or misleading statements when collecting a debt. For example, debt collectors may not: * falsely imply that they are attorneys or government representatives; * falsely imply that you have committed a crime; * falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit bureau; * misrepresent the amount of your debt; * indicate that papers being sent to you are legal forms when they are not; or * indicate that papers being sent to you are not legal forms when they are. Debt collectors also may not state that: * you will be arrested if you do not pay your debt;* they will seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages, unless the collection agency or creditor intends to do so, and it is legal to do so; or actions, such as a lawsuit, will be taken against you, when such action legally may not be taken, or when they do not intend to take such action. Debt collectors may not: * give false credit information about you to anyone, including a credit bureau; * send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency when it is not; or * use a false name. Unfair practices. Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt. For example, collectors may not: * collect any amount greater than your debt, unless your state law permits such a charge; * deposit a post-dated check prematurely; * use deception to make you accept collect calls or pay for telegrams; * take or threaten to take your property unless this can be done legally; or * contact you by postcard. What control do you have over payment of debts? If you owe more than one debt, any payment you make must be applied to the debt you indicate. A debt collector may not apply a payment to any debt you believe you do not owe. What can you do if you believe a debt collector violated the law? You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If you win, you may recover money for the damages you suffered plus an additional amount up to $1,000. Court costs and attorney's fees also can be recovered. A group of people also may sue a debt collector and recover money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the collector's net worth, whichever is less. Where can you report a debt collector for an alleged violation? Report any problems you have with a debt collector to your state Attorney General's office and the Federal Trade Commission. Many states have their own debt collection laws, and your Attorney General's office can help you determine your rights. About The Author © Copyright. http://www.deleteuglycredit.com Omar M. Omar is the owner of http://www.deleteuglycredit.com. The website is dedicated to provide credit consumers with information about their credit right and how to dispute inaccurate information on their credit report. Omar M. Omar is also the author Of "The Credit Repair Bible" book. You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, in your Newsletter, on your website, or in your E-Book, as long as the author's Resource Box is included with the article. omar@deleteuglycredit.com