As a victim of identity theft, you may feel as if you have lost everything you worked to achieve. It can impact your finances, property, emotions and even your reputation as a responsible member of society. You have rights after identity theft harms you. Exercising...
Credit scores are a relatively new concept
Many people think of credit scores as if they’ve been around forever, helping to govern financial activity. And it is certainly true that lenders have always been interested in the credit history of potential borrowers. You can even find examples of credit reporting...
What happens if debt collectors keep calling a debtor’s job?
People take on debt for a variety of reasons. In some cases, people slowly but intentionally accumulate debt through credit card use. Other times, their debts are a result of an unanticipated experience, such as a car crash or a violent crime that leaves them injured....
How do I stop robocalls?
Billions of people receive robocalls. A robocall is a prerecorded message that tries to sell products, advertise services or steal personal information, such as a person’s social security number, banking account or tax information. People should know that robocalls...
How collection companies may abuse a statute of limitations
Debt collection is a big business, and consumers often feel powerless when facing debts that they cannot repay. Thankfully, there are numerous federal laws limiting the activity of creditors and the collection agencies they hire in order to better safeguard the rights...
Why would the lender wrongly repo your car?
Imagine that you hear the sound of a truck outside, and you look out to see your car being repossessed from the street in front of your house. You can’t believe it. You’ve heard about repossessions on television, but you never thought it would happen to you. As far as...
How robocalls can be used for abusive debt-collection practices
In the digital era, unwanted robocalls have become an unfortunate reality. Unwanted robocalls have plagued individuals and households for years. These automated phone calls, often generated by machines, inundate phones with pre-recorded messages or connect to...
What happens if you dispute a debt with a creditor?
Navigating the world of debt collection is often overwhelming, especially when you're unsure if the debt in question is yours. Sometimes, creditors might contact you about a debt that doesn't belong to you or is inaccurately reported. Federal laws, specifically the...
How an auto-dialer could make someone’s life miserable
There are rules about what debt collectors can and cannot do to get people to make good on their financial obligations, and some of their practices come very close to violating those rules. Creditors and the collection agencies that they hire should not engage in the...
My identity was stolen: Now what?
Identity theft happens when someone’s personal information, such as a license, home address, credit card, name or Social Security Number (SSN) is stolen. Thieves often take people’s personal information for financial reasons. Personal information is usually stolen to...