Title: August 29, 2008
Q: A few years ago, I filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. I owed about $700 to Washington Mutual back then, but the debt was discharged. I recently applied for an account online with Washington Mutual because that’s the closest bank to my house. The bank opened a checking account about 4 months ago and issued a debit card. When I attempted to add my son as a signatory on the account, my debit card was cancelled by the bank the following day. I could not view any account details online, while my payroll check is in the account. I found out about this while trying to use my debit card at the grocery store and to buy gas for my car. Can the bank take my money away like this?
A: If your bankruptcy was discharged, no the bank cannot. You may have a lawsuit against the bank for violating the U.S. Bankruptcy Court discharge injunction. Once a debt is discharged in a Bankruptcy Court, no one can ever try to collect on it. Many credit cards will sell debt to collection agencies for a penny on the dollar and collection agencies will attempt to collect on these credit card debts, several years later. But your case is completely different. I would contact Washington Mutual and show them your discharge Notice. They might need you to produce the specific Bankruptcy schedule that lists the debt to Washington Mutual, so as to ensure that particular debt was included in your bankruptcy discharge. I suspect that they will return your money rather quickly after finding out that particular debt was already discharged.
Q: I keep receiving e-mails about my winning some contest I never entered into in the UK, or in Nigeria, or some bank clerk looking for someone in the USA to transfer some huge amount of foreign capital into the United States, a percentage of which would be mine. Why do I keep receiving these e-mails and what are they all about?
A. These e-mails are all fraudulent, and I would delete them without even reading them if I was you. The people perpetrating the fraud are looking for a “fish”. If you respond, they might entrap you to give your bank information to them, so that they can empty your bank account. Typically, they send you a bogus check or promise to transfer some large amount of money into your bank account by a certain date, and then ask that you write a check for their “percentage” back to them. If you have the “percentage” amount in your bank account already, they will cash your check while theirs will bounce, and you will be left holding the bag. Please these are all con games. Do not fall for it!
Maxine de Villefranche has been an attorney for 15 years and is practicing law in Tehachapi and Lancaster. Send your questions via fax at (661)825-8880 or e-mail your questions or comments to http://www.generalaw.com She will answer your questions to the best of her abilities.
Showing posts with label credit card debt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label credit card debt. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Legal Eaze #57 Help Avoid Consumer Debt - Make A Budget
HELP AVOID CONSUMER DEBT - MAKE A BUDGET (Date: 10/13/06)
By: Maxine de Villefranche
As an attorney doing family law, I see the state of total disarray in many people's personal finances during the initial consultation. A common problem is that these people have no idea what they spend each month and don’t realize they’re often spending more than they earn. Many of them have numerous credit cards, and many people filing for divorce, among others, have $50,000 or more in credit card debts.
When you are sick, you pay careful attention to the medicine that the doctor prescribes. When you’re on a diet, you pay attention to the food you eat and weigh yourself every day. Yet most of us don't track how much we spend each month. You may know how much you spend on fixed bills like rent, but chances are that you don’t know to the nearest $100 how much you spend in total.
A budget is essential to taking control of your finances. Maybe there is a place you can tighten your belt. Maybe there isn't. How do you know where to cut back if you don't even know what you're spending?
Try this for one week (or better yet, for a month): you don't need to track every penny, but why not track every dollar you spend during the day? Save your receipts and jot down your daily expenditures. Keep a running tab so you know your month-to-date spending every day. When given a choice, use your debit card, not cash. Keep your debit receipts to make tracking easier and to make your spending more visible.
The biggest enemy of spending control is the ATM. You will be surprised how many "little things" gobble up those $40 withdrawals: cash for Starbucks here, cash for a donut or a muffin there. You then pay with cash as you go out for lunch, and there goes another $10 and it's not even 2 p.m. yet!
Once you make the commitment to track your spending, you can see where you can cut back if you need to. Give yourself an allowance of spending money: one ATM withdrawal of cash per week. Make that $20 or $40 last the whole 7 days. Make the commitment to spend no more cash than absolutely necessary. And continue to track each dollar.
You can't fix the problem until you know what the problem is. Knowing your spending can help you cut back where there is waste. Most importantly, adjusting your spending can help you meet your ultimate goal of saving money to pay off your credit card bills, a down payment for your own home or pay off your home sooner, or for your retirement. Adding $100 to your monthly mortgage payment, or to your car payment will pay either that much sooner. Making a larger payment than just the minimum payment will help you save a lot of money on interest on your credit cards too.
By: Maxine de Villefranche
As an attorney doing family law, I see the state of total disarray in many people's personal finances during the initial consultation. A common problem is that these people have no idea what they spend each month and don’t realize they’re often spending more than they earn. Many of them have numerous credit cards, and many people filing for divorce, among others, have $50,000 or more in credit card debts.
When you are sick, you pay careful attention to the medicine that the doctor prescribes. When you’re on a diet, you pay attention to the food you eat and weigh yourself every day. Yet most of us don't track how much we spend each month. You may know how much you spend on fixed bills like rent, but chances are that you don’t know to the nearest $100 how much you spend in total.
A budget is essential to taking control of your finances. Maybe there is a place you can tighten your belt. Maybe there isn't. How do you know where to cut back if you don't even know what you're spending?
Try this for one week (or better yet, for a month): you don't need to track every penny, but why not track every dollar you spend during the day? Save your receipts and jot down your daily expenditures. Keep a running tab so you know your month-to-date spending every day. When given a choice, use your debit card, not cash. Keep your debit receipts to make tracking easier and to make your spending more visible.
The biggest enemy of spending control is the ATM. You will be surprised how many "little things" gobble up those $40 withdrawals: cash for Starbucks here, cash for a donut or a muffin there. You then pay with cash as you go out for lunch, and there goes another $10 and it's not even 2 p.m. yet!
Once you make the commitment to track your spending, you can see where you can cut back if you need to. Give yourself an allowance of spending money: one ATM withdrawal of cash per week. Make that $20 or $40 last the whole 7 days. Make the commitment to spend no more cash than absolutely necessary. And continue to track each dollar.
You can't fix the problem until you know what the problem is. Knowing your spending can help you cut back where there is waste. Most importantly, adjusting your spending can help you meet your ultimate goal of saving money to pay off your credit card bills, a down payment for your own home or pay off your home sooner, or for your retirement. Adding $100 to your monthly mortgage payment, or to your car payment will pay either that much sooner. Making a larger payment than just the minimum payment will help you save a lot of money on interest on your credit cards too.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Legal Eaze #41 car brakes/ credit card collection agency/ funeral
Title: February 22, 2006
Q. I helped my friend over the weekend to work on his car brakes. He gave me a six-pack of beer for helping him. My friend got in an accident and claimed his brakes failed. Am I responsible?
A. Unless you are a certified car mechanic and had a contract with your friend to fix the brakes, for which you got paid a six-pack of beer, you are not responsible for the accident.
Q. I have been sued by a collection agency trying to collect a credit card debt that is at least 10 years old, if not older. I did use the credit card but I lost my job and had no money to make the monthly payments. The debt grew and grew until it became totally unmanageable for me. Now, this collection agency wants triple what the debt was originally. What do I do?
A You need to answer the complaint by generally denying the complaint allegations. Then as an affirmative defense, you need to mention that the cause of action for breach of contract is barred by the statute of limitations as well as any other causes of action. This means that the debt is too old to be collected on. The statute of limitations on credit card debt is four years after your last payment or the last communication between the credit card and you.
Q. My mother died about one month ago. Of course, I contacted a funeral home for them to handle the cremation of my mother’s body. In order for my mother’s body to be cremated, they told me I had to purchase a casket. I was grieving and not in my right mind and I paid them almost $4,500 for a casket, but now that I think of it, why does a body need a casket to be cremated in? That makes no sense at all. I believe I was defrauded. What do you think?
A I agree. The Funeral Rule requires funeral providers to give you an accurate, itemized price list about funeral goods and services. To require the purchase of a casket for cremation is in direct violation of this rule, and this funeral provider will be subjected to a penalty up to $10,000 for this egregious act. You need to report this to the authorities and hire an attorney to file a lawsuit against the funeral provider. It is possible that you can write a letter and mention that you will file a lawsuit against the company unless they give you your money back for the violation if you want to avoid the time and aggravation associated with a lawsuit.
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 13 years of experience. She practices law from her Tehachapi office as well as her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers to the best of her abilities. Email your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax to (661)825-8880.
Q. I helped my friend over the weekend to work on his car brakes. He gave me a six-pack of beer for helping him. My friend got in an accident and claimed his brakes failed. Am I responsible?
A. Unless you are a certified car mechanic and had a contract with your friend to fix the brakes, for which you got paid a six-pack of beer, you are not responsible for the accident.
Q. I have been sued by a collection agency trying to collect a credit card debt that is at least 10 years old, if not older. I did use the credit card but I lost my job and had no money to make the monthly payments. The debt grew and grew until it became totally unmanageable for me. Now, this collection agency wants triple what the debt was originally. What do I do?
A You need to answer the complaint by generally denying the complaint allegations. Then as an affirmative defense, you need to mention that the cause of action for breach of contract is barred by the statute of limitations as well as any other causes of action. This means that the debt is too old to be collected on. The statute of limitations on credit card debt is four years after your last payment or the last communication between the credit card and you.
Q. My mother died about one month ago. Of course, I contacted a funeral home for them to handle the cremation of my mother’s body. In order for my mother’s body to be cremated, they told me I had to purchase a casket. I was grieving and not in my right mind and I paid them almost $4,500 for a casket, but now that I think of it, why does a body need a casket to be cremated in? That makes no sense at all. I believe I was defrauded. What do you think?
A I agree. The Funeral Rule requires funeral providers to give you an accurate, itemized price list about funeral goods and services. To require the purchase of a casket for cremation is in direct violation of this rule, and this funeral provider will be subjected to a penalty up to $10,000 for this egregious act. You need to report this to the authorities and hire an attorney to file a lawsuit against the funeral provider. It is possible that you can write a letter and mention that you will file a lawsuit against the company unless they give you your money back for the violation if you want to avoid the time and aggravation associated with a lawsuit.
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 13 years of experience. She practices law from her Tehachapi office as well as her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers to the best of her abilities. Email your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax to (661)825-8880.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Legal Eaze #31 Bankruptcy/ Sue Hospital
Title: September 28, 2005
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 13 years of experience. She operates her law practice from her new office in town, as well her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers, to the best of her abilities. Please forward your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax them to (661)825-8880.
Q. I have heard that bankruptcy laws will change pretty soon, making it much more difficult to get rid of credit card debt. When will the new law be applicable and will someone making about $22,000 a year supporting a family of five be able to file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?
A. The new law is called “The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005” and will be implemented starting Oct. 17, 2005. Every “would-be filer” will be required to undergo credit counseling. A certified a completion will need to be filed with the Bankruptcy Court. There will be a “means test” which each individual will have to meet in order to qualify for filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In California, the median income for a one-person family is $42,012, a two-person family $53,506, three-person family $59,633 and four-person family $68,310. Obviously with a yearly income of $22,000 for a family of five will qualify you. It is very likely that many Kern County residents will qualify as the income median in this county is lower than the median of the entire state of California. Nevertheless it may be dangerous to generalize as each case must go through the means test. An investigation needs to be conducted by the attorney willing take on the case with regards to the assets of the debtor to ensure that all such assets have been disclosed.
Q. My 87-year old mother was hospitalized for several days last year after suffering from congestive heart failure. She was injured when she attempted to go to the bathroom unescorted. She fell down and broke her hip. She has never recovered from this grave accident and is still, to this day, in a wheelchair. I want to know if I can sue the hospital for failing to provide sufficient supervision while she was a patient there.
A. This is a loaded question and I will not be able to provide an answer that will satisfy you. The answer is: it depends. Medical malpractice is an area of the law that is fraught with dangers and is very expensive to prosecute. Hence I have stayed away from it. Even if you could prove that the hospital itself or its staff are liable for your mother’s accident, the recovery can be severely limited due to certain quirks of the law. Moreover, damages incurred by an 87-year old are further limited by her failure to have much earning potential as well as many other factors. I really cannot expand on my answer as even I have limits in my legal knowledge of Med-mal.
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 13 years of experience. She operates her law practice from her new office in town, as well her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers, to the best of her abilities. Please forward your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax them to (661)825-8880.
Q. I have heard that bankruptcy laws will change pretty soon, making it much more difficult to get rid of credit card debt. When will the new law be applicable and will someone making about $22,000 a year supporting a family of five be able to file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?
A. The new law is called “The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005” and will be implemented starting Oct. 17, 2005. Every “would-be filer” will be required to undergo credit counseling. A certified a completion will need to be filed with the Bankruptcy Court. There will be a “means test” which each individual will have to meet in order to qualify for filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In California, the median income for a one-person family is $42,012, a two-person family $53,506, three-person family $59,633 and four-person family $68,310. Obviously with a yearly income of $22,000 for a family of five will qualify you. It is very likely that many Kern County residents will qualify as the income median in this county is lower than the median of the entire state of California. Nevertheless it may be dangerous to generalize as each case must go through the means test. An investigation needs to be conducted by the attorney willing take on the case with regards to the assets of the debtor to ensure that all such assets have been disclosed.
Q. My 87-year old mother was hospitalized for several days last year after suffering from congestive heart failure. She was injured when she attempted to go to the bathroom unescorted. She fell down and broke her hip. She has never recovered from this grave accident and is still, to this day, in a wheelchair. I want to know if I can sue the hospital for failing to provide sufficient supervision while she was a patient there.
A. This is a loaded question and I will not be able to provide an answer that will satisfy you. The answer is: it depends. Medical malpractice is an area of the law that is fraught with dangers and is very expensive to prosecute. Hence I have stayed away from it. Even if you could prove that the hospital itself or its staff are liable for your mother’s accident, the recovery can be severely limited due to certain quirks of the law. Moreover, damages incurred by an 87-year old are further limited by her failure to have much earning potential as well as many other factors. I really cannot expand on my answer as even I have limits in my legal knowledge of Med-mal.
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