Creditor Abuse FAQ

A credit card or unsecured loan is a binding contract and a seasoned Consumer Protection Attorney can use Federal laws designed to protect consumers from Predatory and Unscrupulous practices, which occur daily in the lending industry. Lawyers understand these laws and how to properly identify what violations have occurred.  Once a violation has occurred, lawyers know when and how to present the violations to your creditors for immediate correction and relief.

Let’s look at an example: By law, once debt collectors know you are represented by a lawyer, they are prohibited from contacting you directly. If they do, then that may be considered a violation of law. One of the first things your lawyer will do is send a letter of representation to your creditors informing them that they may no longer continue to contact you directly.

One more item to remember is that creditors can file a lawsuit against you at anytime. Creditors often do this to put pressure on the debtor. While court is something you certainly want to avoid, if a credit card company or bank does decide to sue, your lawyer can take immediate and appropriate action to defend you. You will have a stronger position if you have a lawyer on your side versus a debt settlement company.

The lawyers we refer consumers to understand that many consumers are experiencing financial hardships that are sometimes beyond their control.  Typically this is accomplished through a payment plan over 18-30 months and is tailored to fit the consumer’s budget while taking into consideration the consumer’s existing debt and rights. A representative will work with you to make sure the payment process is seamless and not an additional burden.

The truth of the matter is that creditors report negative marks on consumer credit reports any time they believe a payment is not made timely or in the proper amount.  Typically, though not always the case, a consumer that is researching options to address their credit card debt, may already have several negative marks on their credit report.  Negative marks on your credit report are inevitable no matter what path a consumer takes to achieve debt relief other than timely payments until paid in full.

There are several policies that are clear about how these negative marks are supposed to calculate into a consumer’s credit score when an account is in dispute. However, due to automated systems, creditors sometimes overlook these disputes.  However, this matter can be addressed to your situation during your consultation before representation.

Each case is unique, but typically consumers are represented by a lawyer until each account is resolved, regardless of the time frame. What that means, is that as long as there is an issue with a consumer’s debt account, that consumer will have a lawyer representing them for that account. The attorney’s goal is to have the consumer pay as little as possible.

Absolutely. You speak directly to your lawyer prior to making any payments. The lawyer will review your case and answer all questions before moving forward to represent you, so that you understand what they intend to do to resolve your debt and what they need from you in order to be successful.

NO! This is not Debt Settlement.  Unlike Debt Settlement or other services in debt relief, lawyers make sure creditors are held accountable to Federal Laws so that consumer rights are not violated. If a creditor decides to sue you to collect a debt, a lawyer can defend you in the lawsuit. Likewise, if a creditor violates Federal Law in its efforts to collect from you, a lawyer can provide specific advice and, when applicable, legally proceed against the creditor. Debt settlement companies cannot do these things.

Usually a debt settlement company tells consumers to make payments (that would otherwise go to the creditors) to them while they negotiate with creditors. Once the debt settlement company believes you have saved enough funds, then and only then, will the debt settlement company begin speaking with your creditors.  A lawyer begins communicating with your creditors from the very beginning.