Received a call on voicemail today.
"Dear customer, this voicemail is to inform you that Spectrum is removing the 40% discount offer on your monthly bill. To reactivate is this offer right now please call back the number displayed on the caller ID. Thank you."
Really? I don't have a Spectrum account. In fact, it is not even available where I live.
The number did not display on my caller ID, as it was overwritten with "Potential Scam".
So, if you receive an unsolicited call, be cautious.
Wallethub.com is reporting the delinquency rate on automobile loans is up in the 4th quarter of 2023, as compared to the 3rd quarter of 2023. This applies to all 50 states. In Florida, where I practice, the state ranks 31st, with the delinquency rising from 7.88% in Q3 to 12.36% in Q4. Mississippi had the highest Q4 delinquency rate at 23.49%, with Iowa having the lowest at 8.77%, while the largest Q3 to Q4 increase goes to the state of Washington, where they saw a 12.89% increase. For more specific information on each state, see Wallethub.com's website.
Specific to Florida, generally, if your vehicle is repossessed because you are behind on payments, ownership of the vehicle passes to the lien holder, and while bankruptcy may be able to help you regarding the debt owed to the lien holder, it will probably not allow you get your vehicle returned to you. In many other jurisdictions, there may be avenues through the filing of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy that will allow you to get your vehicle back.
There may still be avenues available in Florida to getting your vehicle back through negotiations with the creditor. If you find yourself in this predicament, or are behind on vehicle payments, I highly suggest being proactive and seek the advise of a competent bankruptcy attorney in your area.
So, the latest scam craze seems to be smishing. Sounds like a new teenage dance, doesn't it? However, it is anything but an innocent dance floor move. The term is a scam, and its name is derived from "SMS" and "phishing". Yes, the scam uses text messaging to your cell phone to get information, and will appear to be from a legitimate source. To read more about this latest trend, see https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/thats-immediate-red-flag-being-044602921.html
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered medical debt collection agency Commonwealth Financial Systems to cease operations and pay a $95,000 fine for illegally trying to collect unverified medical debts.
The CFPB said that Commonwealth, which specializes in collecting past-due medical debts and informs consumer reporting companies about consumer collection accounts, violated the law in several ways, These include a failure to conduct reasonable investigations after consumers disputed debts, a failure to inform consumer reporting agencies about disputes, and continuing to attempt to collect disputed debts without documentation proving the debts.
The Department of Justice, in close coordination with the Department of Education, announced a new process for handling cases in which individuals seek to discharge their federal student loans in bankruptcy. The new process will help ensure consistent treatment of the discharge of federal student loans, reduce the burden on borrowers of pursuing such proceedings and make it easier to identify cases where discharge is appropriate. The Associate Attorney General outlined the new process to all U.S. Attorneys.
If you have student loans, I suggest you speak with a competent bankruptcy attorney in your area regarding having it discharged in bankruptcy, or entering into an income based repayment program whereby the balance after 20 years will be forgiven.
The above information is based on a press release from the US Department of Justice dated November 17, 2022.
Are you thinking of filing bankruptcy. Many people think they need to file bankruptcy based on things their non attorney friends tell them, or things they have heard in the media. Bankruptcy is a very important decision, and should not be made without competent counseling and research.
To assist you in educating yourself as to whether bankruptcy is a remedy you should pursue, here are a list of questions and topics for your consideration.
Initial questions
What are the types of bankruptcy for individuals?
The bankruptcy process
Filing for bankruptcy
Professionals
After Bankruptcy
Conclusion
This is is not intended to be an exhaustive or comprehensive list. This is simply intended to give you initial guidance towards a logical decision making process related to bankruptcy.
Should you have any questions about bankruptcy, you should contact a competent bankruptcy attorney in your area.
J. Dinkins G. Grange, Esquire
Can the fraud of one spouse be imputed to an innocent spouse, thereby making the debt nondischargeable to both in a bankruptcy?
The law has been well established that the fraudulent acts of one spouse cannot be imputed to a spouse that did not know, or should not have had a reason to know, of the fraudulent conduct. However, when it comes to discharging debts in bankruptcy, it may not be quite as clear.
Recently the case of Bartenwerfer v. Buckley presented an unexpected finding. The case involved a husband and wife that sold real property with defects that were not disclosed. The husband was found to have committed fraud, which is a specific intent cause of action, in the sale of real property. While the wife did not know, and had no reason to know, of the defects, with both the husband and wife signed disclosure agreements concerning property defects.
Both husband and wife filed bankruptcy. As expected, the creditor filed an appropriate pleading to find the fraudulent debt nondischargeable as to the husband, which was granted. However, as to the wife, while the trial Court found the debt to be dischargeable, the Supreme Court found otherwise, and as nondischargeable under the strict language of 11 USC 523(a)(2)(A) using the key parced language, "does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt … obtained by … false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud."
