Supreme Court Grants Cert on FDCPA Case

The Supreme Court today granted certiorari in the case of Midland Funding, LLC. v. Johnson, No. 16-348, in which the Eleventh Circuit found that not only does a proof of claim on a time-barred debt violate the FDCPA, but the FDCPA claim is not in conflict with, nor is it precluded by, the Bankruptcy Code.

NEW Chapter 13 Form Plan for Middle District of Florida

Note:  Effective September 2, 2016, an updated Chapter 13 Plan has been implemented in the Middle District of Florida.  You can see the form at the following link: 

http://www.flmb.uscourts.gov/procedures/documents/Chapter13Plan.pdf

Scams After Mass Shooting

 

From Better Business Bureau
Arlington, VA – In the wake of the largest mass shooting in U.S. history, the BBB Serving Central Florida and the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, the national charity monitoring arm of the Better Business Bureau, caution donors about potential red flags in fund raising to help Orlando victims and their families, and to be aware of the different circumstances that often emerge in tragedy-related philanthropy.

“Tragedy inspires people to give, and this terrible tragedy is drawing incredible response already from people all around the world” said H. Art Taylor, President & CEO, BBB Wise Giving Alliance “The best way to help the victims, their families, and the people of Orlando is to make sure that donations end up where they belong. We are already hearing about click-bait schemes and questionable solicitations, and we expect there will be numerous scams and frauds. We urge those generous donors to give wisely so their gifts can do the most good.”

Holly Salmons, President & CEO of the Better Business Bureau Serving Central Florida, notes that “The world has rushed to support the City Beautiful and the victims on this heinous crime. We encourage those who want to show their support through donations to do so with caution. Scammers depend on heightened emotion and often follow closely behind tragic events.”

BBB Wise Giving Alliance urges donors to give thoughtfully and avoid those seeking to take advantage of the generosity of others. Here are “Ten Tips for Giving with Confidence” –

1. Thoughtful Giving
Take the time to check out the charity to avoid wasting your generosity by donating to a questionable or poorly managed effort. The first request for a donation may not be the best choice. Be proactive and find trusted charities that are providing assistance.

2. Government Registration
About 40 of the 50 states in the U.S. require charities to register with a state government agency (usually a division of the State Attorney General’s office) before they solicit for charitable gifts (in Canada, charities register with the Canada Revenue Agency.) If the charity is not registered, that may be a significant red flag.

3. Respecting Victims and Their Families
Organizations raising funds should get permission from the families to use either the names of the victims and/or any photographs of them. Some charities raising funds for the Colorado movie theater victims did not do this and were the subject of criticism from victims’ families.

4. How Will Donations Be Used?
Watch out for vague appeals that don’t identify the intended use of funds. For example, how will the donations help victims’ families? Also, unless told otherwise, donors will assume that funds collected quickly in the wake of a tragedy will be spent just as quickly. See if the appeal identifies when the collected funds will be used.

5. What if a Family Sets Up Its Own Assistance Fund?
Some families may decide to set up their own assistance funds. Be mindful that such funds may not be set up as charities. Also, make sure that collected monies are received and administered by a third party such as a bank, CPA or lawyer. This will help provide oversight and ensure the collected funds are used appropriately (e.g., paying for funeral costs, counseling, and other tragedy-related needs.)

6. Advocacy Organizations
Tragedies that involve violent acts with firearms can also generate requests from a variety of advocacy organizations that address gun use. Donors can support these efforts as well but note that some of these advocacy groups are not tax exempt as charities. Also, watch out for newly created advocacy groups that will be difficult to check out.

7. Online Cautions
Never click on links to charities on unfamiliar websites or in texts or emails. These may take you to a lookalike website where you will be asked to provide personal financial information or to click on something that downloads harmful malware into your computer. Don’t assume that charity recommendations on Facebook, blogs or other social media have already been vetted.

8. Financial Transparency
After funds are raised for a tragedy, it is even more important for organizations to provide an accounting of how funds were spent. Transparent organizations will post this information on their websites so that anyone can find out and not have to wait until the audited financial statements are available sometime in the future.

9. Newly Created or Established Organizations
This is a personal giving choice, but an established charity will more likely have the experience to quickly address the circumstances and have a track record that can be evaluated. A newly formed organization may be well-meaning but will be difficult to check out and may not be well managed.

10. Tax Deductibility
Not all organizations collecting funds to assist this tragedy are tax exempt as charities under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code in the U.S. (the equivalent in Canada are charities registered with the Canada Revenue Agency). Donors can support these other entities but keep this in mind if they want to take a deduction for income tax purposes. In addition, contributions that are donor-restricted to help a specific individual/family are not deductible in the U.S. as charitable donations, even if the recipient organization is a charity.

Means Test Number For Household Income Effective 4/1/2016 for Florida

A requirement with all Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings includes the completion of the Statement of Your Current Monthly Income (Form 122A-1 for Chapter 7 and Form 122C-1 for Chapter 13).  The Means Test numbers for household income are updated each November 1 and April 1.  Here are the latest number, including the numbers effective April 1, 2016.

Household Size	Before November 1, 2015	Effective 4/1/2016
1	$43,085	$43,136
2	$53,590	$53,654
3	$57,012	$57,080
4	$66,509	$66,588

Add $8,400 for each individual in excess of 4.

How To Fix Your Credit Report After Bankrutpcy

UPDATE (7/23/19) - Credit Monitoring Service

I recently received an email from a credit monitoring service that caused me to realize this is an area that I have not addressed.  So, I thought I would briefly address this industry.

There are numerous agencies vying for you to subscribe with their credit monitoring services, with slightly different things offered from different companies.  Usually, the monitoring is for a monthly fee that spans from just under $10.00 to around $30.00 per month, which can certainly add up over time.  It seems everyone from credit card companies and insurance companies to antivirus providers are offering credit monitoring.  I have not researched credit monitoring services as to what they have to offer for people emerging from bankruptcy, so this is an area you may want research.  I am under the impression the services offer monitoring for ID and credit card information theft, rather than checking on the accuracy of amounts being reported to credit reporting agencies.

So, is ID theft a problem.  Well, for those of us that have had our ID stolen, we view it as a huge problem; however, I did not really view it as a problem before it became a problem.  How did I find out my ID was stolen?  I was served with a law suit.  Yes, that is correct...SURPRISE!  Of course, I was able to handle it without a problem, but it did temporarily effect my credit score because of inaccurate credit reporting, which was later resolved.  However, if the first time you find out about your identity being stolen is with being served a law suit you know nothing about, the first thing you are going to do is hire an attorney...just a thought.

A new company on the block is TrueCredit.com from which I recently received an email.  They sent me the blog link https://www.truecredit.com/is-credit-monitoring-worth-it/  and, at their request, are providing a link to an article regarding credit monitoring.  Please note: I do NOT endorse nor denounce this company.  I am simply providing the link for educational purposes; that is, so you can see what information is being presented by a credit monitoring company.
{END OF UPDATE}
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The law that controls everything as it relates to credit reports and credit reporting is titled the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Usually, the way this will come to our attention is that one of our clients is now ready to restart his or her credit life after a bankruptcy is finished.  What we suggest that our clients do, after a bankruptcy discharge has been issued in their respective case, is to follow exactly the steps described below.
The formal dispute process as set forth in the FCRA must be followed exactly or erroneous, false and/or incorrect information can simply be reflected on, and stay on, a credit report forever.

How To Remove Incorrect Credit Report Information

If erroneous and/or incorrect information is showing up on your credit report, it will have  consequences as far-reaching as the ability to obtain credit at favorable rates and may even affect obtaining employment.  The following are the exact steps that need to be taken in order to delete wrong information on credit reports.

1. Get your credit reports. Get them only in writing from annualcreditreport.com.  Use the mail- in form available at that site to obtain the credit reports from all three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union).  The form to get all 3 credit reports is located here.  Attach a copy of your driver’s license and utility or other bill that ties you to the address you want the credit reports mailed to and so you can show that you are who you say you are.  This is the absolute best way to get your free credit reports when you want to dispute erroneous information and it avoids many problems.
2. DO NOT get credit reports directly from the credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union).  You may lose important rights and find yourself limited to binding arbitration.
3. Get a complete copy of your bankruptcy petition (if filed after October 15, 2005) and the formal discharge document issued by the Court in your case. That way, you will have a complete listing of all of the debts that were discharged in your bankruptcy and the court document showing that they are no longer legally owed.
4. Once you get the credit reports, review them carefully for any mistakes or incorrect information. Make sure every debt that you listed in your bankruptcy petition shows on the credit report as “0(zero) balance – discharged in bankruptcy.”  That is the only designation that can appear on what is called the trade line for that particular debt.  


5. Debts that are discharged in bankruptcy cannot show anything else such as any balance still owed, in collections, delinquent, charge-off, or any other negative information.  Again, to reiterate, any debt that has been discharged in bankruptcy can only show “0 balance-discharged in bankruptcy.”  If anything else appears on that particular trade line, especially if it is derogatory information, then that violates the requirements of the FCRA.   
6. If there is erroneous information in the trade line for a debt that was discharged in bankruptcy, you will then want to prepare a dispute letter directly to the credit reporting agency that has the wrong information.  DO NOT submit the dispute online!  It is critical that you do the dispute in writing and that you mail it in.  Logically, you would think that you would dispute the erroneous information with the credit furnisher that is providing the wrong information but that will accomplish absolutely nothing.  The FCRA mandates that you must make the dispute directly with the credit reporting agency itself who then will contact the furnisher.  If you do not follow these steps exactly, then you will accomplish nothing and the errors on your credit reports will be entitled to remain there.


7. When you prepare your dispute letter to the credit reporting agencies, you must mail it to them by certified mail, return receipt requested. Keep a copy of the signed and dated letter that you send and also keep the green card you receive back from the post office verifying that the credit reporting agency did receive your dispute letter.
8. Below is what a sample dispute letter should look like where negative information appears in a credit report on the trade line of a discharged debt.  Please follow this sample letter exactly for your best chance at getting the credit reports fixed.

_______________________________________________________________

SAMPLE DISPUTE LETTER – USE THIS AS A GUIDE TO CREATE YOUR OWN DISPUTE LETTER

Your name
Your full mailing address
Your city, state zip code

Date of letter

Complaint Department
Name of Credit Report Agency (Transunion, Equifax, Experian)
Address
City, state, zip code

Dear Sir/Ma’am:

After reviewing my credit report, I am writing to dispute the following information. I have circled the disputed items on my attached report. These include (list item(s) disputed by name of source, such as creditors, and identify type of item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.)

This item(s) is(are) inaccurate because (list exactly why each item is incorrect or incomplete – for instance,   “The debt was included in my bankruptcy and is only allowed to be shown as a 0 balance-discharged in bankruptcy. No other negative information is allowed to be listed on that trade line.”

Supporting documents have been enclosed.
(BE SURE TO INCLUDE AS MUCH SUPPORTING PROOF AS POSSIBLE TO SUPPORT YOUR DISPUTE – THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! In a situation where a debt was discharged in bankruptcy and it still shows negative on the credit report, be sure to include a copy of the page(s) of the credit report that shows the negative information, circle it and explain in paragraph two above what the negative language is that is not allowed.  You may also, make sure to include the copy of the page of the bankruptcy petition that shows the debt itself and a copy of the bankruptcy discharge entered in the bankruptcy case.)  Pursuant to the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act), please forward them to the credit furnishers. If you are not going to forward them, please inform me immediately so that I may do so myself.

Sincerely,

Your name printed AND signed name

Encl. (List by name each document that you are enclosing)

___________________________________________________________________

6. In addition to NOT submitting your disputes online, DO NOT use a PO Box as the mailing address for your disputes. Use ONLY the physical mailing addresses for the credit reporting agencies.  The physical addresses are as follows:

Equifax
1550 Peachtree Street, NW
Atlanta, GA  30309-2468

Experian
701 Experian Parkway
Allen, TX  75013

TransUnion
555 West Adams St
Chicago, IL  60661

7. Make sure to keep a copy of everything you send and receive.  Make sure to keep a copy of the green card you get back from the post office so you can verify that the credit reporting agency received your dispute. THIS IS IMPORTANT.
8. If you want, simply out of frustration, you can also write a separate letter regarding your dispute to the actual credit furnisher. This may help expedite the correction but remember that, under the FCRA law, this WILL HAVE NO EFFECT in correcting erroneous or wrong information on your credit report.  The only way the system operates is by a dispute letter directly to the credit reporting agency, regardless of whom is furnishing incorrect information on you!
9. Once you have submitted a proper dispute, wait up to 45 days for a response. If your credit report is fixed, then you need to do nothing further.
10. If your credit report is not corrected after your first dispute, then try to get credit and see if whomever you are applying for credit denies you or gives you a problem or a higher interest rate because of this incorrect information.  Make sure to keep proof of ALL denials you receive or problems you have getting credit AFTER your initial dispute.  The furnisher of the incorrect information, once it receives the dispute directly from the credit reporting agency, is required under the law to “conduct an investigation” of the dispute and report its findings back to the credit reporting agencies.
11. If the information is not corrected as you think it should be, then do a second round of disputes. That is essentially your initial letter again with all of your supporting enclosures as described above  and you should note on it “2^nd Request – Urgent!” with the new date and explain again what your dispute is and that this is the second time you’re disputing the inaccurate information and that you needed corrected because it is damaging YOU.
12. Once you get the report back from the second round of disputes, if the credit reports are still not fixed, tried to get credit again and keep all proof if you are denied credit or if you have problems again after the second round of disputes.
13. You may have to do disputes another time or two if the credit reporting agencies and the furnisher of the incorrect information will not fix your credit reports.
14. A Bit of Advice.  An effective dispute letter is to pretend that you are trying to explain to a fifth-grader what the problems are with your credit reports and why the information that is being shown is wrong. Explain the problems in great detail.  Send supporting documentation. Make sure that even a fifth-grader would understand why the information on your credit report is not correct.

If Credit Reports Aren’t Corrected

If your credit reports are not corrected to reflect that each debt discharged in bankruptcy is shown as a “0 balance – discharged in bankruptcy” and you are suffering damages in the form of credit denials, job denials, etc., you then have a right to file a law suit against the credit reporting agencies and the credit furnisher.

The law under the FCRA is complicated and illogical in parts. If you need help in correcting your credit report, initially you should contact your bankruptcy or consumer advocate attorney.  Should your attorney not wish to help you, you can ask for a referral.  The bankruptcy laws allow for people to obtain a “fresh start.”  A creditor, debt collector or credit reporting agency is not allowed to continue to punish you after a legal discharge of the debt.  A balance still owing, charge off, delinquency or any other derogatory information is not allowed.