Loren McCray’s Tips for Selecting a Law Firm to Assist with Credit Repair

Life is too short to waste your free time jumping through hoops to appease the credit reporting agencies. You need a lawyer. But not just any lawyer. You need to choose a law firm that specializes in credit repair. Here’s how to decide…

The credit reporting agencies are required by federal law to remove inaccurate information from your credit reports free of charge.  However, nowhere in the law does it say they have to make it easy for you.

Because the credit reporting agencies can’t charge you to remove inaccurate information from your credit reports, they make you jump through hoops…climb over walls…and inconvenience you in any way possible to accomplish this.

They will try to make it too frustrating and time consuming for you to do something that is supposed to be your right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

They want you to give up…surrender…waive the white flag…cry, "Uncle."  Life is too short to waste your free time jumping through hoops to appease the credit reporting agencies.

You need a lawyer. But not just any lawyer. You need to choose a law firm that specializes in credit repair. Don’t use a bankruptcy attorney to help you with errors on your personal credit reports. Lots of people assume that since the bankruptcy attorney helped with the bankruptcy, the attorney would know all about the credit reporting agencies. This is rarely the case.

Bankruptcy attorneys are good at helping you file bankruptcy, but pretty much useless in helping you remove inaccurate negative information from your credit reports. Here are the expectations you should have for a law firm:

1. They have to live and breathe the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FCRA basically tells us our rights regarding our credit reports. If you have a few hours to spare, you can go here to read it.

2. Former employees of the credit reporting agencies should be on their board of directors, within their company rank and file, or at least as consultants. Having an insider’s perspective on how the credit reporting agencies work was essential for success and is what separates the real thing from the scumbag credit repair clinics that advertise on telephone poles.

3. They had to abide by the legal guidelines Congress created for this type of service. These guidelines are known as the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA).

4. Make sure they have many years in business with a clean record with the Federal Trade Commission.

A pretty tall order, but considering the FTC makes a regular sweep of credit repair clinics and shuts down the crappy ones…finding the right law firm is easier than you think.

Is the Term "Credit Repair" Naughty or Nice?

Law firms that specialize in helping you remove inaccuracies from your personal credit reports are often grouped in with other credit repair services that are not law firms. But there are major differences between the two. The companies that give this service a bad name are the credit repair clinics with no real experience in the credit reporting industry. Maybe the people who started these clinics got lucky getting inaccurate information removed from their own credit reports and decided to make a business out of it?

One of the biggest myths surrounding credit repair is that people think it’s illegal. Nope, it’s not illegal. If done properly…and if they follow the federal guidelines…then it’s as legal as voting at 18 or driving a car at 16. They just have to follow the rules. And the rules are clearly spelled out in CROA.  Surprised that credit repair is 100% legal?

The credit reporting agencies work very hard to convince you that ALL of these companies are scams and they can’t do anything more than you can do on your own. That’s so untrue.There are legitimate companies that provide this service.

It’s no different than hiring a tax pro to prepare your taxes for you…or a lawyer to represent you in court if you are sued…or anything else that you can afford to pay someone else to do for you so you can keep yourself focused on your unique ability. Sure, you can do those things yourself for free. But is it really free if you get audited or lose the lawsuit?

Bottom line: As long as the company follows the rules set forth in CROA…the credit restoration service they provide to you is ethical, legal, responsible, valuable, and time saving. So again, credit restoration is not illegal. It’s only illegal if the company that is offering the service is not following the guidelines that Congress has set up. The credit reporting agencies will try to make you think differently. They do a good job convincing the public, lenders, their business partners, and many others that all credit repair organizations are illegal.

Law firms vs. Credit Repair Clinics

While the credit repair clinics are all about scamming you with no regard to what’s right or wrong…a legitimate law firm abides by CROA. You can fiddle around and try to remove inaccurate information from your personal credit reports yourself…or you can hire someone to do this for you so you can do more enjoyable things with your free time.

The only reason the legitimate companies exist is because most of the credit reporting agencies make it impossible to easily talk to someone over the telephone to dispute incorrect information on your credit reports.

If the credit reporting agencies made it easy to correct errors on your reports, then law firms wouldn’t have to deal with representing people who have been run through the credit reporting agency ringer.

By Loren McCray Published: 8/12/2008

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Why You Should Employ a Bankruptcy Lawyer to File Bankruptcy

More than 2 million people filed for bankruptcy in the United States in 2006. It is extremely important to know when to file bankruptcy and what to do after bankruptcy. A bankruptcy lawyer will help you to set your assets in order and smoothly take care of the filing for bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy can be an overwhelming blow to an individual, a small business, or even a multi-million dollar corporation. The allocation of funds, the audits, the creditor claims, and the claiming of assets may be too much for the whole staff to handle, leave alone a single individual. More and more people are filing and declaring bankruptcy when faced with unmanageable multiple debts. (More than 2 million people filed for bankruptcy in the United States in 2006). It is extremely important to know when to file bankruptcy and what to do after bankruptcy. A bankruptcy lawyer will help you to set your assets in order and smoothly take care of the filing for bankruptcy.

File for bankruptcy with the right legal help

Under the new Bankruptcy Act of 2005, credit counseling or other options may be required. Finance professionals generally suggest that you assess your financial situation before filing for bankruptcy, as often debtors file bankruptcy without first exploring other options to settle their debts. However, if it is unavoidable, they advise debtors to seek professional help such as financial lawyers to help them understand the process and its effects. You also need to get familiar with new bankruptcy law even though you are taking legal help.

Filing for bankruptcy is complex for average people

The proceedings involved in bankruptcy are supervised by and litigated in the United States Bankruptcy Courts. There are several bankruptcy codes in America and it is very stringent regarding how to file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy codes are very confusing and deal with all of the many different classes of bankruptcy that a business or person can file. It’s important to note that even though people can file different bankruptcy forms, there is only one prime bankruptcy code which deals with all of the different types of bankruptcy in the United States of America. The bankruptcy attorney decides which chapter of the code best fits the situation and accordingly he will decide to file under chapter 13 or chapter 7.

5 Helpful Tips to select Bankruptcy Attorney

1. You should contact local bar association to get a list of lawyers in your community who specialize specifically in the practice of bankruptcy law. If you are filing a personal bankruptcy case, you need to select a lawyer who is specialist in personal bankruptcy.

2. You should do your research on bankruptcy and bankruptcy lawyer in internet. You can plenty of newspaper articles, bar association notices and other information about lawyers.

3. You also should concentrate on word of mouth information. You need to listen what your friends, family members and colleagues have to say about one attorney or another.

4. You need to personally meet your lawyer before employing him. Lawyer should be attentive to you and understand your current situation.

5. Before finalizing the attorney, you need to check her fee structure. This will help you to bring order to your chaotic financial house both in the short and the long term
Choose a lawyer who takes services from Bankruptcy Assistance Company

Bankruptcy attorneys are often handling several cases at the same time. They have to file forms, answer inquiries and prepare petitions for different clients. This might result in an important detail being overlooked. Bankruptcy assistance companies see this as a business opportunity to have stable clients and a wide market. The assistance company’s staff also has to undergo specific training before becoming bankruptcy associates.

How Bankruptcy Assistance services help clients and lawyers

Both debtors and bankruptcy lawyers benefit alike by having the hassles of preparation reduced. They field questions from clients and relieve bankruptcy lawyers from answering the same queries from several clients

Bankruptcy associates also alert the lawyers of possible problems concerning a client’s application. They research through interviews and other means to get the necessary information pertinent to the application. Normally bankruptcy lawyers bear the cost of bankruptcy assistance because money is the main concern of bankrupt clients.

A bankruptcy lawyer is well worth his cost. It will pay rich dividends through peace of mind, simplifying the procedures and probably actual money saved in following your bankruptcy attorney’s advice.

Here, we are talking about bankruptcy that will be on your credit report for 10 years – spend the money to get a serious and reputed bankruptcy attorney who will work for you, not for his or her own self interests.

Are you bankrupt and trying to get homeloan? Here you will find excellent information on home loans after bankruptcy

By Arindam Chattopadhyaya Published: 1/26/2007

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Going through a bankruptcy can bring on a tremendous amount of stress. Having a good bankruptcy lawyer in your corner will definitely help ease that stress a bit.

Bankruptcy sucks! Anyone that has gone through bankruptcy knows what a painful process it can be. The emotional strain can be very stressful to say the very least. And it is something that can happen to just about anyone. The sad thing is that most people think that bankruptcy only happens to other people. Life is unpredictable. So like a good boy scout, it always pays to prepare yourself with valuable information about bankruptcy just in case it might happen to you.

Start with the Beginning

At the starting point of this painful process, a person will run through a gamut of emotions, which includes confusion over the steps that lie ahead. Declaring bankruptcy basically means that you have no means of paying off your bills. The good news is, if there is such a thing, there are many good bankruptcy lawyers who can guide you through the process and at the same time, preserve your financial life and your credit as much as possible. A good bankruptcy lawyer should be able to walk you step by step through this process. And if they’d do their job right, they should be able to preserve your financial life and your credit as much as possible.

How to Find a Good Lawyer

The best way to find a good bankruptcy lawyer is to make sure that you’re dealing with a firm that specializes in bankruptcy. Check the Yellow Pages or go online and do a search for "bankruptcy lawyers". Lawyers can specialize in many areas of law, so you have to make sure that the lawyer you pick has ample experience in the field of bankruptcy. As funny as this may sound, you have to find a lawyer that you can trust. Make sure you do some research before settling on a firm. Look for one that this open and forthcoming with information and that has a good payment plan that you can work with.

Good bankruptcy lawyers will offer you good counsel in the matters of your money and property. They should help you to preserve your asset base as best as possible and protect your financial health. Let’s face it; bankruptcy is a life-changing event in a person’s life. It can easily cause a person to lose confidence in themselves and in their abilities. However, that doesn’t mean that it is the end of your financial future or your life. A good bankruptcy lawyer should constantly remind you of this and at the same time guide you through the steps of your bankruptcy process.

Keep in mind that a good bankruptcy lawyer will fight for you and your interest in every way possible. The bankruptcy process usually involves a lot of paperwork that requires filling out and filing. This by itself can be a very daunting task. When you’re faced with this mountain of paperwork, it will help to know that you have good bankruptcy lawyers on your side to help you with this task and to ensure that it is done correctly.

Kerry Ng is a successful Webmaster and publisher of The Personal Bankruptcy Blog. For more great helpful information about Personal Bankruptcy visit Personal Bankruptcy Tips

By Kerry Ng Published: 10/30/2007

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