Video originally posted at Debt settlement law firm

The truth is finally out about companies who claim to be a law firm and offer debt relief services to people desperate for help. On Monday July 9th the Illinois Attorney General along with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced its settlement with Legal Helpers Debt Resolution LLC. According to the suit brought against the law firm by Lisa Madigan, which was filed in March 2011, the law firm unlawfully charged its clients upfront fees to provide debt settlement services with promises to rid them of their debt.

As a part of this settlement, LHDR will provide over two million dollars in restitutions which will go toward the Illinois residents who pair the firm for their debt resolution services but failed to receive the services they were promised. In addition the firm has agreed not to take on any new clients in Illinois.

The truth is, this company, like many others out there, gave the appearance that their clients were receiving legal services when in fact what they were offering had nothing to do with the practice of law. According to the Attorney General, “The Company’s primary purpose was to squeeze thousands of dollars in illegal upfront fees from struggling families for supposed debt relief that never materialized”.

Unfortunately, ever since the Federal Trade Commission published their regulations regarding debt settlement and the matter of charging upfront fees in October 2010, many debt relief companies looked to find other ways to get around this ruling. This resulted in companies partnering with so called law firms to offer what they called “legal services” and charging their clients monthly upfront fees for these services.

This recent court settlement goes to prove that these companies are not providing the legal services that they make their clients believe.  As the suit alleges, the use of attorney’s was nothing more than an attempt to circumvent laws that ban companies from charging upfront fees. It’s goal was to use the attorney to act as a front for the company in the hopes it would fall under the exception clause in the resolution.

If you are in need of debt relief, make sure you do your research and know the facts. Ask the company if they charge their fees upfront. A reputable company will not only charge their fees once a settlement has been reached, but will go a step further and base their fees on their performance. If a company if claiming to offer legal services or legal protection, ask exactly what they cover. Ensure you ask if they will represent you in court at no extra charge, and if they will protect your rights under the FDCPA with no out of pocket expenses to you.

You will find most if not all of the law firm based companies will not actually represent you or provide any legal services except to “assist” you in writing a response. This means you are paying typically a large retainer and monthly service fees for something you could find on the internet for free.

The Pay as you settle program, or PAYS, has been operating under one simple idea for several years. Provide services not promises. Since its inception, it has, as the saying goes, “put its money where its mouth is” by not charging any of its fees until the settlement has been reached, and basing that fee on the savings.  This means you get exactly what you pay for and the company has an incentive to do the very best for you.

Editors note: Funny but yet informative video about debt reduction programs. It may seem off setting at first but the cartoon man definitely makes you understand where he is going with it and you will know more about debt reduction after watching it.

New Hampshire restaurant bans politicians (via AFP)

Cheeseburger and fries, hold the politicians. With Republican presidential hopefuls blitzing New Hampshire ahead of its critical January 10 primary, one small eatery in coastal Portsmouth has had it with gladhanding campaigners disrupting diners. So the hand-drawn, red-white-and-blue sign on the door…

Editors Note: New Hampshire has become quite the hotspot politically speaking.  Politicians getting banned from restaurants, the state passing legislation for medical marijuana use.  One issue that the good people of this state should focus on is the debt problem taking place.  So many people are stuck with credit card debt and most new hampshire debt consolidation companies are not doing the quality job that needs to be done.  So where is the government now? I have even seen pics of ex-pats getting their houses foreclosed after three or more tours in Iraq while the big banks that cause these credit card problems get bail outs! Shows the true appreciation of our government for not helping to clean the mess they made in the first place

Credit Card Debt Decreases, But Cards Still Used Widely (via Credit.com)

Consumers throughout the nation appear to be bettering their payment habits for credit cards, and in turn, improving their credit scores, as a report by Demos indicates average credit card debt dropped in the first few months of 2012 compared to the last report conducted in 2008. According to the…

Another serious issue related to debt is student loans. Many people are not finding the jobs they thought they would and cannot repay their large amounts of student loan debt. Thankfully this site student loan consolidation programs has shown to really help people to lower their monthly payment making paying these loans back much more affordable

The primary benefits associated with consumers entering into such a program are the speed in which you can reasonably be debt free as well as amount of money that may be saved from the process. The art of debt settlement is one where you must stop paying the creditors while saving those funds privately; later down the line you will then look to settle the balance at a minimized amount in one lump sum payment. This saves a lot of money in comparison with how much money you lose through paying monthly minimum payment for several years on end.

For NH debtors looking for help there is a great site here at http://newhampshiredebtsettlement.com

Student Loan Forgiveness For Teachers – How Does It Work?

By Stephen Bis

Its common knowledge and an agreed sentiment among many American citizens that the hard working teachers of our country are underpaid for the vital role they play in educating this nations’ youth. However getting the education needed to become a teacher is not cheap and requires many aspiring teachers to take out student loans.

Thankfully there are options put in place that teachers can take advantage of to get relief of these student loans. There is a lot of mystery surrounding how student loan forgiveness and student loan consolidation programs work and how they can help financially struggling teachers. Currently the government is offering assistance with these programs from the Department of Education. In this article I will explain how the three student loan relief programs work and how teachers can best take advantage of it.

Student Loan Consolidation: Right now if you have federally backed student loans you more than likely qualify for a consolidation. The benefits of consolidation are one monthly payment and lower interest. The vast majority of teachers who have federally backed loans will qualify and in most cases will be able to save a considerable amount of money each month on what they are currently paying.

Income Based Repayment: The IBR plan is another consolidation program for people who are struggling financially. The same benefits as a standard consolidation apply with the exception that your monthly payments are based on two factors, your income/budget and number of dependants. Depending on how bad your current financial situation is you may qualify to pay $0 per month and still stay in good graces with your lender. Each year there is an income review and your payments can be adjusted either up or down depending on where you are with your income.

Student Loan Forgiveness: For people working in the public service field, which teachers do, there is a student loan forgiveness program. Once you qualify for this program you will only have to make 120 more payments (10 years) and then the remainder of your loan is forgiven; this saves years off of most people’s current payment plan. Also keep in mind the forgiveness plan can be combined with the income based plan.

So for a struggling teacher getting on the IBR plan combined with the forgiveness plan will be very helpful; you may qualify to pay $0 or very little per month and if you remain a teacher than in ten years your loans are forgiven. The one caveat to the forgiveness plan is that you must remain employed in the public service field for the entirety of the plan, so if you think you are going to stop teaching before than this may not be for you.

Common Misconception: When people hear the word forgiveness they assume that means their loans will be completely written off and they will have to pay nothing. Unfortunately that is not the case, as beneficial as all of the above mentioned programs are they are not a forgiveness in the sense where people pay nothing (unless you qualify for the IBR).

Possible Problems: For some reason the government makes getting these consolidation and forgiveness plans an extremely hard task. The majority of people cannot figure out the how to correctly get this loan underwritten to receive the maximum benefits possible. And the loan could take up to 90 days to process so if anything is done wrong you either have to do it over again or will get a loan that may not be best suited for you.

Solution: Thankfully there are companies that can be of assistance in helping make sure teachers get approved for the best consolidation or forgiveness program available. Typically these companies charge a nominal fee for the in-depth underwriting process that must take place to ensure approval goes through. It is highly recommended to use such a company and avoid complication while ensuring you are getting the maximum benefits possible. These programs were designed with the teacher’s best interest in mind so if you find yourself struggling than take advantage of the options that you have.

Stephen Bis consults for FSCG an “A” rated company that can help with student loan forgiveness for teachers. Follow the link to apply and get a quote to see what savings you may qualify for.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_Bis

Editors Note: Great info on Ezine Articles about student loan forgiveness for teachers the link is where the article was originally cited.

Consumers Paying Credit Card Debt Instead of Mortgages (via Credit.com)

The latest Credit Risk Index from the credit monitoring bureau TransUnion recently found that consumer credit risk rose at the end of last year for the first time since 2009, and a major driving factor in that uptick was delinquency on mortgage payments, according to a report from Your Money Matters…

If you are also struggling with financial issues than look into the credit card debt relief hotline.

Creditinfocenter Releases Android Credit Repair App (via PR Newswire)

PHOENIX, April 18, 2012  /PRNewswire/ — Credit Info Center, the leader in online personal finance self-help information, announces the release of a free credit repair Android app. The app allows users to browse through the process of credit repair, divided into 4 easy-to-understand steps. The new…

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