6 Personal Debt Relief Tips for a Successful Debt Diet, Part 1

December 14th, 2011

Currently, U.S. households owe an almost unbelievable $2.3 trillion in non-real estate debts like credit card debt and auto loans. For some Americans, getting out of debt is just plain hard. Whether your debt is the result of unemployment, overspending, or both, here are six personal debt relief tips that will help you start â€” and successfully [...]

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Mortgage Debt Relief Scam Nets $1.6 Million in False Foreclosure Protection Fees

December 13th, 2011

An Austin, Texas, man has been charged in United States District Court with operating a mortgage debt relief scam in Los Angeles and elsewhere that falsely promised the owners of more than a thousand distressed properties that they could be protected against foreclosure sales. Frederic Alan Gladle allegedly recruited homeowners with properties that were facing [...]

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Death-Debt Settlement Offers Pour in From Debt Collectors

December 8th, 2011

The debt that seniors leave behind when they pass away is becoming big business for debt collectors, who sometimes use questionable tactics to go after family members and pressure them into debt settlement agreements even though spouses and other survivors may not be legally required to pay. When people die, debts usually die with them, [...]

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Texas Mortgage Debt Relief Case Ends in Lawsuit Against Bank of America

December 7th, 2011

A Texas woman who sought mortgage debt relief from Bank of America has sued the bank after it approved her request for a loan modification for her Austin home but then rescinded the approval and eventually began foreclosure proceedings against her. The lawsuit by Maria Gonzales alleges that the bank wrongly invalidated the loan modification [...]

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Mortgage Debt Relief Scams are Target of New Federal Task Force

December 6th, 2011

The U.S. Department of the Treasury will be part of a new federal task force charged with shutting down illegal mortgage debt relief scams posing as government assistance plans. The Treasury Department will team up with the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [...]

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Florida Debt Relief Business Investigated Over Fraud Complaints

December 1st, 2011

The Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General of Florida have launched an investigation into a Florida debt relief business that received more than 300 consumer complaints in just over a year. United Financial Systems, based in Margate, allegedly signed customers up to a debt relief plan and charged them fees for debt help services [...]

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$52 Million Bank Settlement Offers Debt Relief for Some Mass. Homeowners

November 30th, 2011

Some homeowners in Massachusetts will be gaining a measure of mortgage debt relief resulting from a $52 million settlement of a lawsuit against the Royal Bank of Scotland. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced Monday that the Royal Bank of Scotland agreed to settle the state’s lawsuit against its subsidiary, formerly known as Greenwich Capital Financial [...]

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Debt Management Scam Victims to Get Refunds This Week

November 29th, 2011

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced today that it was mailing refund checks this week to more than 2,900 consumers nationwide who were victims of a debt management scam. The refunds are the result of a February 2009 contempt ruling against Express Consolidation Inc., a Florida-based debt management services company, and owner Randall L. Leshin, [...]

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Feds Shut Down 85 Mortgage Debt Relief Scams That Advertised on Google

November 22nd, 2011

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) announced Wednesday that it had shut down 85 alleged online debt relief scams that advertised fraudulent mortgage modification services on Google. The mortgage debt relief operations, which used Web banners and other Web advertisements, allegedly charged struggling homeowners illegal advance fees [...]

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Georgia Reaches $4.3 Million Settlement with Debt Collection Company Over Abuses

November 17th, 2011

Georgia announced it has reached a $4.3 million settlement with an abusive debt collection company. The state said it hoped the settlement would send a message to other debt collection companies looking to skirt the law when it comes to dealing with residents burdened with credit card debt and other types of consumer debt. According to [...]

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