AUTOMATED DEBT-COLLECTION LAWSUITS ENGULF COURTS
As millions of Americans have fallen behind on paying their bills, debt collection law firms have been clogging courtrooms with lawsuits seeking repayment.
Few have been as prolific as Cohen & Slamowitz, a Woodbury, N.Y., firm that has specialized in debt collection for nearly two decades. The firm has been filing roughly 80,000 lawsuits a year.
> Articles | > Collection Practices
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5 COMMON HABITS THAT COST YOU DEARLY
Most of us are guilty of a few bad habits during our lifetimes. There's eating too much of the fun stuff, not exercising enough to burn it off, and spending tomorrow's paycheck today. Sure, getting fit and keeping a budget can be tough habits to keep, but avoiding these five common bad habits can add some easy money to your bottom line.
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COLLECTION AGENCIES TURN TO SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES
If you've got debts and haven't paid them, you may want to be careful about your next Facebook status update.
Just like some employers who use Facebook and MySpace to vet job candidates, debt collectors are using these social networking sites, too.
> Consumer Credit | > Articles | > Collection Practices
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HIGH-PAYING, LOW STRESS JOBS
If you're like thousands of other job seekers, you may dream of earning the big bucks without having to deal with the extreme stress that goes hand-in-hand with top-paying jobs. Of course, a high-salary, low-stress job sounds too good to be true. Or is it?
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TIPS FOR WORKING WITH A DIFFICULT BOSS
Having a supervisor that makes your work painful can be one of the worst situations to be in. difficult bosses come in various forms and may be unappreciative, give too much work, take credit for themselves, be verbally abusive, expect you to have no life outside of work and so on. Given the amount of time we spend in the workplace and in addition with our boss, this will have a big effect on your psychological/emotional well-being.
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7 LITTLE-KNOWN REASONS YOU'RE NOT GETTING HIRED
If you're job hunting you're surely aware of the most egregious and common no-nos: showing up for the interview ten minutes late; answering your phone during the interview; handing over a resume riddled with typos; using a silly-sounding E-mail address; failing to demonstrate you've researched the employer; bad-mouthing your last boss; neglecting to follow up. You're not doing any of that, are you? Of course not.
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COULD ONLINE HACKERS STEAL YOUR CASH?
When you access your bank account online you probably don't think that at that exact moment there may be a hacker, somewhere in the world, trying to steal your bank information and your money.
Your bank offers secure online banking, so why should you worry, right? Despite banks' efforts to protect accounts from the online crooks, hacker attacks remain a serious threat that cost Americans millions of dollars each year. The Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that Americans lost about $55
> Articles | > Identity Theft, Fraud, and Scams
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5 SECRETS OF SELF-MADE MILLIONAIRES
They’re just like you. But with lots of money.
When you think “millionaire,” what image comes to mind? For many of us, it’s a flashy Wall Street banker type who flies a private jet, collects cars and lives the kind of decadent lifestyle that would make Donald Trump proud.
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OUT-OF-WORK JOB APPLICANTS TOLD UNEMPLOYED NEED NOT APPLY
The last thing someone who is unemployed needs to be told is that they shouldn't even apply for the limited number of job openings that are available. But some companies and recruiters are doing just that.
Employment experts say they believe companies are increasingly interested only in applicants who already have a job.
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5 STEPS TO DISPUTE A DEBT THAT'S NOT YOURS
A debt collector mixes you up with a deadbeat: at best, it's annoying, at worst, it can hurt your credit.
A mix-up can happen easily: An employee at a debt collection company makes a typo or tracks down a debtor whose name is similar to yours, and suddenly a collector is harassing you for a debt that's not yours. With thousands of debt collection companies operating across the country, and debt buyers buying up bundles of old accounts at cheap rates, these mix-ups are fairly common.
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SURE WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR CREDIT CARDS WHEN TRAVELING
Vacation should be about one thing: relaxing. If your credit cards are stolen, though, you'll spend more time in your hotel room undoing fraud than lying on the beach sipping a drink decorated with a tiny umbrella.
Lost or stolen wallets, checkbooks, credit and debit cards make up 43 percent of all fraud cases where the person knows how their information was stolen, according to Javelin Strategy & Research's 2009 identity fraud report.
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4 THINGS THAT ARE MORE EXPENSIVE THAN YOU THINK
Have you ever given much thought to the real cost of an item, compared to the listed retail price? A perfect example is if you chose to buy a new computer on credit. The real cost of the computer would be the purchase price and the interest that you have to pay. The true cost of an item can often go unnoticed and consumers end up paying much more than they bargained for. Here are four things that are more expensive than you might think.
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LOAN MODIFICATION - THE PROS & CONS
President Obama's $75 billion Making Home Affordable (MHA) plan was introduced on the 4th March 2009. Loan modification involves adjusting the terms of a mortgage agreement to make house payments more affordable. A mortgage modification may consist of extending the term of a loan, a reduction in the rate of interest, changing the loan type or even reducing the outstanding balance. Qualifying homeowners will receive assistance until January 31, 2012.
> Articles | > Financing Methods
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KNOW THE INSIGHTS FOR THE NEW CREDIT CARD LAW
Here are the insights for navigating key loopholes and protections in the new law.
1. Beware of the advance notification exceptions.
On Aug. 20, 2009, a provision that required 45 days' advance notification of "significant" terms changes took effect. It applies to fees and finance charges, as well as some rate increases. Loopholes in the law leave consumers unprotected in some situations.
For instance, the law doesn't require 45 days' advance notification for credit limit decreases.
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HOW TO GET THE SALARY YOU WANT
A tight job market might have taken away some jobseekers' leverage in a salary negotiation, but that doesn't mean they should roll over and accept the first offer, says New York-based executive coach Rabia de Lande Long. To get the top compensation possible—without putting a sour taste in your potential employer's mouth—take these steps.
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