Blog
Federal and Ohio laws against abusive debt collection practices have been in place for long enough that you might think that anyone tempted to engage in such activity would be deterred by them, but as recent news events demonstrate such a belief would be wishful thinking. In fact, the problem remains serious enough that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has…
If you were one of the unfortunate victims of the foreclosure crisis in Ohio, this “news” may not be news to you. But the trickle-down effect throughout the Ohio economy could have affected many others and may continue to do so. While help was on the way, the waiting was the hardest part. The “Hardest Hit Fund,” offered from the…
Debts, creditors and collection agencies have one thing in common: ignoring them is not a sound strategy to make them go away. A frustrated creditor may turn to a collection agency; and a frustrated collection agency may turn to litigation in an attempt to make you pay a debt. Sometimes you may receive a warning that a lawsuit is imminent,…
As a general rule it is not advisable to attempt to “hide” from your creditors if you are experiencing financial difficulties, because Ohio law provides them with mechanisms to seek out what money you do have on hand or in the form of wages to recover what they are owed even if you refuse to acknowledge them. A frequently-used tool…
When a home is foreclosed upon, the homeowner will often vacate the premises. After all, the house is being taken back by the bank, whether the owner likes it or not. They take the opportunity to move on with their life and leave the house behind. But if the bank does not officially repossess the home, the owners are still…
Many homeowners who encounter difficulty keeping up with their mortgages will seek to use any of a variety of ways to try to stay in their home. These will frequently involve some form of an attempt to modify the terms of their mortgage, lowering the payments and interest sufficiently to allow them to keep up with their payment schedule and…
Small business owners in Hamilton County could be at risk of a national trend involving business loans. Unless you own a business with a strong, consistent cash flow and years of financial statements to offer to lenders, getting a business loan from a bank can be a daunting experience that frequently ends with a rejection. Businesses across the country have…
Those who are in enough financial trouble to be contemplating bankruptcy will, if they are homeowners, often also find themselves having to think about the prospect of what it would be like to lose their homes to foreclosure. Your mortgage payment is typically the largest of your bills, and when you are already juggling bills it can be like trying…
The decision to file for bankruptcy is a difficult one, particularly for small business owners. When a business owner does make the decision to declare bankruptcy, the owner must then choose the type of bankruptcy to file. There are a few different types of bankruptcy for businesses, and each type has pros and cons. Chapter 7 bankruptcy, or liquidation bankruptcy,…
“Night of the Living Dead,” “Dawn of the Dead” “The Walking Dead,” what do these have in common with debt collection? Irritating zombies. Some consumers’ credit ratings are being consumed by zombie debt. And one U.S. Senator from Ohio wants to do something about it. Senator Sherrod Brown has started a campaign to make banks and buyers of debt accountable…