Posts from — November 2007

Do you use a debit card? Seems like a good idea, right? Your bank likes it too; and that should be a warning in itself.

The problem is that the bank wants to make money from its association with you. If it can squeeze an extra $30 or $40 per month on fees, that’s fine with them.

How does this happen with a debit card? It’s because the banks will allow you to overdraw your account using the debit card. This will cause you to incur a bank charge.

But, you say, “I know my balance. How will I overdraw my account?” The answer is a “Block.”  A block is explained in section 2.3 of Bill Payer’s Guide.

If you have used a credit card, you are all right. However, if you have used a debit card, you may have $1.50 cup of coffee subject you to a bank charge of $30 to $40.

If you don’t think this is fair, use a credit card rather than a debit card.

I was called by a 77 years old widow on Social Security who panicked worried that she was facing either starvation or jail.

Even through she had made all payments timely and for the correct amount, the credit card company had raised her interest rate from 9.9% to 29.9% making it impossible for her to make the minimum payment. She called me for a bankruptcy since the card company’s collector had threatened her with jail if she didn’t make her minimum monthly payment.

However, she didn’t need a bankruptcy, she only needed to know the law and let the collector understand that she knew her rights. This tired and broken soul was judgment proof. When I explained this concept to her, I realized that the same information should be public knowledge - but how?

This incident compelled me to write Bill Payer’s Guide. The term “judgment proof” is explained in section 10.3 of the Guide.

Congress has proposed bills HR 3648 to offer relief to homeowners.

Welcome to the Bill Payer’s Guide .

In this blog Attorney Ed Dechant discusses credit and bill paying topics and provides information as well as feedback to selected questions from the book’s readers.