Look Out for More (Legal) Credit Card Fees
Posted on July 26th, 2010
With the Credit CARD Act set to take full effect on August 22, many credit card issuers are reportedly already altering their policies to come into compliance with the law. And, because that law seriously limits some of the fees issuers can charge (including overdraft fees), many banks are also, according to this article, introducing new fees.
What You Might Notice
Make sure you’re reading your credit card statements closely in the coming months, as any new fees will be mentioned there. Here are some you might encounter:
- Annual Fee: This isn’t a new one, but many issuers have abandoned annual fees in favor of inactivity fees, charging customers who don’t use their cards often enough. Becau
Why Municipal Bond Investors Think About Bankruptcy
Posted on July 25th, 2010
My mother was right. In the course of twenty-plus years in practice providing bankruptcy services in Indiana, dealing with tens of thousands of individuals filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana, plus thousands of Indiana small business bankruptcy cases, I’ve realized that what she always used to say is absolutely true – everything that happens affects everything else.
Almost exactly two years ago, in Bankruptcy in Indiana, I wrote a piece called “Cities Can File Bankruptcy, Too!” I was referring to Vallejo, Califormia and McCall Idaho, two cities that had filed bankruptcy under a new section of the bankruptcy code called Chapter 9, just for municipalities. (
Bankruptcy soars amongst women
Posted on July 25th, 2010
New figures have shown that the number of insolvencies amongst women in the UK has soared in the past ten years, with credit cards being the main cause of debt problems.
The research by the Insolvency Service revealed that 40% of all bankruptcies are attributed to women, with 29,680 cases in 2009. This is a huge jump from the year 2000 when there were only 6,042 female bankruptcy cases.
According to the research younger women find it harder to manage their finances, with the majority of bankruptcy cases occurring in the 25-44 age group.
IVA’s can have a sting in the tail for creditors
Posted on July 22nd, 2010
Most creditors are happy to accept IVA proposals. This is because it is a compromise deal that ensures they get some of the money from the loan back, knowing that the debtor is likely to declare bankruptcy otherwise which would leave them with nothing.
Creditors are usually also aware that if the debtor fails to pay the IVA monthly payment at any time, they will be forced to declare bankruptcy. The only difference is that this time, the equity that would be forced from the debtors property would go to them. Although this is all good and well, often creditors do not think about the repercussions of letting renters use IVA’s as this policy only applies to property owners.
If a renter is unable to continue paying the monthly payments that were initially agreed they will not be required to declare themselves bankrupt. Read more…