Portugal pays raised rate for three-month funds AFP
LISBON — Portugal raised 854 million euros ($1.2 billion) for three months on Wednesday but had to pay an increased rate of 4.959 percent, sources in the debt market said.
The debt management agency had set a target of raising 750 million to one billion euros. Demand was 2.2 times the amount of bonds on offer.
On August 17, Portugal had raised 985 million euros in three-month debt at a rate of 4.854 percent.
This latest operation took place amid continuing nervousness about signs of slowing growth in the global economy and the ability of the eurozone to put its debt crisis behind it.
"For now, the country has managed to finance itself with rates below five percent," Carregosa Bank analyst Filipe Silva told AFP.
"Portugal continues to attract investors ready to assume risk, but only in the short term," Silva said.
In May, Portugal began a 78-billion-euro rescue programme agreed by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in return for vast economic reform and austerity cuts.
Consolidate your debt with debt management agency
www.bcab.org is the best place to solve your debt problem. Who care if it is credit card debt or payday cash advance debt consolidation. Just ...
Should I file for bankruptcy or work with a debt management agency?
My husband was out of work for almost a year and I lost my job. We have almost 30k in debt on credit cards. We have never been late with payments but it is starting to get tight. Should we file bankruptcy or contact a debit management agency?
The ability to file bankruptcy is not determined by your debt, but by your ability to repay your debt. Since you say you have enough to make your current payments, you may not even qualify for a Chapter 7(liquidation) bankruptcy.
To determine if you qualify there are two means tests you must pass first. The first is if you earn more than the average for your state, the second is if you have at least $100 a month of disposable income. If you fail either of these you may be forced into a Chapter 13, which is basically a repayment plan. If you do happen to qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy this remains on your credit for 10 years.
Now, if you get on a debt management program they may be able to get you on a budget and work with your creditors. If this is the case you can probably be debt free in about 3-5 years. After that you are debt free and have no lasting marks. If you go this route be sure to go with a reputable organization. You can check out http://www.nfcc.org for a list of organizations that can help
In the case of bankruptcy it will be something that will follow you for a long time, however - it is something that you can recover from although it will take a number of years. It is to be avoided if at all possible, but sometimes you find yourself in a financial position that cannot be maintained or improved. If you go bankrupt, and you hope to get a mortgage on a home in the future, you'll find that www.myfico.com forums are a very good resource for credit repair.
However - you should consider all your options. You have never been late with payments - this is good, very good. Credit card companies will be more willing to work with you to renegotiate the terms, possibly lowering the apr and paying more of the balance off. I hope that your current debt is at a reasonable interest rate already? If not, if you stay out of bankruptcy it is very important to move this debt into low interest forms of credit. Do you have a home already with equity you could leverage against the debt?
You should check your credit score, it will give you an idea of how much leverage you have. Further - a company may be more receptive to compromises if the choice is between getting less than expected, or getting back almost nothing.
Is it true? (am i paying with real money)
Is it a necessary?
Is it worth paying for now?
If you answer no to any of these questions than dont pay for it. Also, seeing a debt management agency may end up costing you more money. Try solving your problems on your own by using a free service, such as Oprah.com or buying a book to help you manage.
Some tips:
1. Always save at least 6% of your income in a untouchable account.
2. Consolidate your debt thus reducing your interest and having 1 low monthly payment.
3. Pay at least $10-50 more than the required payment each month.
4. Stop spending money on things you "want."
5. Everything you have now, is all you need.
6. Cut up your credit cards. They are not money. They are borrowed money. Everytime you purchase a product, you actually end up paying 13-40% more. So add that on to the price tag and I guarantee you that wont want it.
After ID theft and bankruptcy myself, I still got my score up from 486 to 730 in a little over a year, so I know about this subject. You have the right to contest negative items in your credit report and after bankruptcy you report is going to be full of errors, trust me!
Getting credit after bankruptcy is not as hard as you think because creditors know you cannot file again for 7 years!
Go to my website and read it all because a lot of what I could tell you will be there and I know it will answer a lot of your questions! including bankruptcy!
If your finances are not going to improve soon, then you are going to be living from month to month hoping that no disaster happens that will destroy your budget. You are in a race to get more income before that happens. In this economy that's going to be a major battle.
What is it you are looking for in debt management? If you are looking for someone to lower your debt (debt settlement) that will hurt your credit score.
If you are looking for a way to consolidate your debts, that may help your current situation, but you are still going to be in a tight budget until you can find more income. All you are doing is buying time.
So lets look at TODAY. If you were to be placed on a DRASTIC budget, where you cut out all dining out, entertainment, no more cell phone or cable TV...how much money will you be have to pay down your debt?
It will take you over $700 to get out of debt within 5 years. Can you find that much money?
If not, it's my opinion you consider filing BK. If you do not have a reasonable expectation of finding more income soon, you really don't have any other choice. You can file BK and be out of debt and good credit within 4-5 years....or you can stay on the current road and battle for the next several years, and you may end up filing BK anyway.
Look around for a good non-profit credit counselor and discuss your options.
Anyone know of a well known safe debt management agency?
Hello everyone, im not to smart when it comes to credit mumbo jumbo but i do know my credit is a kinda bad right now. So does anyone know of a agency that could sit down and provide me with advice or consolidate my debt into a payment plan via live person or over the web? I live in Southfield, MI... Thanks alot!
Credit Solutions
http://www.creditscorequick.com/loans/
www.knowdebt.org
What is a good credit counseling or debt management agency?
I am only 20 years old, I have 4 collections (that I know of) and all of my bills are at least 6 months behind. I have over $10,000 in student loans (but I'm still going to school). Which company would be the best for me?
credit guard
has anyone ever gone through a debt management agency ?
if so, what one? and how well did it work ?
Several years ago I used Consumer Credit Counseling Services 1-800-388-2227. They are the oldest credit counseling service in the Country and are non-profit they worked with my creditors to lower both my monthly payments and interest rate.
After 36 months I was debt free.
The first poster is correct as far as he goes. When you are in credit counseling your accounts show as "Included in credit counseling" on your bureau and it's very hard to get additional loans for anything. But if your in this bad a shape that you need their service, you have no business going out and applying for loans anyway.
There is a well recommended debt consolidation site on here:
http://qurl.com/ksh9f
Debt collection agency (Capital Management) refuses to stop calling me. What can I do?
This horrible company called "Capital Management Services, L.P." [http://www.cms-collect.com/] continually calls and tells me that I owe them some debt. It's incorrect and I tell them that.
They are very, very rude. So about 6 months ago I told them to stop calling me. But they keep calling. Different people (all with strong Indian accents, yet amazingly American names like Sally and Bob) call each time. I always say, "I told you to stop calling me..." and they reply with some garbage like "I have never called you before. What is your name? You need to give me your name right now. Give me your name".
Obviously I refuse, and they say more rude comments and hang up. I have no luck when calling them and their phone is routed nowhere. The company appears to be in NY, USA! How is this legal??
My question is, how can I get this to stop permanently? I've seen many other reports too. I want to take action and get this stopped ASAP and hopefully get them in trouble as they deserve.
As someone mentioned, they have put some of those bogus debts on my credit report and haven't been able to get it removed (haven't tried too much, but I don't really know where to start).
The other problem I'm finding out is that with a fully-US based company, the employees must follow US guidelines and laws. But even though this company is based in the US, they obviously outsource all of their callcenter to India, which from every person I've talked to there has blatantly pushed in my face - they could care less about giving a real name, info, politeness, etc; as there's really nothing we can do.
I'm sure by law the company has to at least fake-log the calls, but judging from their attitudes (again, all fake names, how on earth do you track anything down?), they aren't worried even a tiny bit of any repercussions. They talk like they have a free ticket, which I am starting to realize, they almost do being out of the US. I'm really stuck :(
And one last note:
I had this problem with another collector a while back and did send the a cease and desist letter via certified mail. I got the return receipt and everything. They kept calling.
When I called and finally got through to some type of supervisor (who knows if it even was), they kept saying they never received it. When I said I have the receipt they put me on hold for like 20 minutes. Finally he came back and said they received an envelope from me that was empty, no letter was inside and they would keep calling me.
So even with a certified cease and desist letter, how do you "prove" that you really sent the letter inside of the envelope?? This is ridiculous, such loopholes. I can't take my letter to the post office and have someone watch me put the letter in the envelope and send it off, and have the mail person vow to come to court or something like that obviously. So how do you do this and take any and every loophole-joke out of the process?
Here's their website: http://www.cms-collect.com/CONTACTUS.HTML
Send a letter, certified, return receipt. Tell them to cease and desist calling you.
This company has a track record of putting bogus old debt on people's credit report. You may want to pull a copy of your credit and check.
Simply find a sieze & desist communications letter online, change it with your information, do not put your SS # on it, just make sure you add the phone number that they call you on.
Send it CERTIFIED MAIL, with return reciept, so when they recieve and sign for it, by law, they cannot call you unless to tell you that they recieved the letter, thats it.
Now if they do still call after you have confirmed that they recieved your letter, make sure you log every call after the fact, which you can take them to court and nail them for some $$$. read the FCRA, know your rights!
Some interesting reading for anyone risking or facing a lawsuit from debt buyers.
Read these collection attorneys' own statements. They know they can’t prevail in the absence of default judgments or summary judgments (where a person admits sufficient facts.) Fight them in court,, they’ll have to fold.
I’m posting this information because these debt buyers are making a mockery of the judicial system. Courts are supposed to settle legitimate disputes, not be a forum for 2 cents on the dollar stick-up artists with law degrees stealing 150% of your money. There is a reason these within SOL accounts sell for pennies on the dollar. There is NO documentation on these accounts.
“However, there are law firms that are cautious about buying debt and question the efficiency with which lawyers can collect on such paper. “We represent companies that buy debt, but it’s not as good a field as it might seem,” says Gerald S. Levy, director of operations at Wexler & Wexler in Chicago. He says debt buyers often don’t obtain enough background on the debtors, which makes collections more difficult. Substantial information is not in debtors’ files, Levy says, and if they dispute the debt, the law firm has to drop the claim.”
“Neil Spector, a partner in Tampa, Fla.-based Kass, Shuler, Solomon, Spector, Foyle & Singer PA (formerly Kass Hodges PA), agrees. “Purchased debt is typically older than that gotten directly from the original creditor, and documents are harder to get for litigation,” he says. Because the debt is older, address information on the debtor may be outdated, so skip tracing services must be employed, adding cost”
“Risky Business
Some collections law firms take a hands-off approach to purchased debt. “We refuse to represent people who purchase debt because there are significant risks beyond those for representing regular creditors,” says I. James Frankel, chief executive officer of Kramer & Frank PC in St. Louis. Some of the problems with serving purchased debt include lack of proper documentation, history of the claim, and personal knowledge of the creation and record keeping for the loan. “Sometimes,” he says, “you can make demands on debt that is already paid or the people are in bankruptcy, both violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.”
MPORTANT: Bill collectors are usually able to validate debts fairly quickly on delinquent accounts less than a few years old. However, as the debt ages it becomes harder to validate because the original creditor may have deleted some accounts or the records have been lost or misplaced due to the business being sold or it went out of business. Another reason is debts are sold on the junk debt circuit so many times, the original creditor information may have been lost along the way.
When collectors cannot validate a debt, they often sell the debt to another junk debt buyer. Because the FDCPA does not require collectors to tell you when they sell your account and the law prohibits collectors from sharing your information with other collectors, you can expect to be contacted by a different collection agency! When this happens, expect to dispute the debt all over again.
then write a certified letter like the following.....
Month Day, 2007
Dear _____________________:
This letter is being sent to you in response to a notice sent to me on Month Day, 2007
. Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.
This is NOT a request for “verification” or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you.
Please provide me with the following:
• What the money you say I owe is for;
• Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
• Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;
• Please evidence proof of the alleged debt, including specifically the alleged contract or other instrument bearing my signature.
• Prove the Statute of Limitations/UCC has not expired on this account
• Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state.
• Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent
At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureau’s (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:
• Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
• Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
• Defamation of Character
If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following Declaration, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist.
Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel for suit. This includes any listing any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is.
If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately.
I would also like to request, in writing, that your offices make no telephone contact to me at my residence or my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS.
It would be advisable that you assure that your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action. This is an attempt to correct your records; any information obtained shall be used for that purpose.
Regards,
you can find out the company info by google the collections agency
and from this point on NEVER talk to them on the phone
get caller ID
and then get this
http://www.privacycorps.com/products/?id=20
it's kinda pricey but it works
but you have peace of mind and the calls will not ring thru anymore
keep in mind all debt collectors use automated phone dialers and will call you every day non stop until you contact them back
this merely cuts them off at the knees as once their number is entered ( i enter 800, and 888 prefix numbers as well as area codes to complete cut off outsiders ) and saved to the database the number no longer rings thru
keep in mind these debt collectors can also be shams, hence why you NEVER talk to them or confirm or deny who you are
EVER or any other information
some debt collector will make up a fake debt and harrass you for it in hope you pay to get them to shut up, even if it's a small amount, and once you pay they will haunt you for more
http://credit-and-loans.blogspot.com/
Have you ever used credit counseling or a debt management plan?
I'm thinking about using a credit counseling agency or debt repayment plan but I've heard a lot of conflicting information about them in my research. Do you have any personal experience with it? Would you recommend it? Thanks.
I have personally used credit counseling services. When I was young and dumb (not saying you are, but I definitely was) I ran up a lot of credit I couldn't pay off. Interest rates were killing me and late fees were adding to the balance every month. So I contacted a credit counseling service and frankly, they saved me from a horrible downward spiral.
Credit counselors are basically a go-between organization. They negotiate the interest rates down to a workable level and get late fees stopped. All in agreement that you will pay the current balance off over a 3 year period.
Positive
Interest and late fees stop racking up
Single fixed payment that is guaranteed to reach the credit company on time every month
One payment that is affordable - as opposed to all the small ones that come in at various times during the month and you can't ever seem to pay on time (thus incurring another late fee)
Negative
You will have to cut up your credit cards. The accounts are canceled
The credit company might place your account in "collections" status during the payoff process. But once the account balance is zero they will list it as "canceled," which could mean anything to a future lender (you canceled it yourself, for instance, which isn't a bad thing)
If you're over your head in debt and the late fees are adding up a credit counseling service is a good way to go.
A lot of people say debt consolidation loans are good too. However to qualify for one you usually have to be at least $10,000 in debt.
If you want to know more about credit counseling, or need to contact an agency, you can visit my site here:
http://www.1-800badcredit.com/credit-card-debt-counseling.html
I started this site because I've been there myself. And there's a lot of bad information out there.
Good luck to you! It'll all come right in the end if you can stop the bleeding!
Debt consolidation or management agencies?
I need to know if there are debt consolidation or management agencies that help the unemployed people who have outstanding debts that they can't afford?
It depends on how bad you are now.
Consolidating means creating a whole new loan for a longer period of time. This would hopefully lower your payments enough so you can get back on track, in this case it might SAVE your credit score.
A credit counselor will give you some tools and suggestions for reducing your payments, just keep an eye on what the % are, you want it to be lower than what you pay now.
However, debt consolidation can be nothing more than a way of putting off the evitable. It really does little to correct the problem. That's why many people come back to debt negotiation as a way of getting out of their financial problems and starting fresh start.
More here: http://finance.ebookorama.com
also plenty more to read here
http://credit.ebookorama.com
http://credit-cards.ebookorama.com
http://credit-repair.ebookorama.com
good luck!
Has anyone had any experience with debt management agencies? Any good recommendations??
Yes they actually can do you some good in reducing your payments. They don't do anything you can't do for yourself, which includes calling your creditors and negotiating a lower interest rate, getting some of the late charges etc reduced and lowering the monthly payment. The one I know about charged $25 for the consultation and for that they explained what they would do and how they would do it. They suggested to try on your own if you are able to avoid the monthly charge they make to do this for you. I think it was $25 a month. All in all it is not a bad deal if you don't know how to get your payments and interest lowered on your own.
Why do so many people use private companies in debt management,where they pay for it?
While the same service is free with several voluntary debt councils ,agencies.
I think it boils down to very effective marketing by those fee charging companies and ignorance of any alternative.
Also the adverts often seem to promise the impossible, and the debtors are very vulnerable.
I am in debt and trying to get a loan for £7,500?
I have got 5 credit cards all with high monthly payments I need one loan to pay off these debts and nobody will help.
I am a council tenant, self employed cash in hand with only commission slips to prove my income. My working tax gets paid into my bank account so I have bank statements just showing my tax credits. On all these cards I pay every month and never missed a payment ( Why dont they take this into account). I would never miss a loan payment as it would be direct debit I just need to reduce my monthly payments Does anyone know a sympathetic lender that will help me. Without going through debt management agency?
I go to all these companies that say they can help and they all say no, what am I to do?
Thank you
Debbie
Deborah,
Have you tried to switch the cards to lower interest cards, presumably your credit rating is okay ? so try applying for cards with lower rates on the interest and then switching to those cards, cards like capitalone.com who might be able to give a limit that allows you to get rid of some of the cards down to say three or four. Presumably you need at least one or two cards so thats an option.
Another suggestions is take a look in the financial pages of the "Daily Mirror/Mail" there are always loan firms advertsing in there for debt consolidation loans, do it while you are able to before things get out of hand. Sounds like you are having a bit if a struggle there.
