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Overwhelming Debt: Credit Cards and Underwater Mortgages
John Ulzheimer, our resident credit expert and scoring guru answers your tough questions. This week John answers your questions about underwater mortgages, strategic default and overwhelming credit...
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Reader Question: Medical Bill In Collections With No Warning
A reader sent in a question about a medical bill that went to collections without her knowledge: I received a notice that I was in collections for a medical bill. I never even knew this bill had gone...
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Getting Collection Calls For Someone Else? Here’s What To Do
My daughter is only 12, but she already knows a lot about dealing with debt collectors. Several times a week she gets debt collection calls for the person who previously had her cell phone number. Some...
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Las Vegas Foreclosure Mess Ends in Bitter Duel
What happens when a city’s entire real estate market collapses, leaving only vultures behind? A big, nasty fight ensues for the scraps. Las Vegas, synonymous with gambling and vice, now has a new...
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“Fake” Debt Collection Court Lawyer Silent In Real Trial
The company that used a fake courtroom to threaten a widow with jail and to steal her son’s car found itself in a real courtroom last week with little to say. Appearing in Erie County Court, an...
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Hollywood Video Collection Abuses Stopped
Imagine getting turned down for a mortgage or a credit card because once, ten years ago, you failed to make good on a video rental fee. Many consumers found themselves in just that situation after...
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Proposed Law Could Help Millions Facing Medical Debt
No matter which way you look at it, the current system for collecting small medical debts doesn’t work very well. From the consumer’s perspective, a late medical bill for as little as $15 can wind up...
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Reader Q&A: How Can I Remove a Medical Collection Account From My Credit...
A reader runs into a problem with a medical bill that was sent to collections before she could pay it. Is there any way she can get it removed? Dear Gerri, Was just looking through information on...
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Will Paying a Collection Account Remove it From My Credit Report?
One of the most common questions I’ve received over the years goes something like this: “I have collection accounts on my credit reports and I’d like to clean up my credit. What is the best way to take...
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Credit Line Radio Q&A: Resolving Medical Debt Disputes
What do you do when you’re inaccurately charged for a medical procedure and the debt goes to collections? Last week, a consumer with this very dilemma called in to The Credit Line, a radio show hosted...
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Your Social Security Disability Income Is Probably Safe…For Now
Is the Social Security Disability Insurance program on a path of self-destruction? Thanks to the aging population and high unemployment levels, a record number of Americans are collecting benefits, and...
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The Money Is Gone… So Is the Fiancé
Q: My daughter and her ex-boyfriend got a loan, it was supposed to be used for her college but instead it was used to fix up his home. They were going to get married, but as soon as the money was...
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Reader: Collection Agency Out of Business, But Still on Credit Reports
What happens when a negative item on your credit reports is from a company that is no longer around? That’s what one of our readers wants to know. She asks: A collection agency is listed on my credit...
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How To Fix Your Medical Bill Problems
A hospital bill appears on a consumer’s credit as a collection account, even though he never got a bill. A consumer’s auto insurance company lets a medical bill slip through the cracks, and it winds up...
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Warning: Medical Debts CAN Hurt Your Credit
If you think unpaid medical bills and hospital debts can’t hurt your credit score, you’re certainly not alone. As a Credit.com reader using the screen name “Don Murray” recently wrote to us, he’s been...
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How to Negotiate Your Medical Bills
Two years ago, Michelle received treatment at a hospital and racked up a $7,000 bill. Now the hospital is threatening that it wants to get paid — immediately — or it’s going to damage Michelle’s...
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Op/Ed: The Medical Debt Crisis Isn’t Going Away… Deal With It.
It’s no secret that medical bills in collection can ruin your credit. In fact, it may lower a score by “100 points or more” for someone with a spotless credit history, according to FICO. As tens of...
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Many Consumers Hit With Hidden Medical Debts
These days, many consumers may go to the hospital or a doctor’s office and receive care, but not know that their treatments carry with them bills that aren’t covered by insurance or other health plans....
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What Happens to Your Unpaid Debt
In the first part of the Debt 101 series I talked about taking advantage of lower credit card payment opportunities that many lenders offer to their customers who fall behind with payments. Depending...
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The 7 Biggest Questions About Debt Collections & Your Credit
The experts at Credit.com frequently receive questions from readers about how a debt that goes into collection affects their credit. After all, the path that an unpaid debt makes after it goes to...
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