The moment that a petition for bankruptcy is filed, U.S. Bankruptcy Code imposes something called an automatic stay. The automatic stay will generally prevent the enforcement, commencement, or appeal of actions and judgments against a debtor from the creditors they owe money to who are trying to collect these debts incurred prior to the bankruptcy petition. The automatic stay also protects property of the bankruptcy estate itself from collection actions and proceedings.

If a creditor violates the automatic stay their actions are voided out. Any violation of the stay might cause the violating party to have damages assessed to them. But, like every complicated law, there are exceptions. A creditor might be allowed to take their collateral if they obtain permission from the court first. They’ll get this by filing a motion for relief from the automatic stay.

After a petition is filed, the court will grant the motion or provide security to the creditor, which ensures that the value of their collateral won’t decrease during the stay. Without the protection of the automatic stay creditors could hypothetically race to the courthouse in order to improve their positions against a debtor. If this happened, and let’s say that a debtor’s business was facing just a temporary crunch, it might not survive a “run” by creditors when their business could otherwise be salvaged. A run may also result in waste and it might be unfair to similar creditors that are owed money too.

There are three kinds of avoidance actions, and all of these attempt to limit the risk of the legal system encouraging the downfall of a financially unstable debtor who hasn’t declared bankruptcy yet. The bankruptcy system will typically reward creditors who continue extending financing to debtors and will discourage creditors from ramping up their debt collection efforts.

Despite the seemingly simple nature of these rules, a couple of exceptions exist in the context of each category of avoidance action.

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In part one in these series of articles I wrote about potentially shady debt consolidation schemes that you should be on the lookout for. Read on to find out more:….

In the meantime, your creditors are not being paid. Unfortunately, while you are accumulating that payment, you are not paying your bills and you may be delving further and further into debt.Instead of taking this gamble check out a nonprofit credit counseling firm that may charge you only twenty dollars, if anything. Instead of billing the debtor, these counselors will typically get what is called a fair share percentage payment from your creditors after you have been paid.

Finally, and most important, do NOT put trust in the debt settlement counselor who assures you that “We will handle everything. You should stop communicating with your creditors.” Despite the fact that the idea of not speaking to creditors and ignoring their mail sounds like a real load off of your back, ultimately, it is your debt and your credit score at hand. Never send in a change of address form directing all creditor mail to a debt settlement company.

It is key to remember that the creditor is the one with whom you signed your contractual agreement. When all of your statements are being sent to the debt settlement company, you relinquish that control. You do not know how much in late fees and interest are being tacked on. You also will not know if your debt has been transferred into collections.

A few final words of wisdom. If you believe that you need debt settlement, try debt management first. Call up your creditors and request suspended payment, reduced interest or any other payment terms that may suit your financial situation in a more favorable light. Even though it might seem like a long shot, or a pain, it is always very important if you are about to miss a payment to call your creditor and say “Listen, I can’t make this month’s payment. I’d like to work something out with you.

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Students in a particular region of New Zealand, Whangarei may be obligated to learn in a hallway or refused entry to particular subjects if their parents do not pay compulsory course fees. Whangarei Boys High School headmaster Al Kirk says about $10,000 is owed from last year.

Unlike school donations which are on a voluntary basis, course fees are mandatory for subjects with considerable take-home items, like tools for technology or photography. The school’s plan is to single out students who have not yet paid, teaching them in a hall until the debt is settled.

Not surprisingly, the plan has been met with condemnation from the New Zealand Education Ministry, but headmaster Kirk attests that parents who are “really” not able to pay fees can talk to the school about payment options, and after all, a budget group is available to give parents advice.

But Mr. Kirk feels as though the problem at hand is more from parents who won’t pay because they feel education should be free of charge- high school education has not been free since the 1960s. The school used the same plot in 2008 and 90 to 98 percent of parents paid immediately, according to Kirk.

Clearly, this plan has its nay-sayers. “The fact that this school would single out childrenchildren who have nothing to do with their parent’s financesit’s unfathomable” laments Jacob D. Almeida, education expert.

Local critics have mentioned that there are a number of ways to collect the legitimate charges: re-payment plans, or as a last resort, a third party debt collection agency could deal with the parents who won’t pay. Headmaster Kirk alleges that it wouldn’t be cost efficient to use a debt collection agency.

This is also an issue for other schools in the area as well. One local school is considering not allowing a student to take a course that their parents cannot pay for. “It’s a big issue that needs to be critically and carefully addressed,” says Jacob D. Almeida. “We don’t do that lightly.

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If you owe money to a creditor, debt collection companies are able to report your debt to credit bureaus, initiate law suits against you, and should be taken very seriously. The best way to protect yourself and your finances is to take a methodical approach. First, know why you are being contacted. Know what the debt is from and exactly how much it costs.

Ask about the name of the person calling, the agency, the creditor, and the agency’s address and fax number. You have the right to inform a collector over the phone that you want all future conversations to be in writing. Follow up all requests with a written request.

Keep in mind if you tell the collector not to contact you at all it the agency is entitled to contact you once more to inform you how it plans to proceed. Another request that can be made is that you are the only person that can be contacted. It might be a good idea to keep a file including dates and details of phone conversations and when you mail out or receive letters.

If you do send any correspondence to the collections agency do this by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. This ensures that the letter reached the collector, giving you a signed receipt as proof. If you negotiate a re-payment plan over the phone, ask for the terms of the plan in writing. Any promise to remove or adjust credit history should also definitely be documented.

Make sure that you pay the right party; payments should be made to the debt collector, not the creditor, unless otherwise instructed to do so. Carefully look over the amount you are being asked to pay. Get an assessment of any interest, fees or charges that have been added.

If you feel like your collector is being abusive or hostile, make sure that you mention it to the agency and keep this complaint on file. The last thing to keep in mind is don’t ignore a collector. Even if you feel that the debt is not yours; they will continue to call and it may mean more trouble and time in the long run.

Mallory Megan is employed by a debt collection agency. Also she writes articles on business and finance, consumer spending and collection agencies.

The collections industry has grown quite large in the past couple of years. The reason for this is that collections and recoveries are typically outsourced business functions. It would be unthinkable for a creditor to try to handle retrieving debt from all of their accounts, so the creditors call upon the collections agencies.

But there seems to be a beginning of an enormous change taking place with the collections industry. The industry has grown and grown through the recession and seems huge. Rather than hire out more service providers, creditors are starting to lower their number of agencies that they will work with, which requires the companies they originally hired to take on more accounts.The effects of this could change the way that the collections industry operates in a large way.

As the worst workers are removed from these collection networks, certain debt collection agencies are going to lose their most important clients. Creditors will also have less reason to work with companies that have a reputation for being inappropriate. The financial effects of this will cause these companies to suffer, and company value will also fall with some owners forced to sell their companies in distress.

As this happens, the most efficient performers will see a lot more potential job growth, less competition, greater leverage on contract terms, better revenues, and improved profitability.

Within the debt buying market, the same type of transference is also taking place. Instead of calling on more debt buyers, some creditors are lowering the number of companies they approach for selling the accounts.

Smaller, less functional debt buyers will see less of a chance to purchase from these issuers. Here again, concentration within the primary debt sales market will increase. Recovery executives within credit businesses will be making the same kind of choice more and more, picking concentration within their vendor networks over diversification.

Mallory McGuinness is employed by a collections agency that works with a debt collection lawyer. Also, she does articles on business, finance, consumer spending and collections agencies. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

With all types of debts, accounts, and interest rates all hitting you at once, your financial situation can very well seem intimidating. But if you follow this program you will find that there is an effective and safe way to manage your money.

The only thing this simple calculation needs the interest rates for each debt account. This is assuming that all debt accounts have the same tax liability, but if not, you can find your interest rate after taxes for this calculation.

Your first step is to order your debts; highest interest rate to lowest. You’ll be likely to find credit cards at the top of the list. Retail credit cards offered by stores typically have the highest interest rates, so you may find this type of credit card on the top. Be sure that the rates did not fluctuate from the promotional rates that you originally signed up for. Card issuers can change your interest rates at any time. They are supposed to give warning, but you may not receive this warning.

Your home equity loans and your mortgage might be the next debts on the list. It’s imperative that you capture every debt for which you make a monthly payment. Student loans might be the last on the list.

Next, pay the minimum to all debts every month. You will pay the minimum monthly payment for all of the debts, except for the one account listed at the top of the list.The next thing you want to do is send all extra available cash to the debt with the highest interest. All unused income after paying expenses should be dedicated towards the debt account with the highest interest rate.

Repeat these steps every month. You will cover all of your bases by making sure every creditor receives the minimum payment, but you will focus only on your debt with the highest interest. Once a debt account has been eliminated, remove it from the list and re-order if interest rates have changed.

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