Wealth Buildilng Tuesdays: Get Out of the Financial Doldrums

When I tell people that I am a consumer rights and bankruptcy attorney – they often focus more on the “bankruptcy” side than on the “consumer rights” side of the equation. Perhaps it is because people tend to fear the idea of bankruptcy – or it may be due to the fact that they are less familiar with the term “consumer rights.”

Either way – they tend to be surprised to learn that in addition to helping people start over with a bankruptcy filing, I also help people who are stuck in what I call the “Financial Doldrums.”  The “Financial Doldrums” is a term I use to describe what happens when you and your money are just sort of suspended in an unpleasant space while you are being hounded by debt collectors and collection lawsuits.

The first indication that you may be headed for the Financial Doldrums happens when your money starts to get a little funny. Perhaps you hit a monetary snag that you can’t quite shake or maybe you are still in between permanent jobs.  Maybe you have a job - but it only pays you enough to get by but not enough to actually get ahead. 

The second indication that you may be in the Financial Doldrums occurs when the debt collectors catch up with you. Your phone starts ringing incessantly. Then your mailbox fills to capacity. The nice credit card company who was always willing to “work with you” in the past has transformed into a mean spirited, harassing debt collector who does not care about your cheap boss or the 15 other bills you have to get to this month. They are willing to make a deal – but want you to commit to paying way more than you can each month.

But that’s just the beginning. At first, it was just one debt collector. But after a few weeks, people in the Financial Doldrums are no longer able to rob Peter to pay Paul.  By this point – both Peter and Paul are on to you and they are no longer willing to play games. Instead of just one debt collector calling every week – now it’s three or four debt collectors calling daily. Eventually the calls get so out of hand that folks who are in Financial Doldrums can’t keep the debt collectors’ names straight.

Was NCO Financial collecting for the Chase card or the Citbank card?

Is Providian Collection Services collecting for the Visa or the Discover card?

Wait – now ERA Collections is calling about the Citibank and the Visa card?!

It’s enough to make you want to bang your head against a wall. Try as you might – you may not be able to see a way out. It’s not that you can’t pay any of the bills, it's just that you can’t pay them all right now.  Or maybe you could pay most of them – but you are not sure just where you should send that payment because there have been so many different debt collectors calling about the same bill. Perhaps you are in a situation where you actually have a lot of debt – but not enough debt to file for bankruptcy.

If any of these scenarios seem familiar then you or someone you know may be in the middle of the Financial Doldrums. It’s sort of like being on a sailboat in the middle of the ocean – but there is not enough wind to power your movement in any direction.

The good news is that it does not have to stay that way. As I said in the beginning – people are much more familiar with what a bankruptcy lawyer does than they are with what a consumer rights lawyer does. But if you are in the Financial Doldrums then a consumer rights lawyer can make all the difference.

Consumer rights lawyers use a powerful combination of consumer protection rules to help get you out of the Financial Doldrums and back to a place where your finances can stabilize and grow. As a consumer rights lawyer – I know that bankruptcy may not be the right answer for many of my clients. When that happens, my goal is to use as many of the consumer protection laws as I can to help you get back on track.

This means if debt collectors are harassing you – I can look to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to sue them on your behalf, stop the harassment and force the debt collector to pay YOU money as compensation for violating your rights.

If debt collectors are reporting false information on your credit report, I can use the Fair Credit Reporting Act to help clean up your credit and get you back on the path to a healthy credit score.

If you already filed for bankruptcy and debt collectors are still trying to illegally make you pay for old debts – I can file a special proceeding to drag them into court so that they pay YOU as a penalty for violating your rights.

You see, consumer rights lawyers help those who are stuck in that wide space between financial health and a bankruptcy filing. If you are dealing with debt collectors, debt collection lawsuits, garnishments or frozen bank accounts – then chances are you are in the Financial Doldrums.

It’s also very likely that you do not need to stay in the Financial Doldrums and that there is a consumer protection law out there that can help you.

If you would like to hear more about how to protect yourself and your family’s finances from the Financial Doldrums, feel free to join me on Tuesday evening September 25, 2012 when I will be speaking at the Bed Stuy Restoration Plaza Financial Empowerment Center’s “Wealth Building Tuesdays” program.

Wealth Building Tuesdays are a financial empowerment series, offered for free by the Financial Empowerment Center. The workshops cover a wide variety of topics and feature a diverse roster of speakers. The programs take place on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 – 8:30. You can register or get more information by calling 718.636.6994 or emailing fecbedstuy@gmail.com.

Whether you are able to join us tomorrow evening or not, just know this: the Financial Doldrums are merely a stop on your road back to financial health. You do not have to be stuck there permanently. If you aren’t able to attend Tuesday’s evening but would still like to talk, feel free to give my office a call at 347.670.3328 or email me at info@danielfavorslaw.com to find out how to set up an appointment.

As always – knowledge is power. Visit http://www.BrooklynConsumerDebt.com to find out more about these powerful consumer protection laws so that you can keep your family’s finances as safe as possible.