Ask Bill a Debt Question

I just received a summons for American Express debt. Should I negotiate with the law firm or American Express directly?

I owe American Express $6,500 on a credit card that was closed in 2007. In 2006 after being laid off from work, after never having carried a balance, I began to fall behind in my payments after I used the card for living expenses while I searched for a new job. What a mistake that was. Over the last few years I have made online payments for the card and have also paid off a second Amex Gold ...
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How do we sell a timeshare we can no longer afford?

The question is not really for me but for my father. He is unemployed, in his mid-70s, and went through a bankruptcy about 9 years ago. About 3 years ago, he attended one of those time-share presentations, and despite all the above listed negatives, they still talked him into buying a $13,000 timeshare with monthly upkeep costs. He did not share this with us until the time limit to get out o...
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Is a new spouse responsible for the other spouse's debt upon marriage in Minnesota?

Can I negotiate a reduction in fees through a settlement?

My husband of four years has gotten himself into trouble with his credit cards that are in his name only. Chase and Capital One have added on numerous extra fees and driven his interest rate up so badly that even upon taking over his finances I could not come up with a way to satisfy these payments. I feel that these companies have taken advantage of his poor consumer habits, which I know th...
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Should I take out student loans to pay off a 401(k) loan?

Would it be a good idea to take out student loans to pay off a 401(k) loan, which we have. I qualify for $3,500 subsidized and $6,000 unsubsidized. We don't really need to $$ right now for school but were wondering if I should take the loans & payoff our 401(k) loan just in case of job loss, where we would be penalized for having the 401(k) loan if we were unable to pay it back.

I am being sued by my creditor what kind of judgment can I expect?

My husband & I decided a couple of years ago to contract a company that negotiates with creditors on your behalf. We pay this company monthly & the contract is for 3 1/2 yrs. Obviously we stopped paying our cards at the time the contract was made. Many of the debtors settled, however his Chase account would not settle. We just received a summons for civil court. I contacted the compa...
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What can I do about debt collectors harassing me?

I am in the process of working with a company "relief LLC" to get my payday loans paid off, I have been receiving threatening phone calls (30 of them yesterday) and after I told them not to call me again, they called me 10 more times. The company is United Legal Services. They would not give me any information as to the case number or anything and they told me if I did not pay off ...
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How will Freedom Debt Relief evaluate my income and assets?

Bill,thanks for being there. I've scanned most responses and my income range job status is very different. I have no taxable income. I was injured on the job on 01-2008. I collected T.D. benefits for 22 mo. The amount covered our card and loan debts. We own our home in a very small community and will retire here. We have a auto loan of $380.00 mo. 4yrs left. My card, loans are $14,000.00...
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What can I do if a judgment was won against me but I don't owe the debt?

I bought a house 10 years ago from a private party. A while later, my house payment was garnished by a collection agency for a debt owed by the people I bought the house from. I have paid them $1,300.00 more than the contractual price of the house. They have put a lien on the house, garnished my bank accounts and say I still owe over $4,000. This was never my debt. What can I do?

Can I inherit debt from a parent who dies owing creditors?