Consumer Credit Card Debt

Passport cards contain vicinity-read radio frequency identification (RFID) chips and allow for quicker and more convenient crossings at certain borders. The RFID chips in U.S. passport cards do not…

The basis of a solid financial plan is good cash flow management. You need to be able to manage your spending so you do not hurt your long-term goals. While you're still working, if you spend more…

As a preliminary matter, collection companies are under no legal or ethical obligation to remove negative marks from your credit if those negative marks are accurate. This is true regardless of…

If a credit company fails to collect a debt that you owe, it may issue a charge-off. However, a creditor's charge-off doesn't release your obligation to pay the debt. To eliminate the debt from your…

Payroll overpayment occurs when an employer pays an employee higher wages than owed. Overpayment usually happens due to clerical errors but also can result from an employee defrauding his employer by…

A charge-off is a delinquent debt that the creditor writes off as a loss on its taxes. A charge-off on a debt you owe does not remove your obligation to pay the bill. Each state has a statute of…

The radio frequency identification device, or RFID, U.S. passport card is an alternative passport that resembles the state drivers’ license card. Although the RFID doesn't contain personal…

It might sound counterintuitive, but collection agencies frequently refuse payments. Debt collectors usually do this as a matter of company policy and to ensure that you pay the full amount with a…

The decisions made by the federal government on budgets and funding have an effect on states and local levels of government. As a result, members of boards or unions may need to ratify revised budgets…

Employers who offer buyouts to their employees provide them with financial incentives to voluntarily sever their employment relationships. An employee who accepts a buyout may not be able to collect…

Millions of people get into trouble with mounting credit card debt every year. With unemployment rising, many people find it hard to pay monthly balances. The credit card company may contact you after…

There are three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Each bureau maintains its own database of credit information on consumers. If you're late paying a credit obligation more than…

The principal on a loan is the amount borrowed, or the balance on the loan. Forbearance is a special program offered by lenders allowing a debtor to skip payments on a loan, including the principal.…

A charge card works similar to a credit card except it generally does not have a set credit limit and requires the card user to pay the balance in full at the end of the month. There isn't a minimum…

Many individuals panic when they begin receiving collection letters and phone calls. For many, they're not used to the aggressive debt collection tactics that are used by these agencies to collect on…

For tax purposes, your income and taxable gains generally decrease when you can claim a financial loss or take advantage of a credit on your tax return. The Internal Revenue Service calls these losses…

Charge-offs are either debts gone bad, which may include provision for bad debts, or one-off charges representing extraordinary losses due to one-off events. Trial balances are documents that contain…

SIMPLE Individual Retirement Accounts are tax-qualified retirement plans that businesses with no more than 100 employees can create for employees. Under federal tax rules, employers can include loan…

Even though a mortgage payment might be a homeowner’s largest recurring expense, many borrowers have no idea what is in their mortgage loan documents. The technical language and legalese…

An executor is the person named in the will of the deceased who has the responsibility of overseeing the deceased's estate and finalizing his financial affairs. If the deceased died intestate, meaning…

A collection agency acting on behalf of a credit card company to collect a delinquent debt may sue you if repeated attempts to recoup the debt fail. The consequences you face if the court decides in…

The Internal Revenue Service generally taxes all forms of income. While this is the general principal behind federal taxation, there are numerous exceptions to this rule. The Internal Revenue Service…

If you are injured and unable to continue working, you may start to receive temporary or long-term unemployment benefits from your employer's insurance policies. When this happens, you may also wish…

SGH-A177 is the model number for the Samsung Captivate cellphone, available exclusively with mobile phone service through AT&T. Like all cellphones, the account owner's phone number and other…

Hamigo cards are similar to standard playing cards except that the characters displayed on them are hamster versions of the in-game cast. These cards are spread throughout the game-world and number 52…

A charge-off is debt the creditor considers uncollectible and writes off as a loss on its taxable earnings. Although the creditor charges off the debt, the debtor is still responsible for the debt,…

Failure to repay an outstanding debt doesn't mean that it goes away. At some point, your creditor may choose to write off the debt as a business loss, otherwise known as a charge-off. Charging off a…

Having a debt canceled or forgiven by a lender can ease your financial worries. Some people owe more than they can afford to pay. Bankruptcy is an effective solution to this problem. But because a…

When you have debt and little savings, you face the dilemma of whether to build up your savings or pay down debt. Saving gives you the security of knowing you can handle unexpected expenses, but you…

One of the first steps in the financial planning process is to record your household's current balance sheet. By understanding how the balance sheet works, you can record the financial impact of a…

When debts overwhelm your income, you have a decision to make: settle debts or declare bankruptcy. Consumers often think that settling debts does less damage than declaring bankruptcy, but bankruptcy…

The way you pay your bills accounts for 35 percent of your FICO credit score. It is the single largest factor in determining how high or low your score will be. On-time payments increase your score,…

The interest rate on a credit card determines how much interest you will pay on any debt carried on that card. Reducing credit-card debt can be a wise financial move since the less debt you have, the…

Whether a company restructuring results in automation, downsizing or outsourcing, the result may be loss of jobs. If you have recently been the victim of a company restructuring and now find yourself…

Recordkeeping poses two questions for taxpayers: "What should I keep, and how long should I keep it?" Keeping tax records for too long creates unnecessary clutter, but disposing of them too…

Debt forgiveness releases a business partnership from its obligation to repay a loan. However, the Internal Revenue Service counts cancelled debts as income for the partnership. This means the company…

If you allow a debt account to become severely delinquent and do not make payments on the account for about 180 days, the creditor may charge-off the account, according to Steve Bucci, author for…

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act sets limitations on the acts of debt collectors when enforcing a collection judgment. The Act protects debtors from harassment by debt collectors and also…

A reaffirmation of debt is simply the debtor’s agreement to pay, even though he could discharge the debt through bankruptcy. In many cases, reaffirmation of a loan is on the family home or…

Credit cards are a convenient form of payment for many consumers. The use of credit cards, however, can often lead to the accumulation of debt. This can be especially troubling if the existing credit…

A summons is the notification of a lawsuit. In debt matters, a summons is a final attempt to force a debtor to pay an unpaid debt. Debt collection agencies can file lawsuits at any time, but usually…

Focusing only on paying off debt could leave you strapped for cash in emergencies, but saving for emergencies could leave you stuck with high-interest debts that take several years to pay off. There…

When you research a company to invest in, the balance sheet gives you an idea of how much equity is available for the current shareholders. This figure can give you an idea of what the company has to…

When your parents have debts when they die, bill collectors may start calling you to try to get you to pay what they owed. While the collection agents may be very persuasive, you typically will not…

An unpaid debt can follow you around for many years. Once a debt is delinquent for 150 days or more, the original creditor may decide to charge-off, or write off, that debt as a loss. It may then hire…

Most individuals have some debt, whether it's in the form of car loans, credit cards, payday loans or mortgages. If you’re married, you may have more debt than you realize. Your spouse might…

Though everyone deals with the world of finance on a daily basis, very few people possess a thorough understanding of it. The term “sub-grace period “ constitutes one of the many…

Debt feels heavy when the bills keep coming and you struggle to pay them every month. You can lift that weight with a budget geared toward paying off your debts effectively. A sound repayment plan…

After working tirelessly to negotiate a lower balance on your credit card debt, the last thing you want to face is a tax bill. Depending on how much your credit card company forgave and your specific…

Before a debt collector can levy personal possessions in South Carolina, he must first win a money judgment against the debtor in civil court. Money judgments in South Carolina are automatic liens…